Shahdad Bagh

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Shahdad Bagh is located on the banks of the famous Dal Lake at Fore Shore Road, Srinagar. This splendid historic orchard was bought by the Shahdad family from Karan Singh, son of Maharaja Hari Singh of J&K, around 1959. In size Shahdad Bagh is bigger than the famous Nishat Bagh and Shalimar Bagh of Srinagar spanning roughly 500 kanals of land on the shore of the famous Dal Lake. It is similar to these two marvelous Gardens in architecture and teraccing. The orchard has terraces and is walled all around by historic maharaji brickwork. There are domes at the corners of the orchard which may have served as houses for the soldiers. Historically this land is believed to be one of many gardens flourishing in the city of Srinagar from the Mughal era. It has three terraces, with the height of the terraces to be about as tall as 25 feet at some locations. The orchard is also home to some of the oldest surviving chinars in the city of Srinagar.

At the time the Shahdad Bagh was bought by the Shahdad Family, the elders of the family wanted to invest the capital they had in some important real estate property within Srinagar. As Mohammad Maqbool Shahdad recalled while driving over the Nigeen Bridge in 2006, about 50 years ago in the 1950s while he was driving on the same road in his Hillman Jeep alongwith his uncle Haji Mir Ahmedullah Shahdad, his uncle had a coverstion with him about the idea of the family buying the Nigeen Club. Ideas about buying the then unpopulated Raj Bagh area was also discussed but rejected based on the fact that it was a flood prone area. After a few years the family ended up buying the now known "Shahdad Bagh" from Karan Singh.

Different members of the Shahdad family own different portions of the Shahdad Bagh. The orchard is maintained by local bagwans (Gardners) who maintain the yearly process of growing fruit, irrigating and harvesting. Different kinds of fruits grow in the Shahdad Bagh including Apples, Pears, Peaches.

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