Brindavan Gardens: A Symphony of Fountains, Lights, and Greenery

Brindavan Gardens was built on the lines of the Shalimar Gardens of Srinagar

Synopsis

What makes Mysuru a tourist hub is the sheer variety of tourist attractions she throws at tourists. If there are places for history buffs, there are places for “ancient art” lovers. If there are millennia-old temples for temple-hopping spiritualists, there are places for adventure-seekers too. Also, if there are renowned Yoga retreats for fitness freaks,  there are places for love birds – honeymoon seekers. The list is quite long.

The Mysore-based Brindavan Gardens (BG), has made Mysuru city as one of the top 3 Honeymoon spots in South India.  The other two cities are Ooty and Kodaikanal. 

This article sheds some light on Brindavan Gardens.

Introduction

History of Brindavan Gardens from the 1960s till now

At the beginning of the 1960s, when the world was slowly coming out of the “Rock and Roll” era and getting into the era of “Swinging”, the world got intrigued by melodious music and swinging styles of dance. If the 1960s period was called the “Swinging 60s” then the 1950s was called the “Rockstar 50s”.

Swinging 60s

The people had gotten bored of the “heavy metal” music of the 1940s/ 1950s and were leaning towards soothing melodies in the 1960s.  The film production houses began adapting to changing times and began incorporating melodious tunes in their music. However, their romantic movie situations demanded locations to shoot the “lovey-dovey” scenes to support such music. To do that, they began looking for locations and they discovered BG, which was fitting to their requirement well. Though BG was built and opened to the public in 1932, it remained relatively obscure till it was made popular by the movies. 

Brindavan Gardens attracted moviemakers from the Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi film industries from the 1960s onwards. One Kannada film “Kalla Kulla”, made in 1976 had a very popular song ಸುತ್ತ ಮುತ್ತ ಯಾರು ಇಲ್ಲ ನಾನು ನೀನು ಇಲ್ಲೇ ಎಲ್ಲ and the song was shot in BG and it was a phenomenal hit. 

Also Read: Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary: A Birdwatcher’s Paradise

History of Brindavan Gardens from the 1930s till 1960s 

BG was built adjoining the Krishnaraja Sagar dam that was built across the river Kaveri. The garden was conceptualized and commissioned by Sir Mirza Ismail, the Deewan of Mysuru. He was a man with a penchant for gardens and the BG was designed by German botanist and landscape designer Gustav Hermann Krumbiegel.

BG is spread across an area of 60 acres (240,000 m2). 

A fruit orchard was built at an area of 75 acres (300,000 m2) and also two horticultural farms were built along with BG

• Nagavana (30 acres)  
• Chandravana (5 acres) 

The garden is well laid out on 3 terraces which contain water fountains, Ficus trees, foliage plants such as Duranta plumaria and Euphorbia, and flowering plants like Celosia, Marigold, and bougainvillea.

Though the main attraction of the Brindavan Garden is the musical fountain, its idea was seeded in the 1950s.  The musical fountain makes bursts of water synchronized to the music of songs, thus giving joy while watching water jets dance to the tunes of music. 

During the period between the 1930s and 1960s, the BG made great strides in introducing herself to people and was successful in attracting children with colorful fountains and water-based games.  So, they came back again and again with their parents, relatives, and even classmates.

However, the burst in the number of people visiting the Gardens happened in the 1960s. 

There is also a lake within the garden with boating facilities made available for visitors.  

The garden is currently maintained by the Cauvery Niravari Nigama (Cauvery Irrigation Corporation), a Government of Karnataka enterprise.

Conclusion

The Brindavan Garden was built on the lines of the Shalimar Gardens of Srinagar, which itself was built in the year 1619. The Brindavan Garden has lived up to the hype and has steadily attracted an average of 2 million tourists each year. There are luxury and budget hotels opened in its vicinity to cater to the growing demand for the accommodation of visitors.  So, visitors can come to BG with family and friends to have good times. Newly married couples will certainly have a good time spending an evening in Brindvan Gardens. 

Brindavan Gardens entry timings

The BG is open on all days from early morning till 8:00 PM.

Brindavan Gardens lighting timing

Daily Evening lighting at Brindavan Garden from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Evening lighting at Brindavan Garden on Saturday & Sunday is from 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

Music Fountain Timings at Brindavan Gardens

Evening lighting at Brindavan Garden on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday is from 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM. 

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