Hello Fellow Hivers!
After a long week of work and chores, the weekend was finally here. With weekend spirit in full swing, my girlfriend and I set out to Lalbagh Botanical Garden to witness the annual flower show last Saturday. This has been taking place from the past few decades and majorly run two shows, one in January and another in August. This year, the January show was held from the 16th till the 27th of January.

A little history lesson for the history folks!

The Lalbagh Botanical Garden was commissioned to be built in the 1760 by King Hyder Ali and was later completed by his son, King Tipu Sultan. The vision for this garden was along the lines of the Mughal Gardens that were gaining popularity in that era. While King Hyder Ali laid out these famous botanical gardens, King Tipu Sultan is credited with adding horticultural wealth to them by importing flora from several countries. And some facts for the fact freaks - Lalbagh is a 240 acres (0.97 km2) garden - It has over 1,000 species of plants with many trees that are more than a hundred years old! - The Lalbagh Rock is one of the oldest rocks in the world and is a geological marvel, dating back to 2.5 to 3.4 billion years! - Glass House: The iconic Glass House in Lalbagh Botanical Garden was modeled after London's Crystal Palace. It was built in 1889 to commemorate the visit of Prince Albert Victor, the Prince of Wales, and is a major attraction during the annual flower shows held here. - The 2025 January flower show is expected to draw around 8–10 lakhs (Eight hundred thousand - one million) visitors.

[Source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lal_Bagh#:~:text=History,-Lalbagh%20Botanical%20Garden&text=King%20Hyder%20Ali%20commissioned%20the,Lal%20also%20means%20%22beloved%22.)

Now that we’re done with the facts and history, lets head to the garden. The city of Bangalore has a limited metro connectivity, and the garden has a dedicated stop since it is a major attraction. The metro tickets for two cost us around 80 Rupees (0.93 USD) to and from the garden. Since we live 5 KM (3 miles) from the Garden, we opted the metro to avoid traffic and parking hassles.

An entry ticket was required which cost 100 Rupees per adult (1.16 USD) and around 30 Rupees per child (0.35 USD) under 12 years of age. The above entry price was only for the ones who wished to enter the Glass House to experience the flower show. The garden has Monument landmarks as well as Botanical landmarks. We got to visit a few - the Maharaja Statue, Big Silk Cotton Tree, Lalbagh lake, Tree Fossil and the Glass house. As we entered, we visited the Big Silk Cotton Tree which is approximately 200 years old. The tree is commonly found in India and China. Although being a tree native to India, I feel like I’ve never seen it before. I believe such trees are farmed for its bloomed flowers which according to Google is used to make pillows and beds. The tree grows to a height of 25 to 30 meters (82 to 100 foot). This well-preserved tree was guarded with a fence to keep a safe distance from the public. The tree stood in all its pride and caught the eyes of everyone walking by the garden.

We also came across another humongous tree which was not fully marketed to the public like the Big Silk Cotton Tree. The tree was well preserved but wasn’t guarded by a fence which gave me an idea to place my 5-foot girlfriend near the tree to compare the sheer size of it.

We walked by a pond and a few other magnificent trees to reach one end of the garden to the Lalbagh lake. This lake spans across 40 acres and provides support to the garden throughout the year. We stood there for a while taking in the subtle breeze and the serene sights.

We then head back to the centre of the garden where a lot of vendors had set shop to cater to the public. From ice creams to fresh fruit to corn on the cob, they had it all. We opted for my childhood favourite snack that is eaten widely in the southern states of India called Charmuri. It’s a popular snack featuring puffed rice which is complimented with various spices, fresh veggies and lastly topped off with crunchy sev (savoury deep-fried noodles). This snack has a tweaked recipe every 100kms. Back home, we substitute cucumbers with raw mangoes, top it with a bit of coconut oil and ditch the sev altogether. I prefer it over the Bangalore version but that’s probably the nostalgia. We paid 60 rupees (0.69 USD) for the Charmuri, and the quantity was enough to keep us full for the next 2 hours.

Along with the eateries, we also came across multiple nurseries selling varieties of plants. The plants ranged from small and colourful Cactii, variety of small Succulents, Hibiscus bushes, Wild Orchids, Bonsai as well as Orange and Lemon plants. The price of these were affordable ranging from 100 Rupees (1.16 USD) for a small flowerpot till 2000 Rupees (23.15 USD) for exotic orchids. We had a look around these nurseries and left empty handed as we have a history being murderous plant parents.

There was a rose garden and a Japanese garden as well, but one was closed off for the public and the other one was on another end of the park. We decided to ditch both the gardens and head straight to the heart of the garden- the Glass House for the flower show. Every year the garden sets a theme for the show, and this year, the theme was based on the author of Ramayana- Maharshi Valmiki. He is considered as an Adi Kavi (the first poet) and the Ramayana itself is revered as the first kavya (poem). The flower show featured floral arrangements around statues of Valmiki and other regional poets.

When you visit any tourist attractions in India, every Indian will suggest you visit the attraction at the early hours and preferably on a weekday. Unfortunately, that was not an option for us this time and we ended up visiting the place on a weekend at 5 PM. The crowd was intense and even though there was a 3-lane line system, the crowd managed to form 6 lanes, causing a bottleneck at the entrance. It didn’t help that everyone began clicking pictures as soon as they entered causing a stagnant block right at the entrance.

It was a circular arrangement, so everyone was advised to admire it at the first half and take pictures on the way back, but the crowd being a crowd did what they always do. After some pushing around and losing my tiny girlfriend to the crowd once, we escaped the crowd and moved inside to notice the artwork. The setup was beautifully done with automated water mists that kept the flowers looking vibrant and fresh for the whole 10 days.

Each statue had a board with highlights of the Poet’s life and works, that was printed out and displayed. A bar code was shared at the entrance leading to reading sources, should you be interested in learning more about them. I still have the bar code, so in case any one of you is curious, I’ll be happy to share.

As we exit the glass house, Mother Nature gave us a gorgeous golden hour. Simultaneously all the park lights and fountains went on, which made the evening truly magical. We walked our way towards the Maharaja Statue which is the Equestrian status of Chamarajendra Wodeyar (twenty-third Maharaja of Mysore between 1868 and 1894). The Wodeyar dynasty is highly praised in the state of Karnataka, since they were majorly responsible for the development of the state.

As we moved towards the exit, we stopped by to purchase a box of strawberries from Horticultural Producers' Cooperative Marketing and Processing Society, aka HOPCOMS. Since this shop was run by the government, we were assured that the fruits were grown organically. A box consisting of 8 big strawberries costed us 60 Rupees (0.69 USD).

As we further moved towards the exit, we stopped by the last attraction for the day- a tree fossil which is supposed to be 20 million years old! The fossil which was beautifully surrounded by sunflowers and a picturesque evening sky bought a surreal calm to the mind.

As the sun bid adieu for the day, so did we and headed back home after completing the step count for the day and a refreshed mind from taking in all the vibrant and colorful sights.

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