Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) The sprawling Mughal Gardens in Rashtrapati Bhavan became a laboratory for nature-related experiments for A.P.J. Abdul Kalam during his 2002-07 presidential tenure.

“It was a great communication medium between me, nature and the citizens of the country; a place where I met people from diverse walks of life, including specialists in herbal plants, for which there was a section in the estate,” Kalam says in his new book “Turning Points: A Journey Through Challenges”, an account of his years as president.

Several of the environment-friendly initiatives at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, including a landscaped herbal park, were steered by Kalam.

Kalam recounts that he had installed two huts in the garden, inkeeping with the environment. “One was built by craftsmen from Tripura and was called the Thinking Hut. I took many of my close friends to this hut for discussions during weekends and one of my books, ‘Indomitable Spirit’ was mostly written in the hut,” Kalam says.

The second hut, known as the Immortal Hut, was surrounded by a grove of 16 trees, a herbal garden with 34 varieties of herbs, a musical garden and a bio-diversity park, Kalam says.

“‘Guiding Souls’, one of my important books which explores the purpose of human life, emanated from the discussions I held with my friend Arun Tiwari in the Immortal Hut, Whenever any complex decision had tobe made, these two huts were where I sat and thought,” Kalam says.

The former president was instrumental in creating the first tactile garden in Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2004 with a fountain, stone-guided path and beds of herbs, spices, fruits and aromatic flowers. A tactile garden is a sensory garden that stimulates the senses, besides being visually appealing.

–Indo-Asain News Service
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