I started writing this Blog in August 2016 and since then I have regularly maintained it, adding various archival documents, letters, photographs, poetry, videos and many short essays on a number of topics. Explore the Blog via the Categories (and the drop-down menu) listed at the top, through the Tag Cloud of topics which appears on the right-hand side or simply by scrolling down to see the various posts. Leave a comment for me to share your thoughts.
The word bagicha is derived from the Persian word bagh, which translates into garden. The Mughals gardens were renowned for their architectural beauty, which were Persian in style, particularly the Charbagh structure. Charbagh literally translate into ‘four gardens’ and examples of these can be seen in Shailmar Gardens in Lahore, Taj Mahal in Agra and Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi. The bagh would encompass many different and permanent trees, shrubs, flowers and often surrounded by pools, fountains or purpose built canals inside the gardens.
For me the bagicha represents a myriad of things, it is an escape, it provides pleasure, it sustains life, it regenerates itself through the seasons, it brings life to modern housing, brings colour into our lives and many more superlatives. In the same vein the Bagicha Blog is designed to bring a myriad of interests together, one of which is my own interest in photographing trees, plants, gardens and flowers. But this has been inter-meshed with my interest in history, society, people, and identity in its multiple forms.