The mighty chinars at Naseem Bagh, the University of Kashmir, hold beauty in all seasons, but their grace increases manifolds in autumn when their leaves spread like a crimson blanket all over the campus.
“Such scenic beauty is unique to this university and we keep waiting for the autumn for this purpose. The feeling of the university is incomplete without autumn,” says Saba Bhat, 23, who is pursuing post graduation in English.
Not only students, but hundreds of visitors also come to the Naseem Bagh campus to see the autumn in its full bloom.
“The beauty of the falling leaves here has no comparison,” says Nida Razaq, a former university student.
The golden leaves of the chinar in Kashmir are a metaphor for autumn. Located on the banks of the Dal Lake, hundreds of tourists come to Naseem Bagh to enjoy the season. “It is something you won’t see anywhere else in India. I saw its pictures on the social media and decided to visit Kashmir in autumn,” says Hemal Jha, a tourist from Pune.
It is believed that in the summer of 1635, Mughal emperors in Kashmir planted 1,200 saplings of chinar at the same time in the ‘Char Chinar’ pattern — four chinars in four corners of a rectangular piece of land — so that the person in the centre would be under shade at all hours of the day.
Later, the piece of land was named Naseem Bagh, which became a unique place for autumn lovers.
In 1950s, during the time of last Prime Minister of Kashmir Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, Naseem Bagh was handed over by the Dogra royal family to the civil administration for use as a university campus.
Golden Chinar leaves welcome tourists in Kashmir
