The sun is soft and the tree leaves rustle in the breeze. Senior citizens occupying the newly erected benches soak in the balmy weather even as carefree children prance around. Mothers, mostly burqa-clad, and lathi-wielding watchmen keep eagles’ eyes on the buoyant boys lest they pluck the blooming flowers.
One has never seen the BMC owned Padmakar Tukarama Mane Garden at Nagpada in such fine fettle. Ever since the garden opened in its new avatar recently, the footfall has increased. From the high gate to its manicured lawns, from the paved path to the open children’s recreation and women’s exercise zones, every facility in the garden is irresistibly usable. “It was a garden no doubt and many facilities like swings and study centre were there, but they needed to be revamped. I could do it because the garden management cooperated,” said local corporator Rais Shaikh, who initiated the redevelopment.
Before local NGO Educational and Welfare Foundation (EWF) adopted it in 2005—the BMC had begun adoption of sick public gardens then—this place used to be a den of druggies and anti-social elements. “We banished the druggies and put in many facilities. However, Rais Shaikh has done a commendable job by getting it transformed,” says EWF’s president Aziz Makki.
Activist and member of the foundation’s executive committee, Farid Ahmed Khan, grew up in Nagpada. “I know how shabby the garden was. This is the biggest open place in this densely-populated area, where people live in 10X15ft chawl rooms and don’t have proper open spaces to spend time in. This garden’s redevelopment was badly needed,” says Khan.
Perhaps the biggest draw at the 1.5-acre garden is its domeshaped botanical garden named after Bi Amma, mother of Ali Brothers (Khilafat Movement leaders and freedom fighters Maulana Mohammed Ali and Shaukat Ali). The entrance to the dome carries a plaque with Bi Amma’s short biography. Mahatma Gandhi was among those who admired her courage and role in the Khilafat and noncooperation movements of the 1920s. The slogan ‘Boli Amma Mohammed Ali ki, jaan dedo Khilafat pe beta (Mohammed Ali’s mother said son, give your life for Khilafat)’ had galvanised thousands in those turbulent times. A board here justifiably carries this evocative slogan, which is a tribute to the feisty Bi Amma, who had not only sent her two sons to Aligarh for higher studies, but also worked for India’s freedom.
GREEN GREEN GRASS OF OWN: P T Mane Garden, associated with the freedom struggle, has received a richly-deserved upgrade
