Renovated “Diwan-i-Khas” dating back to the Mughal era at the Shalimar Garden was thrown open to the residents here today.
It is located on the fourth terrace in the erstwhile “zenana” quarter of the garden. Ambassador of Germany Martin Ney inaugurated the first phase of Diwan-i-Khas.
He unveiled a plaque commemorating the project and also inaugurated the restored papier mâché ceilings inside the hall.
The restoration works were undertaken by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Kashmir Chapter, after it had received financial assistance from Germany.
The Shalimar Bagh was founded by Emperor Jahangir during a visit to Kashmir in the 17th century and the garden is on UNESCO’s tentative list of world heritage sites.
The Diwan-i-Khas is positioned in the middle of the terrace in a pool of water having 120 fountains.
Ney said Germany had funded 50 such projects in the country as part of its efforts to preserve the cultural heritage sites. He said since 1981, Germany had spent more than Rs 400 crore on 2,650 projects aimed to preserve cultural heritage in 144 countries.
The Ambassador while praising the beauty, handicrafts and heritage of Kashmir, assured that Germany would help in whatever possible way to preserve this treasure. He praised the workmanship of Kashmiri artisans and proposed that papier mâché designs at Shalimar Garden should be replicated in shawls and sold as souvenirs to tourists.
Education Minister Nayeem Akhtar thanked the German Ambassador for the help in the conservation project and said there was scope of more international cooperation for restoration of heritage sites. He further said Kashmir was “sitting on a goldmine of heritage sites”.
Renovated ‘Diwan-i-Khas’ at Shalimar thrown open to public
