Remember, you’ve been warned, too. It’s not for the fainthearted, not for the bashful, not for the inhibited. [break]
The Garden of Dreams, euphemistically I guess, captures your quintessential romantic nature of a garden. Filled with an exquisite ensemble of pavilions, fountains, decorative garden furniture and European-inspired features such as verandas, pergolas, and birdhouses, it’s become the ideal dating spot.
So venture not unless you’re prepared to witness the bold and the brazen, or perhaps you are the bold and the brazen.
Personally, I expected to find a beautiful botanical garden adorned with exquisite specimens of exotic plants unique to Nepal. On the whole, I imagined I would be seeing lush greens that had a welcoming vibe with the capability to engage all visitors. But perhaps it fell short of my expectations, and what I was expecting in no way prepared me for what I was yet to see.
Entering through the tall, white walls and into the garden, I was quite happy to notice the contrasts between what were outside the wall and what lay inside.
A few steps instantaneously took me across time and space as the cramped-up city atmosphere eased out to a relaxing laidback one.
No doubt, the transformation was worth marveling at. And I too was utterly eager to have stepped in, especially given that it was my first time there.
But this excitement didn’t persist for long. As I made my way to a quiet cove near a fountain with rusted walls that added to the vintage appeal of the Garden of Dreams, I found myself as if reflexively turning away from the fountain and marching to the opposite direction.
This is when a dear friend’s voice rang in my head: “Be prepared to soak in all the love,” she had joked. All I had done then was shoo away her, what seemed at that time, baseless and banal idea. But oh my God, was she right! By the nice secluded enclave, a young couple was busy publicly displaying their affection for each other.
They mightn’t have been ashamed, but being more inclined to old-school thinking, I was shamed enough for the both of them.
Finally, for the first time, taking the time to scan through the place, I noticed that there was more to the Garden of Dreams than just the variety of floras it boasted to house. I noticed that more impudent teens were lined up, all snuggling up to each other.
My confident and swift walk soon changed to tiptoes filled with caution and fear as I browsed through the Garden hoping to see an array of magnificent plants. But all that met my eyes were what I very well hoped I would not see.
Alas, I wasn’t that lucky! Not a spot was spared from these young couples professing their love for each other in ways I would feel better off not seeing.
Of course, it’s no fun having to pen down these thoughts. In fact, it kind of makes me feel like the Grinch who never understood the mystique of Christmas.
However, I honestly feel that there’s a limit to public display of affection. What’s more is that I could completely see how the Garden could be interpreted into a blatantly inauthentic place.
While it’s understandable that being young and in love is perfectly natural –and we all know naïve love makes us do crazy things – but it’s beyond my understanding how willing the youngsters today have come to pushing the limits.
Moreover, this is in no way an excuse for ruining the potential of what can really be an oasis for sober people to come to.
The beautiful Edwardian style-inspired design, which was once the private garden of the late Field Marshal Kaiser (Keshar) Shumsher JB Rana in the early 1920, has today become a neo-classical historical garden and is one of the places promoted by the Nepal Tourism 2011 campaign.
However, the whole charm of the Garden is reduced to much less than what it deserves to be praised about, I feel, solely because of these young couples adding almost a sleazy quality to the place.
What makes the environment more awkward is the fact that it draws people from diverse backgrounds, each with a different purpose. And given the relatively small space, I couldn’t help but feel that these different interests were being clashed – young children who just wanted to play around, tourists who wanted to explore the place, people who were looking for an oasis to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
So no, it’s not only the lovey-dovey people who find their oasis there; a lot more people with completely solemn intention also go there. But it’s these couples who create and spread the uneasy vibes for all.
Another aspect this whole experience led me to ponder over was how Nepali teens today are growing up. As far as I’ve been aware, Nepal has never really been an open society wherein any form of public display of affection has been spared from condemnation.
More striking still was the fact that a place like the Garden of Dreams that apparently had an implicit message attached behind the venue was being able to draw on a lot of Nepali customers. And what escapes me is how on earth the caretakers of this place could be so apathetic towards these couples in a public place?!
All you romantics out there don’t get me wrong now. There’s nothing wrong with romance or dating or relationships, or even love, if I may.
However, all this at the expense of decency and maturity is a dangerous combination. And if credulousness is being mixed with youthfulness, then I say, please spare me the torture of your oozing teenagy love and go get a room!
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Garden of Dreams (photo feature)
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