Ehsan Fazili/Srinagar

Kashmir’s autumn colours of brown, yellow, rust, ochre have become vibrant with the opening of the first ever Chrysanthemum Theme Garden, “Bagh-e-Gul-e-Dawood”, and promise to become another attraction for tourists in this otherwise lean season of  September–November.

Though poets and artists find their muse in Kashmir’s autumn with its blazing Chinars, the season is gloomy and the landscape drab as the Valley prepares for winter. The Chrysanthemum Garden fills the space to attract tourists for two months before the snowfall.

The garden was thrown open to the public by Chief Minister Omar Abdulla as he described it as “a floral celebration that adds a new chapter to Kashmir’s tourism story.”

Drawing parallels with the Tulip Garden, which has become another major tourist attraction in Kashmir during the off-season between winter and Spring, Omar Abdullah recalled that he had laid the foundation stone of Bagh-e-Gul-e-Dawood in November. “Just as the Tulip Garden transformed the spring tourist season, the Chrysanthemum Garden will redefine autumn tourism in Kashmir,” he said.

“There was no attraction for tourists during this period of autumn, which used to be dull. This would be a great attraction for the visitors to the valley as well as locals. We are planning to give more for the tourist attraction”, Mathoora Masoom, Director of Floriculture Department, told Awaz-The Voice.

Bagh-e-Gul-e-Dawood is spread over an area of five hectares of land within the Botanical Garden, and there are plans to extend it further by next year, according to the Director of Floriculture, Mathoora Masoom.

She told Awaz The Voice that there are 30 lakh Chrysanthemum flowers in 50 different varieties and colours. “We will expand the garden and also cover other available land with the colourfu autumn flowers with more colours and varieties. The garden has been developed for Rs 1.869 crores.

The entry is not restricted, as those visiting the Botanical Garden (on a normal entry ticket) can also visit the Chrysanthemum Theme Garden inside.  

 The new tourist attraction has been thrown open for the first time after the Pahalgam incident on April 22 in which 25 tourists and a local service vendor were killed in a militant attack, resulting in a steep decline in the flow of tourists to Kashmir.

The flow, however, started to go up with the conduct of Amarnat yatra from July 3 to August 9, visited by 4.15 lakh pilgrims this year. In spite of the bad weather conditions disrupting traffic movement on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway (NH44), the only surface link with the rest of the world, there has been a continued flow of tourists to the valley.

Over the last few days, several tourists have been visiting the garden with enthusiasm to enjoy the Gul-e-Dawood colours. Saba from a town in Uttar Pradesh, who got married to a colleague from Kashmir about two years ago, is eagerly waiting for her visit to Kashmir next week, which could also provide her with an opportunity to visit the newly opened garden.

The couple, working in Delhi, has been visiting Kashmir on Eid festivals or other occasions. She was mesmerised on her first visit to Tulip Garden around Eid festival early last year. “Yehan kitna Sukoon hai”, she instantly whispered on her entry to the Tulip Garden, which was only a few weeks after she had first visited Mughal Gardens, Amrit Udyan at Rashtrapati Bhawan, with her in-laws.

The J&K Government is also working on developing a Japanese Cherry orchard on the peripheries of Tulip Garden, which is going to be another attraction for tourists immediately after the Tulip season of over three weeks between March and April.  

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Chrysanthemum is a locally grown flower in Kashmir, but has not been associated with festivities like in Jammu, Chandigarh or other parts of North India. This flower is also grown vegetatively, so there are no additional costs required for this, as compared to Tulip, for which bulbs are being imported annually.