This verdant paradise is loved by all

Inspiring Initiative

Residents of Indiranagar have a new reason to rejoice – the recently renovated green park, located at the junction of 100 Feet Road and CMH Road, has become a favourite joint for people in and around the area.

This spot was once a bushy enclosure and a hub of notorious activities. But now, it is a sprawling and delightful park, which has won the hearts of those who visit it. Morning walkers, children, youngsters, senior citizens and professionals feel that the park is a great place to unwind. The park was adopted and renovated by Cornerstone as a part of their CSR activity and it is also being maintained by them.

Ratna Kapur, who is 93 years old, is a regular visitor to the park. She says that the transformation of this spot has been astounding to watch. “This is a very popular park. People from different localities come here either to walk or for a quiet moment. This is one of the best parks that I have seen in the City. Although I have a big garden at home, I prefer to come here. The best part about the park is its green wall — it is a refreshing break from the concrete structures in the neighbourhood,” she says.

The green wall is, in fact, an amazing concept that has been incorporated in the park. Veronica Stevens, who was part of the design team behind it, explains that this green wall is only one of the unique features that the park houses. “The green wall — or the outdoor vertical garden — has a wide range of shrubs and plants. This has been created to highlight the need for more greenery in the City. With natural foliage, the ‘living wall’ improves the quality of air around it. The play area in the park has rubberised flooring, which provides children with a safe cushion.

The slides and swings are made with fibre and no metal has been used,” she says, adding, “when we decided to adopt the park and renovate it, it was a mess. There was hardly any illumination, the pathways were broken and a lot of garbage had been dumped here. It took us almost six months to renovate it. Our team of architects and landscape experts brainstormed for days to make it look like this.”

The park is full of exhibits that encourage people to stop and think about the environment. For instance, the squirrels’ nests that are placed on the branches of the trees in the park encourage visitors to revive the lost ecology of Bangalore, by providing homes for sparrows and squirrels in the heart of the City.

Suraj H Asrani, who heads the team of architects that worked on the park, says that the levels in the park were interesting and afforded them room to come up with something interesting. “The park is equipped with a rainwater-harvesting system, which is quite unheard of in a public space. We have tried incorporating small elements that can be replicated by the visitors of the park.

Also, we have made sure that there are no dark spots in the park by installing LED lights all over it. We have also put in a hundred-year-old tree root and an ancient monolith, to show citizens that such things should not be discarded,” he explains. He adds that the government authorities have done their bit too.

“Many experts from the horticultural department visited the park when we were planning to renovate it. They also gave us vital suggestions to preserve the local flora and fauna,” sums up Suraj.