Overview of Islamic Gardens Part III: MUGHAL INDIA
India was the last of the three countries to experience the transformation to Islam and wasn't invaded by Muslims until 1200 when they united the region that was previously ruled by independent city states. However in terms of gardens a much more important date to remember is 1526 when the Mughal emperors of Turkish descent arrived and set up a dynasty. Here assimilation of the local culture was probably the most difficult of all the countries and Islam clashed noticeably with the established culture strongly influenced by Hinduism. Nevertheless the Mughals, first headed by Babur, brought with them the Persian chahar bagh concept of the garden to be employed in India. As was the case with Spain and Persia, India transformed this Muslim concept into an eventual unique type of garden containing both Islamic ideas and local traditions.
According to some historians, the Mughal gardens of the Kashmir valley derive their inspiration from the gardens of Persia. However the Islamic ideals behind these gardens clashed with the Hindu taste for art. John Brookes, in his book Gardens of Paradise, states the differences between these ideologies saying:
"Islamic art was the very antithesis of Hindu art; for Hindu adornment was individualistic, irregular and symbiotic, while Islamic decoration was mathematical, continuous and abstract." p118
It would seem difficult for these two cultures to make any sort of compromise. However these contrasting ideologies managed to cooperate in the garden form because while the philosophy in planning them was Muslim, the actual construction was done by Hindu craftsmen who brought local flavor to the projects. As a result Mughal gardens became a looser translation of the chahar bagh type although an emphasis on geometry was always existent.
SOME MUGHAL GARDENS:
Two examples of this looser chahar bagh type worth studying are the Chasma Shahi(or Cheshmashahi) and the Anguri Bagh. The Chasma Shahi, or Royal Spring, is located on the mountainside of Lake Dal and built around a water source . This garden, built by Shah Jahan in 1632, had a pavilion at the top of the garden in which the water first emerged. From there it fell to other terraced parts of the garden until it arrived at a pool at the bottom. Rather than having two intersecting axes this garden has a strong central axis created by the flowing water which sets up the linear relationship of the terraces. Rather than a quartered garden then the Chasma Shahi seems halved, with greenery and flowers to either side of the dividing axis.
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