“In the heart of the city, where concrete stands tall,
Green roots whisper stories of rains that fall.
Beneath the shade of old trees wide,
Bangalore breathes, while elements with it glide.”
Bangalore’s boldest definition is its greenery. The rich, divergent, and colourful arboreal landscape presents a uniqueness seen in no other Indian city. Tree lined streets, sprawling and well preserved gardens, small open spaces and gardens even in dense habitations, collectively make Bangalore appear so green and breathing. Often called the “Garden City of India“, what does this city owe this beautiful and charming greenery to?
Bangalore is indeed blessed by nature, but the abundance of green is not solely a gift of its location. It is a designed outcome borne out of its conducive climate and the sustained, deliberate efforts of its rulers, planners, and citizens over centuries that has ensured that the city remains lush and green.
The Roots of Green: Kempagowda’s Vision
The city’s green legacy can be traced back to its founder, Nadaprabhu Kempegowda I, who envisioned a prosperous and lush city. He laid the foundations of modern Bangalore in the 16th century, planting groves and gardens around key areas to ensure the wellbeing of the city’s residents. These early efforts planted the seeds, both literally and metaphorically, for Bangalore’s relationship with nature. Under his guidance, trees were planted along the city’s roads, creating an urban landscape that blended commerce, agriculture, and open spaces.
Legacy Continues
The significant efforts of Hyder Ali and his son, Tipu Sultan, further deepened this legacy. While their primary concerns were consolidation and expansion of the empire, their contributions to the beautification of Bangalore were huge. Hyder Ali, inspired by Mughal garden aesthetics, introduced the concept of large public gardens. The famed Lalbagh Botanical Garden sprawling over 240 acres, founded by him in 1760, stands as a symbol of his efforts to introduce exotic and native species, making Bangalore home to one of the most diverse botanical collections in India. Tipu Sultan, a passionate horticulturist himself, expanded Lalbagh and continued the mission of greening the city, importing rare species of trees from across the world to beautify and enrich the city’s flora. Britishers contributed by creating Cubbon Park, adding another green lung for the expanding population.
Over the years, civic authorities have taken consistent steps to preserve and enhance the city’s green spaces. Initiatives to plant and protect trees, particularly along roads and in public parks, have ensured that greenery remains an essential part of urban planning. Bangalore’s public spaces are interspersed with lush avenues of trees like Rain Trees, Gulmohar, and African Tulips, adding bright colours to the city’s vibrant green canopy.
Bangaloreans have traditionally been known for their interest in gardening and horticulture. Even today, many homes boast private gardens, and various environmental groups actively engage in afforestation and tree-planting drives. This community-driven enthusiasm complements official efforts to keep the city green.
In recent decades, as Bangalore transformed into India’s IT hub, there has been a push for sustainable development, with corporate campuses featuring vast landscaped gardens and green zones. IT parks, though modern, often embrace the city’s heritage of integrating nature into urban life.
And yet this transformation has taken its toll, and continues to do so. It’s a self- fuelling process. Development feeds on more development, more exploitation of resources, and quite naturally to faster environmental degradation. It’s a model we have consciously chosen to adopt.
Will Bangalore or rather Can Bangalore buck this trend?
Challenges to the Green Vision
As Bangalore grew into a metropolitan hub, challenges to its green infrastructure inevitably followed. Rapid urbanization, especially post-independence, threatened the city’s parks, lakes, and tree cover. The IT boom of the 1990s brought unbridled expansion, with concrete replacing green belts. According to reports, Bangalore’s green cover shrank by almost 75% between 1973 and 2017. The city’s lakes, once the lifeline for irrigation and agriculture, fell victim to neglect and encroachment, reducing their number drastically from over 250 to around 70 today.
While technology and industry brought prosperity, they also posed a grave threat to the city’s environmental health. Yet, against these odds, there has been a persistent effort to restore the city’s greenery. Successive governments, particularly in the last two decades, have implemented policies aimed at increasing tree cover, rejuvenating lakes, and creating new parks to counterbalance the urban sprawl. In 2017, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and several NGOs launched initiatives to restore dying lakes, reintroducing greenery around them.
Greening the Future: What Lies Ahead
For all its greenery, Bangalore’s battle is far from over. Rising pollution levels, traffic congestion, and unregulated construction continue to strain the city’s fragile green ecosystem. If Bangalore is to retain its title of Garden City, it must find innovative solutions to the pressures of urban growth.
A vital aspect of the city’s prognosis lies in community participation. Environmental groups, citizen-driven tree-planting campaigns, and lake-restoration projects have already begun to shape the future. Public awareness is steadily increasing, with people recognizing that the green legacy handed down to them must be preserved for future generations.
A Call to Action
Years ago, Albert Einstein wrote, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” As Bangalore grapples with the challenges of its growth, the kernel of solutions lies in understanding its nature.
Nature is not merely an ornament but the essence of sustainable living. Bangalore’s greenery has not survived through accident, but through a conscious blend of vision, policy, and participation. As the city moves forward, it must tread carefully between progress and preservation.
In the end, the greening of Bangalore is both a triumph of its history and a challenge for its future. The onus is on all—government, citizens, and industries—to carry forward this legacy, ensuring that the trees planted centuries ago continue to thrive in harmony with the city’s development.
An Ongoing Legacy
The story of Bangalore’s greenery is not just about parks, gardens, or botanical wonders; it is about the people and the visionaries who believed in the power of nature to sustain a city. As urban pressures mount, the lessons from Bangalore’s past and the continued commitment to green policies will be vital in determining whether this Garden City retains its green soul.
Bangalore is on notice. A heaven may be lost to hellish intentions.
As the city’s trees sway in the breeze, they whisper the stories of those who came before—urging us to nurture them for those yet to come.
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