Last February, 2013 was a beautiful holiday month for me. So, I decided to explore maximum place of Delhi with my wife and little daughter. Moderate weather, beautiful sun shines and … I heard a lot about Garden of Five sense, a man made beautiful garden by Delhi tourism, read about the garden on Delhi tourism website and finally we decided to visit the same. This story is about the garden, tourism prospect and other side of utilization. In Hindi I just want to give a line about it “dikhawo pe mat jaoo, apni akal lagao”
A snapshot of the Garden
The Garden is located in Said-ul-Azaib village – South Delhi close to the Mehrauli heritage area. It is built on 20.5 acres with plain and little hillock area, structure with concrete and plenty of flowers. The garden has plenty of parking space, a Cottage Industry show room nearby and a restaurant and food joint inside the garden. Completely managed by Delhi Tourism. There is an option of battery operated car ride in the garden. For a 20-min ride inside the garden, it costs Rs.20 PP. The garden is open all seven days of the week. Winter: 8AM to 6PM & Summer: 8.00AM to 7:00 PM. Ticket is Rs.20 PP.
My daughter ready for ride
Design to give feel of Tea garden
Tree made with Brass
Beautiful flower
Concrete made elephant
The good things about the Garden
A beautiful garden close to nature and supposed to stimulate our five sensory organs. The concept is excellent and so is its layout. There are lot of spaces to organize parties/ programs in touch with nature. A good up-market restaurant, battery operated car ride etc.
The bad things about the Garden
We felt the maintenance was not upto the mark. The plants were not trimmed and at places they looked like more of bushes and at other places it was barren land. Some construction was still going. There were no shopping complexes with open shop. Not any good food shop inside premises, yes they have an upmarket restaurant, but for a common people that is very much costlier.
Our journey
A sunny February day (13th Feb, 2013), we decided to visit and reached there around 12 noon. Took our tickets along with car ride tickets… started our journey with a 20 min battery car ride to every corner of the garden, it helped us from where we can start.
So, after ride, we proceeded for roaming around in the garden, rejuvenate ourselves with the scent of flowers, chirping of birds, like the feel of being in heaven. My daughter enjoyed a lot, because she loves flowers and birds. She ran from one side to another and we just followed her. We took a beautiful camel ride, which added to all the fun in the garden.
Camel in rest before ride
Statues in prayer
Beautiful flower
But suddenly as we stopped in some corner and were wondering where to go beyond, we saw 4-5 teen-aged boys with liquor bottles going up to a more secluded area. Some isolated corners were covered by the love-birds. This left us with mixed feelings. 10 years ago, the garden was open for public, the authorities thought they gifted the Delhiites a garden that would evoke their five senses, but it was not quite doing so. It was not a good experience for us, but we are happy because our daughter enjoyed a lot.
Beautiful flower
Light with blue sky with airplane
Beautiful flower
I feel after visiting this garden that Delhi gifts another Budha jayanti Garden to love-birds. I don’t want blame those love birds, because they need some privacy in some quiet place, but it should be a limit. Private security guard also makes some penny by not disturbing them and guarding them. Maintenance is not upto mark and many ways you can find dirty. Litter of the garden was done by literate delhities only. There is no proper drinking water option. A direction mark for toilet is available, but we were not found a toilet. Garden is in a corner of Delhi’s isolated area, in a city where everybody worried about women safety, I will not be surprised if I hear a bad news that inside the garden.
Beautiful flower
Daughter having fun
I wrote most of the thing in negative about the garden, but we saw garden was still in construction mode. It is far from corwded delhi, so dificult to reach to there. Best option to go there is take metro upto saket, from saket take a auto, which will asked for 50 ruppes or even more. You can enjoy the garden and atmosphare if you go with group, if you go with ur wife without kids, u may also count with those love-birds.