Inside, it’s hard to believe it is Nepal. When I first went there, I felt like I was in some garden whose view I had enjoyed only in the English movies. The garden is kept impeccably clean and green. Perfect peace reigns there despite being located amidst the maddening crowd and noise of Kathmandu. Apart from being a location where lovebirds can meet and allow some intimate touches for each other – well, I saw a few couples smooching – it offers some glimpses of history.
The garden is also a reflection of Keshar Shumsher’s personality. He is said to have been the most well-read man in the Rana family. He was a diplomat, scholar, world traveler, connoisseur and botanist.
Inside Kaiser Gallery, there are pictures of Kaiser Garden then and now. On a wall hangs the portrait of Keshar Shumsher Junga Bahadur Rana (1892-1964), who stands upon tiger skin triumphant, brave and determined. Behind him lies the globe half eclipsed. The ambiance of the garden encouraged me to glean some secrets of the Rana era and its luxury.
Garden of Dreams or Kaiser Garden is a part of Keshar Mahal, that big mansion where Ministry of Education and Kaiser Library presently stand and which was home to Field Marshal General Keshar Shumsher Junga Bahadur Rana. The exact date of when this garden was established is unclear. A story goes that on Laxmi Puja of 1920, Keshar won a big fortune on kauda (conch) game. This enabled him to start work on this garden with pavilions and balustrades. But according to a metal inscription on the inner wall, Keshar is said to have “created it in the early 1920s.” It was the most refined of the gardens of the Rana times. Originally called the “garden of six seasons”, it was built in Edwardian style by a prominent architect Kishor Narsingh, the man who designed Singha Durbar in 1907.
The garden is a testimony of the pleasurable indulgences the Ranas had taken to in the early decades of the twentieth century. Around this time, Rana oligarchy was enjoying its heyday. Maharaja Chandra Shumsher was the prime minister and was introducing some reforms through electricity and irrigation projects, perhaps because of which he did not have to really confront anti-Rana sentiments.
Nepal was slowly entertaining Western visitors in its land, though confined only up to the plains, and was coming to terms with the West. King George V in 1911 and King Edward in 1921 had made their entry here. Western architecture had made its way into the country. Singha Durbar and Keshar Mahal were built modeled on European architecture. The Ranas had taken to consuming foreign objects, dress, insignia, European-styled durbars and Hindi-Urdu Theater. Balkrishna Sama has written about how the Ranas had started to import entertaining group known as nacha, often patronized by the contemporary Rana elite in Kathmandu. They organized a variety of theatrical events, which provided foreign entertainment imported from colonial India. The Rana theaters used to present plays in the Hindi-Urdu languages. The amphitheater built in ancient Greek style in the Kaiser garden perhaps served this purpose. Sitting in the open theater, the Rana clique must have enjoyed imported plays and nach, drinking and smoking. Also it could have been a place for retreat where they spent time with their concubines and lovers.
The garden is also a reflection of Keshar Shumsher’s personality. He is said to have been the most well-read man in the Rana family. He was a diplomat, scholar, world traveler, connoisseur and botanist. He eschewed the courtly intrigues of his time and set to create a monumental library in his residence besides a garden. Perceval Landon describes him as a person “who combines an astonishing width of reading, knowledge of the world, and general culture with a reputation as a first class shot and an expert knowledge of the fauna of Nepal.” The third son of Chandra Shumsher, he was doted on by his father and had a palace built for him. He had been commissioned to make the arrangements for the great big game shots, which took place from time to time in honor of distinguished visitors. He had arranged for the hospitality during King George and Edward’s visits in the Tarai and would often go into their camps and join the amusements of the night.
Keshar himself was a lover of Western people, culture, art and knowledge. He changed his name from Keshar into Kaiser after the name of Kaiser Franz Josef. Franz Josef was emperor of Austria and king of Hungary. Joseph was as ruthless and ferocious as any Rana prime minister longed to be. He mercilessly crushed the Hungarian revolution in the late summer of 1849. He suspended the 1849 constitution and established a policy of absolute imperialism. Keshar’s unending admiration for this man is a suggestion of the Rana ambition of establishing absolute dictatorship.
Though a reminder of these un/pleasant stories, the garden is replete with rich floras. Towering palm and pine trees pervade there. Chairs are strewn in order, each standing under the shadow of a tree or a shrub. The whole garden sometimes resonates with the sounds of birds. From here, you could look up into the sky and dream. You can also go with a volume tucked under your arms to read there. It could best serve as a garden library or a reading garden.
Apparently, it is serving this purpose to the visitors. Hundreds of visitors go there each day. Almost 100 years after it was first established, the garden still serves the interests and affordability of the rich. The visitors mostly are foreigners, tourists or the rich who lie on the lush green ground without any care in the word, reading books or talking with their partners. But the garden is still only accessible to elites or tourists. The visitors leave their comments and feedback in a record book all reinforcing the theme of the garden’s beauty.
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Garden of Dreams (photo feature)
