Mirza Ismail's 'third places'

His vision for parks, green sanctuaries, and accessible open spaces remains relevant

Over the years, Bengaluru has been known by various names, each representing a different stage of the city’s evolution. One name that remains deeply etched in our collective memory is “Garden City,” an ode to the city’s ecological heritage and its many gardens. While gardens and parks were added to the city by different administrators, from Hyder Ali to the British Government, none of these green spaces were originally intended for the common people’s leisure and recreation. However, today, Cubbon Park and Lalbagh fulfil that very purpose.

One visionary who had a dream similar to this for Mysore was Sir Mirza Ismail during his tenure as Dewan of Mysore from 1926 to 1941. While he is widely recognised for his role in modernising the state of Mysore, his vision for cities, parks, and municipal administration often goes unnoticed. His autobiography, My Public Life, includes a dedicated chapter on city amenities in which he speaks about the need for recreational spaces like parks and gardens.

Mirza Ismail’s vision remains relevant today, as the government recently announced plans for different large parks, aiming to create ‘Mini Cubbon Parks’ away from the city. This initiative is commendable and aligns with Mirza Ismail’s ideas about city administration and public spaces.

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There is no doubt that parks and gardens help conserve green cover within the city and secure biodiversity. However, Mirza’s true advocacy was for every citizen’s right to recreation.

In his autobiography, Mirza Ismail highlights three important aspects of parks and recreation. Firstly, he urged Indian cities to draw inspiration from European cities like London and Paris and create more public open spaces. He critiqued Indian cities for lacking sufficient parks where people could simply rest, asserting that public parks might not be “important amenities”
but were “necessary for a
full and happy life.” According to him, municipalities should prioritise building parks and increasing open spaces rather than erecting concrete buildings.

Secondly, he narrated the story of the fairy fountain in Cubbon Park, which came into existence through the sponsorship of the Maharani of Bajang in exchange for care for her pet parrot at Lalbagh. Although the parrot never resided in Lalbhag, the fountain remained, providing enjoyment to countless people on Sunday evenings. He emphasised the government’s responsibility to ensure that people have access to free recreational facilities and spaces for leisure. Such publicly maintained parks and open spaces are important to provide an escape for those whose lives are burdened by everyday expenses.

Thirdly, he advocated for tree-planting initiatives at factories and educational institutions, where people can rest in the shade during breaks. He also thought it was necessary to attach scientific and common name labels to trees and plants to increase awareness of biodiversity.

Recreation and rest shouldn’t be privileges. Mirza Ismail’s ideas about government-sponsored and maintained public spaces for rest and recreation, as well as tree planting in institutional spaces, are profound. They should become integral to our understanding of urban spaces. We must recognise that cities are not just places for earning livelihoods but also for resting and recuperating from daily struggles. This basic need shouldn’t become an economic privilege.

In the 1980s, Ray Oldenburg, an urban sociologist, coined the term “third places” for such spaces that had neither workplaces nor homes. He argues that such informal spaces are necessary for people to socialise. This is similar to the idea that Mirza Ismail proposed about the need for recreation.

Moreover, various communities for various leisure activities have sprung up consistently across and around Cubbon Park, demonstrating the sense of community such spaces provide. These spaces also help immigrants to the city find new communities that can help them navigate a new city and its quirks. Ensuring that such spaces exist for the public to access greatly improves their quality of life.

Bengaluru has gone from having nearly 70% urban green cover to just 7% in the last five decades. While this is a consequence of fast-paced urbanisation, it’s equally a consequence of prioritising cement infrastructure over other forms of infrastructure. It is this narrow understanding of infrastructure and development within governance that has led to the constant cutting down of trees and not having enough parks in the city.

Therefore, while the government’s initiatives to increase green spaces are much appreciated, they need to be spread across the city to bring us closer to Mirza Ismail’s dream and vision for the future. Because, it’s safe to say, we haven’t come
close to realising it in the last seven decades.

(The writer is a research
fellow at Vidhi Centre for
Legal Policy)