Thematic garden inspired by Ram’s 14-year vanvas developed in Haldwani

Dehradun, July 14

A thematic garden inspired by Lord Ram’s 14-year exile during which he passed through different types of forests has been developed at Haldwani in Uttarakhand, officials said.                  

Built over an area of one acre as part of Uttarakhand Forest Department’s Biodiversity Park, Haldwani, the gates of “Ramayan Vatica” were thrown open to public on Tuesday, Conservator of Forest (research wing) Sanjiv Chaturvedi under whose guidance the garden has been developed told PTI.

Different types of forests have been recreated through which Lord Ram passed during his exile as described in Maharshi Valmiki’s Ramayana, he said.

Different species of plants mentioned in chapters of the epic describing ‘Chitrakoot’, ‘Dandakaranya’, ‘Panchvati’, ‘Kishkindha’, ‘Ashok Vatika’ and ‘Dronagiri’, have been raised at the garden to recreate the same forest ambience as described in the book, he said.           

“We have developed plant life at the garden in accordance with the categories in which they grow at these places including tropical deciduous forests of Chitrakoot and Dandakaranya,  tropical dry deciduous forests of Panchvati, dry and moist deciduous forest of Kishkindha, evergreen forest of Ashok Vatika and the alpine forest of Dronagiri,” Chaturvedi said.             

“The purpose behind developing a thematic garden is to inspire people for forest conservation by drawing upon religious scriptures,” the officer said.

The forests named above are associated with Lord Ram during his period of exile which began from Chitrakoot in Uttar Pradesh.

“It is amazing how much Valmiki knew and how little has changed in these forests except for their density, wildlife and certain plant species, the IFS officer said.              

“The geographical location and species composition of forests as described in Valmiki Ramayana is still more or less the same be it growing of Saal and Sagaun in Dandkarayana which falls in Central India or Chandan and Raktchandan in Kishkindha region which falls around Bellary in present Karnataka or occurrence of Seeta Ashok and Nagkesar in evergreen forest of Sri Lanka where Ashok Vatika was situated,” Chaturvedi said.                

The Ramayana highlights the extraordinary range of plant life of India at that time and mentions 139 different plant species, Chaturvedi said adding the garden is an attempt to touch upon this aspect of the Ramayana that remains largely unexplored.     

“In fact the Ramayana is a botanist’s delight with detailed descriptions of forest types. Though a religious epic, it is unique in its celebration of nature. It is full of brilliant passages describing the bio-diversity that surrounds Ram and the other characters during their life in the forest,” he said.                 

“Based on the unique concept of recreating for visitors diverse forest ambiences through which Lord Ram passed during his exile beginning from Ayodhya and culminating in Sri Lanka, the garden is the first of its kind in the country,” Chaturvedi said.       

30 important trees, herbs and shrubs mentioned in the Aranya-Kand of Valmiki Ramayana including Seeta Ashok, Chandan, Raktchandan, Brahmi, Jeevanti, Tulsi, Saal, Sagaun,Maulshri, Peepal, Sadan, Nagkesar etc,” he said. —PTI

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