Kew Gardens & Lal Bagh: an Umbilical Link

The Kew Gardens in London is the best known botanical garden in the world. It is also a research centre & produces world class books. One such publication is "Botanicum" which gives a bird's eye view of the complete world of plants. Text written by Prof. Kathy Willis, of Kew Gardens, illustrated by Katie Scott by pen & ink & coloured digitally, & edited by yet another Katie Haworth, the unbelievably large volume is a veritable feast for the eyes.

Lal Bagh of Bengaluru, the founding of which is ascribed to Tipu Sultan, a passionate lover of gardens. Such was his passion that he sent his ambassadors to France, (a friendly country to him to oppose the British) to bring back rare plants. Though they did, he was not satisfied with the results & had the unfortunate ambassadors executed.

Lal Bagh was modernised during the British rule, all the earliest directors being trained at Kew Gardens. The comprehensive history & evolution of Lalbagh is presented for the first time in the book "Bangalore's Lal Bagh" by Suresh Jayaram, who underlines the contribution of the Kew trained horticulturists in the evolution of the present day Lalbagh. The book, replete with rare maps & diagrams, also gives the history of the various landmarks in Lal Bagh. This volume, though scholarly in content, contains many evocative photos & Rumale's celebrated paintings, to make it reader-friendly. Mention must be made of the layout of the pages & overall design of the book, which are of international standard.