This weekend we took a bit of a leave from the hullaboo of our everyday life, and went to a place we thought will be a bit comforting to our soul. It is supposed to be close to the nature. It is no other place than the Empress Botanical Garden in the Cantonment area, Pune. Paying a 5 rupees entry fee. and a further 5 rs. for 2-wheeler parking, we entered the above mentioned museum of greenery.
In constitution, it is a botanical garden. It is a huge area, completely green. It is a treat to the eyes, if nothing else, especially for people who are a resident of the concrete jungle as I am. The eyes got a lot relieved just by the 1st sight of the place. Although from outside, it looks very promising, it actually looks much better from inside too.
The initial area, the spot where you reach just after entering is a completely family affair. Parents have taken their kids to there to have a nice picnic, or something on those lines. Kids were all running around. There is a small rivulet in which water was flowing. Kids actually went down to the water, and splashed about enjoying every moment of it. The energy they displayed was really nice to see, and made us feel their age.
As we went around in the park, we actually got to understand how huge it is. We did not find out the total area, but I am sure no one can cover it in a single day. The USP of the park, as was displayed there, was a dead tree!!! It was one of the last specimens of a coniferous Christmas tree, which the authorities got from somewhere, and planted here, before it died. They had put up a board informing everyone about it, which even had a photo of it while it was standing erect in its gigantic stature in the garden. It might be a matter of great interest if you hold really good interest in botany, but as I am devoid of that quality, I turned my interest to more worldly things going on there.
Well, to cut the long story short, I realised, perhaps for the thousandth time, that India is still a very conservative country. We Indians cannot be open to a couple going out together openly on the streets, and for that these poor couples have to find solace in places like these where they can spend some time alone away from the world, in arms of their dear ones. True, a political leader like Raj Thackeray might find it against the culture to behave this way, but come to think of it, I find there cannot be anything more frustrating than being unable to spend your time the way you want, with your partner. So, in all fairness to these couples, the garder authorities haev arranged for benches all along the border of the garden on which we could find couples spending time along with some refreshments to keep munching as they poured their hearts out to each other. It was a pleasant scene, if I might say so.
In all, this garden can be an educational experience, as most of the trees out here has their names(along with the scientific names too) on a tag on the trees too. So it can be considered as a nice place where you can actually learn something along with the family picnic that one is planning. But the most important learning of all that one might pick up from here is how you can spend some time with mother nature, completely in her care, rather than the same concrete world that we see everyday around us, and everyone is desperate to get out from!!!
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