Green Heritage Walk, where they tell you about Lalbagh’s history

Green Heritage Walk, where they tell you about Lalbagh’s history
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: With Bangalore getting hotter by the day and you beginning to think it’s just not the season for outdoor activities, here’s something you could try -- take a walking tour on a weekend morning before the sun begins to scorch your back.

The Green Heritage Walk, as it is called, is a stroll through the botanically rich Lalbagh garden. The expedition begins at the main gate of Lalbagh with a briefing of its green wealth and its association with the history of Bangalore. A Bangalorean should be proud of this attraction, it isn’t hard to see this when you walk with Vijay Thiruvady who conducts the Green Heritage Walk.

‘‘I have been in Bangalore for 30 years and had considered Lalbagh just another green space where we could take our children on a picnic. The Green Heritage Walk showed a different dimension of Bangalore, of which I had not taken the trouble to inform myself,’’ said M D Riti who recently went for the walking tour.

‘‘A local might have been to Lalbagh several times in different seasons. But going on the Green Heritage Walk is like looking at a miniature painting as a broad theme and examining the fine strokes of the brush,’’ is what Meera Saith had to say.

‘‘What was originally Hyder Ali’s rose and cyprus garden today is a treasure trove of botanical knowledge,’’ said Vijay. ‘‘There are trees that grow by the coasts, on the mountains and jungles and they all thrive in Lalbagh with practically no looking after.’’

The mind behind the concept Arun Pai said, ‘‘A large part of Bangalore remains unexplored. What used be called the Garden City has an age-old tradition of horticulture and floriculture. Lalbagh is a unique garden and has a lot of Bangalore’s history to relate.’’

‘‘Lalbagh is over 250 years old and a lot of labour has gone into its making. The Green Heritage Walk is our little way of packaging the garden and celebrating the people who made it what it is today,’’ he said.

Riti opines that the fee of Rs 495 is a reasonable one. ‘‘If one were to go to a movie in the ‘Gold Class’ section of a cinemall, one would spend just as much and in comparision, a walk of this kind is educative as well as entertaining.’’

Along with a traditional breakfast at MTR, the walk is a whole new experience.

To walk with Vijay Thiruvady log on to www.bangalorewalks.com or call 9845523660.