Smriti van!

kapoor chandra smriti van is located on JLN marg -one of the best roads of jaipur.

it is spread over 108 acres in the city itself - approx. 5 km from the center of the city.It is a bio diversity forest.it

was thrown open to the public few months back.the concept was funded by the rajasthan patrika group, and hence named after the

founder of the rajasthan patrika - Mr kapoor chandra kulish.The huge hoarding outside the entrance bears his picture.the park

is a joint venture between Jaipur Development Authority and dept. of forest.

Smriti van(SV) is open to public from 6AM to 5PM.

smriti van is not really lush with greenery. rather it is an amalgamation of old trees with lot of new plantation.new

plantation includes lots of shrubs, creepers, flowers and few trees as well. one cannot fail in noticing that almost all

trees are not new plantation except for many of "champa" trees which one can find in abundance. the old trees are basically

the ones that grow in semi arid region and can be found in abundance all over rajasthan -khejra trees.these trees have very

small leaves and sports thorns. they are not great on providing shade but are basically "low maintenance" tree and don't need

much care.may be in another 2-3 years SV will be really lush sporting lots of trees and shrubs.

A lot of effort has gone in landscaping the existing forest land.The landscaping has given it a beautiful touch.I would like

to appreciate all the effort and resources spent in landscaping this huge area.There are interesting names given to various

areas inside this forest - vasundhra van, juhi valley, lotus pond, peacock garden,vrindavan valley etc.

SV also has a bio diversity museum built inside, which is right on the entrance.the building is quite pretty and has few

rooms. currently, the museum has only pictures of birds, animals and trees.so, one really can't claim this to be a museum. At

the best, this can be termed as a gallery!!It would be a better idea if there was lot more information on the trees, birds

and flowers found inside the forest, which would be really meaningful and make the visit worth while!

It is interesting to note that SV attracts basically few morning walkers and joggers early in the morning (not in evenings,

as it closes at 5 PM, which is too early by all standards!).Apart from that it attracts only love birds!!! why? SV is not

very popular amongst the city people due to many reasons- which i will list little later.so, this provides much needed

seclusion.landscaping also provides privacy from prying eyes.the forest is spread over vast area giving one all the space

needed.This makes it a ideal place for love birds.One can spot love birds even at the noon in peak summers, sitting under the

shade!!!

The forest is maintained by lot of staff people and can be seen working through out the day.In this manner the efforts taken

are great and are appreciable.

so why is it still not popular amongst the city people? I think these are the reasons:


1.There is hardly any garden except for the area marked -yogasthal.

2.The forest still lacks greenery.

3.because this has been landscaped and covers huge area, people feel unsafe.

4.It has not been promoted in any way.

5.The timings during which it is open are quite odd - it closes at 5 PM -since it is maintained by forest dept!


there have been instances of wild animals venturing in this area in the night!!



while inside the forest, one cannot hear any vehicle noise ar anything that reminds you of being in the city.It is impossible

to think of such places in most of cities.It is a ideal getaway for those seeking peace and solitude.It is also great for the

picnics!

all in all, SV is a great effort in the right direction.while maintaing green cover right in the city with all the new plantation and landscaping.