I visited the newly unveiled Semmozhi Poonga along with my mother last evening. Having seen and enjoyed the Botanical Gardens in Singapore, I was looking forward to our own green lung space, bang in the middle of our city. I went with great expectations and I must admit that I was not disappointed.
Many of my friends bemoaned the fact that our haunt as young college goers was taken over by the government. Most of us had visions of monstrosities that typically governments are known to build, coming up in our favourite hang out. We imagined that the trees would be chopped to make way for ugly apparitions in concrete. But I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw.
The entrance to the park is perhaps very spectacular. A vertical garden shaped as an arch welcomes visitors to the garden. You can spot commonly seen varieties of plants growing in a vertical fashion and flanked on either side by cascading green lawns. As you enter through the arch, it is as if it serves as the first reminder to slow down, leave the city behind and enter a different world.
The garden in about 20 acres retains all the trees from when the land was handed over to the government. Indigenous species of plants are aesthetically laid out all over the park. I was happy to identify most of the plant varieties since they grow commonly in our homes and neighbourhoods. Not too many exotic varieties – and it was nice to see many visitors to the park call out the names of the plants, even without reference to the neatly placed name board to identify the plants. Ferns, palms, cacti, lilies, ficus and herbs have their separate spaces. There are some interesting Bonsais and miniature trees adding to the novelty of the garden. The original trees from the Drive In days provide a sort of canopy for the entire garden. Many of the trees are thought to be over a 100 years old. And, they add to the grandeur of the park. Many water bodies with gracefully moving ducks criss-cross the park.
There is a gallery or amphitheater for use for performances. There are ramps across the park making it disabled friendly. The park appears to have a network of pipes to facilitate drip irrigation. Fountains in different patterns spew water in various colours. The play area within the park was a great draw for the children.
Being a Saturday, it was packed with visitors. And, in the days to come, the park can expect more people. It was lovely to see children roam in gay abandon with the park and older folks soak in the beauty of the place and capture them on candid camera.
I am worried for the park. It is beautifully conceptualized and laid out. It will require a lot of maintenance and it will have to be regular. Having seen many of the best conceived city projects fall to disrepair, I know my fear is for real.
We have a huge opportunity to use this space to help build environmental sensitivity and a green approach in the average citizen. I have a few suggestions for the park authorities which may be good to put in place at the very beginning, before things get out of hand and the will to make things happen disappears.
- Make the park plastic free. There were several people carrying snacks in plastic covers and if they all left them behind in the park, we have a disaster waiting to happen.
- Enlist young school children as park volunteers instead of using police personnel or park staff only for park duties.
- Adopt composting techniques using organic material generated in the park. Excess compost may be sold at the park for gardening enthusiasts.
- Offer adoption of plants/ trees to visitors for a fee. This will help build ownership and a sense of pride while increasing revenue flow for maintaining the park’s activities.
- Allow for parking for just twenty cars and charge an unreasonably high amount (INR 500 per hour) for car parking. The park is centrally located and close to major bus routes.
- Encourage environment related workshops to be held on the park premises. This space should help foster love for nature in our fellow city dwellers.
I am now looking forward to the opening of the Adyar Poonga. My expectations have only risen and justifiably so.
