Dilkusha Bagh (Punjabi: دلکشا باغ, literally The Engaging Garden or The Charming Garden) is an old date orchard in Bhakkar District of Punjab, Pakistan. It is believed to be a Mughal garden built by Humayun or Akbar. However, Humayun never visited the area. On his retreat to Safavid Empire, he went to another Bakhar in Sindh to seek help from Mahmood Khan, but this route was rejected by Major Henry Raverty as the possible retreat of Humayun.
Dilkusha Bagh is home to hundreds of rare date cultivars, along with its common Basra dates. Efforts are being made by district government and Agriculture Department of Punjab to preserve these hundreds of rare date cultivars.
History
Very little is recorded about this orchard, the official district record states:
In the western city of Bhakkar, there is an Indus river flowing, on whose bank lies this old orchard, Dilkusha Bagh, which was constructed right in between the trade route by the Princess Mehr-un-Nissa, the daughter of Mughal Shah Jahangir. During their journey they made a well on that spot, whose water turned out to be extremely sweet. They stayed there for a long period and built an orchard on this spot and built two thrones to sit on them whose remains can still be seen today. During their stay a very precious horse of one of the Mughal sardars died in whose memory a building was built on the horse's grave, remains of which can still be seen on the eastern side of the orchard.
One of the later works from the 18th century gives an idea about the Orchard as there were no other major orchards except Dilkusha Bagh, in this region, in the 18th century. The Imperial Gazetteer of India mentions the Orchards of Bhakkar as follows:
The neighbouring riverain is full of date groves and fruit gardens; and in it stands a famous mango-tree, the fruit of which used to be sent to Kabul in the old days of Afghan rule.
See also
References
- "Bhakkar District Official Website". Archived from the original on 2016-11-28. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
- Aslam, Rana Aamir (2019). "Old garden gets second chance at glory". The Express Tribune.
A sprawling ground for Basra date palm trees ... there are hundreds of rare palm trees in the orchard ... the district administration is taking all possible steps to provide facilities in the orchard. "We are also trying our best to renovate the garden in order to provide the best atmosphere for these rare palm trees. In this regard, we have also taken services from the Agriculture Department, ... Work is also underway to protect the rare breed of palm and to make it even better ... More of these rare palm trees will be planted here ..."
- The Text is taken from the Information Board on the Entrance of the Orchard placed by the District Government Body
- Bhakkar Town – Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 8, p. 44
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