Brindavan Gardens

The Brindavan Gardens, then called the Krishnarajendra Terrace Garden, on the Krishnaraja Sagar Dam site, one of the most beautifully laid out terrace gardens in the world. It is world famous for its symmetric design. The creative beautification of the whole dam complex has been the achievement of Sir Mirza Ismail, the then Dewan of the princely State of Mysore. The garden is designed based on the  Shalimar Gardens of Kashmir in the Mughal style. The Department of Horticulture in 1927 started the work of laying out this garden.

The garden is enriched with fountains, terraces, parterres, running and cascading water channels, water chutes, lush green lawns, flower beds, shrubs and trees. This garden is a public park and it is one of the important tourist spots of India.

The boating pond in the midst of the garden is a location where the visitors can enjoy a boat ride around the famous statue of Goddess Kaveri. It is a mesmerizing sight when the whole garden is lit up in the evenings. Today, the Brindavan Gardens is world famous for its ethereal beauty, grandeur and illumination/ musical fountain.

The garden is maintained by the Cauvery Niravari Nigama (Cauvery Irrigation Department), a Government of Karnataka enterprise. It is spread across an area of 60 acres (240,000 m²). Adjoining it is also a fruit orchard spread across 75 acres (300,000 m²) and 2 horticultural farms, Nagavana (30 acres) and Chandravana (5 acres). The garden is laid out in 3 terraces which contain water fountains, Ficus trees, foliage plants such as Duranta plumaria and Euphorbia and flowering plants like Celosia,Marigold and bougainvillea. The garden is open to the public and an entry-fee is charged. The garden also has topiary works (sculptures of animals created by clipping shrubs), pergolas (shaded passageway covered by creepers) and gazebos. The main attraction of the park is the musical fountain in which bursts of water are synchronised to the music of songs. There is also a lake within the garden with boating facilities available for visitors.

The garden was renovated in 2005 with a cost of Rs. 50 million. The renovation included sprucing up the musical fountain using a digitised system and repairs of dysfunctional fountains.In 2007, the Gardens were closed for a brief duration as a safety measure to avoid trouble related to the Kaveri water dispute.

Sources:- personal visit, wikipedia