Unending work at Amritsar’s Ram Bagh

PK Jaiswar in Amritsar

On the western side of the summer palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, known as Ram Bagh, the past and the present appear to collide: a photographer is unable to click his son with a beautiful baradari preserved by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in the backdrop. The spot is a favourite among professional photographers for pre-wedding shoots. 

The front side of the summer palace, located in the middle of the garden, has a huge iron frame proclaiming the restoration of the palace. Nobody wants that to come into the picture. “God knows how long this restoration will continue,” the photographer fumes. The structure is currently under the occupation of Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board (PHTPB) carrying out the restoration work for nearly a decade! 

Enter the sprawling garden, popularly called Company Bagh from Mall Road side, you’ll find beautiful pathways and parking spaces with modern floor tiles. The scene fades away when you near the historical summer palace. The shabby look around these structures leaves visitors and residents disappointed. The structures, already ‘preserved’ during the long restoration process, wear a pitiable look in the absence of care. A room of the Munshi Ghar (where staff of the Maharaja stayed) located on the western side of the complex has turned into an open lavatory. A pond near the main summer palace has dried up and is filled with garbage. 

Experts say the legendry Sikh ruler had many steps for the beautification of the holy city. Using the Mughal pattern in laying out gardens, he got many buildings and forts constructed in the city. Ram Bagh was constructed on the pattern of Shalimar Bagh in Lahore. After his death, the British renamed it as Company Bagh. The building housed deputy commissioner’s office. Later, it was converted into a museum. 

The Punjab government declared the whole complex as a ‘protected’ area in 1997. It was also declared a monument of national importance in 2004. Ideally it should have been handed to ASI. But even after the notification, the ASI does not have possession of the premises. It carried out conservation work only on the entrance gate, four watch towers, Hamamghar, small Baradari and Machhighar. The remaining structures lie with the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board. 

Starting from 2007, the PHTPB was to carry out the restoration work in a phased manner. Workers engaged in the work stumbled upon some resplendent frescoes in a room located on the terrace of the palace. The room had been locked for decades. The wall paintings display intricate floral patterns and episodes from the ‘Raas Leela’ of Lord Krishna. The priceless frescoes are an invaluable part of Punjab’s heritage. The frescoes are in a shambles. The conservationists have found an amazing 200-year-old earthen sanitation system during the intensive digging work.

Thanks to the short sightedness and vested short term gains of a minister of previous government, the survival of the ancient garden came under threat. The ASI repeatedly opposed the construction activities inside the historical garden in the name of beautification. But officials turned a blind eye. A controversy also erupted when Amritsar Improvement Trust handed a part of it to private players.

Dr Balvinder Singh, former Guru Nanak Dev University professor and conservation expert, says in the post-independence period, the garden has not received much importance. “Although it was declared a protected monument, many alterations have been made in and around it,” he said. 

AR Mishra, PHTPB project manager, says the preservation work of the summer palace has been completed from inside. “The department has allotted funds facilitating the conservation of outer facade of the structure.” He says the department is in the process of handing the preserved Munshikhana to the ASI. 

He says the government plans to reopen the museum inside the palace. The museum will have weapons of the Maharaja and his Sikh generals, he said.