At Sunder Nursery, relax on Victorian-era iron benches and admire Mughal heritage

NEW DELHI: Come November and

Sunder Nursery

will welcome visitors in a new avatar. While the monument will become ticketed, it will also have a large number of antique benches, many of which are over a century old.


These benches are either Victorian originals or inspired by them, prepared in metal

workshops

in

England

and

Scotland

. Nearly a hundred such benches are being placed at the heritage site in at least 20 different patterns. The oldest of the benches are over 100 years old and the newest is about 30-40 years old.

The benches have been repaired and restored by

Aga Khan Trust for Culture

, which has restored the park and has been maintaining it in agreement with CPWD. At first look, the benches appear ordinary cast iron ones painted British military green. A closer look reveals Victorian-era designs seen in England in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

“English blast furnaces from about the late 18th century started making lighter and thinner cast iron—ideal for garden furniture,” said a historian.

Brought from Gujarat through antique dealers, the benches took several months to repair as their original designs and patterns had to be restored. “These benches will supplement the sandstone benches that are to be placed along the pathways and lakes. People can also dedicate these benches to the memory of their loved ones—by paying their price and up to 10 years of maintenance costs—as a practice followed in major public parks worldwide,” said an

AKTC

official.

Since the renovated park was opened in February, over 2 lakh people have visited it. Entry was free until now, but from November, Indian visitors will have to pay Rs 30 and foreigners Rs 100. Visiting hours will be from sunrise to sunset, like all ASI monuments. It also has basic amenities, toilet blocks and

CCTV

surveillance.