Sundar Nursery-in under 60 minutes

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If you are planning to visit Sundar Nursery, and you must, you will need a strategy. Till October, the place is only open from 9am to 4pm. And is closed on Sundays. That leaves a few burning hot hours on working days and a precious Saturday, for you to explore this new beauty.


Reach there by 850 am and keep smiling at the guards till they allow you to get in through a tiny crack at the gate. Be very nice to them and promise that you will not step on the grass and what a splendid job they were doing to keep the place looking spiffy – which is true. They will allow you to begin your tour a little before 9 and trust me, every minute counts when you are racing against the sun.
sundar burj
Walk straight towards the first monument, appreciating the gorgeous flower beds on either side. This is the Sundar Burj, which has beautiful engravings of Quranic verses. You can see the long stretch of the waterway all the way down to the bridge from the north exit, Sundar Mahal from the east. Do not run towards Sundar Mahal just yet. You can catch it on your way back. Exit from north and walk straight, following the waterway – which is now functional. 
lakkarwala burj

Speedily walk till you see the Lakkarwala Burj on your left. Admire the flower laden bottle brush and trumpet bush trees here, but not for long. Dash ahead to the Lakkarwala Burj, passingly admiring the rose bushes on your way.
Now that you are done with the second important monument of the park, you can spend some time with the roses, pose in front of the gorgeous artificial lake before the sun rings its alarm again. Walk ahead to the shade of the bottle brush – there is a place to sit here if you need to catch your breath. You can hear the murmur of cascading water and an occasional growl of a lion from the adjacent zoo.

 You are now ready to move ahead to the northern end of the park – which is also the boundary wall of the zoo and where the grandest caravanserai, serving Grand Trunk road, was.
caravanserai

You are now ready to walk back but this time, through shade. Turn left on your way back, into the mud track to explore the east side of the park – where the most brilliantly lit up Trumpet Bush and flaming red Kusum trees reside. Walk along the shaded path, with a board politely pointing out that snakes abound here. You will see very interesting ruins, which we couldn’t find any information on and some majestic Java Olive Trees. 
kusum and trumpet bush trees


Walk ahead to reach the Sundar Mahal- last of the restored monuments of the park.  Just ahead of that there is a lovely tree with benches underneath– where you could now quietly sit and take it all in.
You have now successfully covered a large part of this beautifully restored space, without getting a heat stroke. And I urge you to do it soon, before the spring flowers wilt away
sundar mahal

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