Once A Luxurious Green Complex, Maharaja Surajmal Park Is Now In A State Of Decline

The sprawling, lush green Samadhi of Maharaja Suraj Mal (1707-63), the scion and shining star of the Jats of Bharatpur, lies right at the centre of the uptown Surajmal Vihar - hidden from view by the imposing Kempinski Hotel and largely unbeknownst to most nearby residents. Two squirrels, visibly in a great hurry, will accompany you inside the park and then run away out of your sight, leaving you alone to absorb the twin impressions of the expansive natural greenery, and human negligence.

The Grim Scenario

Picture Credits: Mohd Zahid

The park, built around the Samadhi, actually acts as an unfortunate camouflage around it. Lying in a state of utter disrepair, the potentially picturesque park has been reduced to a jogger's’ track by day and a drunkards’ haven by night.
What greets you upon entry is a sad view of decadence. A fountain complex that doesn’t work, a fallen tree now prey to maggots, a stray dog sniffing around a dead pigeon’s carcass and a few trespassing children plastering the side-walls with newly-learnt alphabets.

The prospect becomes greener and more cheery once you go further in. A few flowering trees, untainted greenery, pigeons grovelling in the mud for grains, and sounds of animated conversation from a group of elderly men under the benign shade of a tree. You also notice the family of the familiar prancing squirrels.

The Greenery Stays Afloat

Picture Credits: Travel Feels

A walk around the circumference of the park will make you marvel at the rich biodiversity found here. Ashoka trees line the joggers’ track while Peepul trees dot the rest of the park. Not very far from the Samadhi is an age-old Banyan tree with a few disfigured idols scattered carelessly at its feet. Birds form their own noisy clans on every tree, every bench, by the small dried lake, on the shrubberies of all heights and girth - largely undisturbed by the sounds of human activity.

Marked In Marble

Picture Credits: Praveen Dogra

The Samadhi itself is a polished black granite sarcophagus, neatly laid on marble and mosaic flooring, with a stringent barricade that prevents you going too near it. Only your friend, the squirrel can manage to pass through the bars and perch atop the stone, indifferent to history. You cannot help but wince at the bird droppings that lie splattered on the very body of the hard granite.

First Hand Info

Picture Credits: Mayank Sharma

At the far end of the park, you can find the frail care-taker and gardener. They complain about the irregular water supply, which explains the parched grounds with a sparse and sporadic grass cover. Are there any visitors to the Samadhi, we could not help but ask. Only canoodling couples who venture but a glance at the sarcophagus sends them packing, he says with a dry smile.

As you turn to go, you cannot help but look back at the Samadhi, of one who had most certainly been a great man - now but a hollow signifier to name roads and bridges and tanks and parks - lying indifferent, amid genteel dereliction.

The few boys playing amateur cricket, and occasionally trying to hit a stray bird or the curious squirrel, cheer uproariously as a wicket falls. That and the distant din of a woodpecker, unquestioningly doing its duty by the tree trunk, cheer you up. You feel glad to have come. As you make your way out of the rusted gate, determinedly making a mental note to talk about the place to your friends, you catch a sight of the squirrel carrying home a nut that dropped from a tree.

For a slice of peace and a break from the monotony of life, come drop by here sometime, once it’s safe to do so!

Where | Maharaja Surajmal Park - In Surajmal Vihar