The valley of Kashmir with its lush green meadows, snow-cladded mountains, fresh air, and gentle breezes is a gift of nature to the only water planet. “Zara Zara Hai Meri Kashmir Ka Mehman Navaaz, Raah Mein Pathar Ke Tukdo nay Diyaa Paani.” The verse quoted above means that the people of Kashmir are hospitable in nature. Their hospitability is well known all over the world. People who visited Kashmir found freshwater lakes and rivers, lush green meadows, seditious forests, gentle breezes and much more can be seen in any corner of the valley. It also describes that the gushing brooks of the valley always give a pleasant taste to the poetic environment of the valley. It also awakens the aspirations of the scholar hidden deep in their hearts. Whenever foreigners have visited the valley they have found it interesting and absorbing in one way or the other. One such person who on reaching Kashmir was highly impressed by its natural magnificent glory was the great Mughal emperor namely Salim Jahangir. He was so fascinated that he termed the valley of Kashmir the only possible heaven on earth. He then thought to catch a drop of beauty and put it in his own ideas This is how the Shalimar Garden of modern times has come into existence. Shalimar bagh is a famous Mughal garden situated to the northeast of Dal lake through a stream to its right bank.
The Mughal emperor in the quest for love for his wife Noor Jahan thought a beautiful way to present his wife a token of love forever. In this process, the idea of establishing the said garden struck his mind. Thus in 1619 AD, he started to give practical shape to his novel ideas and make his dreams come true. One more such type of architectural garden founded on the shore of the dal lake is Nishat Bagh which is a creation by a great king enthusiastic about nature and its beauty namely Asif Khan. Shalimar Garden was built in by Mughal emperor Jahangir for his wife Noor Jahan in 1619. The Bagh was considered the highest achievement of the Mughal creation and enthusiasm. In the last decades, the said garden is used as a public park. Thousands of people curiously visit the garden in the valley and abroad to cherish its mesmerizing beauty and its natural quietude during the pleasant seasons of Kashmir, mostly from spring to Autumn. The garden with its scenic beauty of the feeble waves of dal waters as its background occupies a great significance in the beauty of Kashmir. The name Shalimar has been brought from a village, which dwelled in the vicinity during king praversena’s reign, the meaning of Shalimar though hidden is considered something loving and special which in any case may move the heart and soul of a person in all kinds of moods whether pleasant or sad, according to Russian writer and scholar might be Arabian or Persian as Muslims cannot take support or aid of Sanskrit or any other language. The Mughals who had an aesthetic power to utilize in many ways found themselves always neck deep in the interests and desire to create such things. It took many years for the emperor to think about the plan of the establishment of the Shalimar garden. In the pre-establishment phase, he used to go to the said spot and used to accompany nature’s beauty with a decent quietude at the slow-moving waves.
