Cubbon Park: Hudson Circle Gate

Decoding our DNA.

The number of trees in the city may not have kept pace with the number of people but the truth is that the city is not called the Garden City for nothing. 

Throughout its short history, this city has made its rulers, influential citizens and residents, lovers of trees, gardens, flower and all things green and colourful. The people who created a green city out of a dry, brown plateau that's far away from life-giving rivers that usually spawn cities. (Read The Greening of Bangalore Story by P. Dasharathi here) 

Today, to find out the age of a locality in Bangalore, all we have to do is measure the girth of the trees. Visitors to city often go back with stems and seeds of exotic roses and flowering plants they see in the  private gardens of their hosts (Or from Lalbag). When Heads of State visit us, we make them plant a tree. These days it's CEOs of multi-national companies. And it's not just Mallige, Soppu and Tarkari that goes in the procession outside the Benglureans door each day, we usually have the men pushing a heavy cart selling plotted plants too. 

Even today, the event that draws the maximum number of people in the city continues to be the flower shows that are held twice a year at Lalbag. And thankfully, the cutting of trees is also the only thing that brings the people of the city out on to the streets.  

The trees in Benglur may be down, but they are not out because love for trees is something that still defines a lot of what makes us Benglureans. 

And finally, here's a treat for your eyes: Flowering trees of Bangalore by S.Karthikeyan