Chashme Shahi

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  In 1632, a Mughal governor laid out a garden around a freshwater spring in Srinagar, and the garden still carries the name Chashme Shahi, which means the royal spring. The name sounds like a title given by an emperor. Yet the story behind it is stranger and more modest than that. This documentary follows the water and the garden built around it. Who first found the spring, and how did its name change over time? Why would a governor build a garden of only one acre for a prince? What did designers do with a steep hillside, and what do visitors find there today?

  74

• 2. The Saint's Spring

  ›

  Rupa Bhawani, remembered as the great female saint of Kashmir, is the person credited with discovering the spring. She belonged to the Sahib clan of Kashmiri Pandits, and Sahib was her family name. The spring was first called Chashme Sahibi, a name that honored her family. Over the years, speakers wore the name down until it became Chashme Shahi. That change turned a clan name into the phrase the royal spring. A governor named Ali Mardan Khan would later enclose this same water inside a garden.

  47

• 3. A Prince's Garden

  ›

  Ali Mardan Khan served as a governor under the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, and the emperor ordered him to build the garden. It was meant as a gift for Shah Jahan's eldest son, Prince Dara Shikoh. To the east of the garden stands Pari Mahal, the Fairy Palace. Dara Shikoh used to go there to learn astrology. The prince's garden and his place of study therefore sat close together on the same hillside. The garden he received was small, and the land itself did most of the work in shaping it.

  748

• 4. Terraces of Water

  ›

  A two-storey Kashmiri hut stands on the first terrace, and the spring begins right there. The design follows Persian gardens, and the art and architecture show Iranian influence. The steepness of the land decided the layout, so the water was given a series of steps to descend. The spring's route has three parts: an aqueduct, a waterfall, and fountains. From the hut, the water slides down a ramp called a chadar into the second terrace. There it fills a pool with a large fountain at its centre. A second chadar carries it down to the third terrace, a square pool with five fountains. This is the lowest level, and it sits at the garden's entrance. Visitors come in at the bottom beside that pool, then climb stairs on both sides of the terraces to reach the source.

  783

• 5. Smallest of Three

  ›

  The garden measures 108 m long and 38 m wide, which adds up to about one acre. That makes it the smallest of the three Mughal gardens of Srinagar. Shalimar is the largest, and Nishat is the second largest. All three stand on the right bank of Dal Lake, with the Zabarwan Range rising behind them. Chashme Shahi lies within that range, near Raj Bhawan, the governor's house, and looks out over the lake. Small size did not cost it admiration. The English writer and traveler Amit Kumar wrote that "the little Chashma Shahi is architecturally the most charming of the gardens near Srinagar".

  7912

• 6. Water Worth Carrying

  ›

  Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, a former Premier of India, used to have water from this spring brought to Delhi. The water is believed to have medicinal properties, and that reputation adds to the garden's appeal.

  46

• 7. Visiting Today

  ›

  Chashme Shahi lies 14 km northeast of Srinagar Airport, within the jurisdiction of the city. Boulevard Road, which runs along the banks of Dal Lake, connects the garden to the rest of Srinagar. Many hotels and restaurants nearby offer food and lodging. The garden stays open to tourists from March to November. The best months to visit run from April to October. In May and June, the garden is at full bloom.

  251261