A Suitable Conversation: Ratish Nanda and Gillian Wright

On World Water Day 2025, that fell on the same day at Earth Hour 2025, At 4.30 pm on 22 March 2025, I had the honour to sit and listen to Mr. Ratish Nanda, CEO Aga Khan Trust for Culture as he talked about how my favourte Urban Park, The Sunder Nursery came to be. It was a topic I was really looking forward to hearing more about with the most curiousity.

In conversation with Mr. Ratish Nanda was Ms. Gillian Wright, Who is a translator and writer based in New Delhi. She has translated two classic novels of Hindi literature, Raag Darbari by Shrilal Shukla and A Village Divided by Rahi Masoom Reza, as well as a selection of the acclaimed short stories of Bhisham Sahni. Certainly, I was in for a treat and I wasn't disappointed as Gillian started by quoting a beautiful verse in Hindi.

पत्ता पत्ता बूटा बूटा हाल हमारा जाने है pattā pattā buuTā buuTā haal hamārā jaane hai

जाने न जाने गुल ही न जाने बाग़ तो सारा जाने है ! jaane na jaane gul hī na jaane baaġh to saarā jaane hai

That translates to

Each leaf and each plant knows my condition(plight)

only rose alone does not know what all the garden knows.

Sunder Nursery, a sprawling green expanse in the heart of Delhi, holds layers of history within its verdant embrace. Thanks to Post-independence, it drifted into a quiet slumber, a stark contrast to its bustling present. Thanks to the insightful writings of Alick Percy- Lancaster, particularly his "Garden Chat" newsletter, we get a glimpse into the Nursery's earlier days, a time before its transformative revival. Alick Percy-Lancaster significantly contributed to the horticultural development of New Delhi. He laid out the Sunder Nursery in Delhi, with Humayun’s Tomb as its backdrop. Apart from seeds and saplings, the nursery delivered flowers and fresh fruits and vegetables to order during that period. At present, this nursery is also a major source of ornamental plants for the entire city.

The turning point arrived on July 12th, 2007, with the intervention of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, spearheaded by Ratish Nanda. At the heart of this revitalization was a pressing need: the Barapulla elevated road was slated to cut through the Nursery, threatening its very existence. Restoration became the shield against demolition.

Three key factors underscored the choice of Sunder Nursery: its grand scale, the opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of social-heritage connections through restoration, and the urgent need to address ecological, park, and nursery functions to save this urban space.

Landscape

Mohamad Shaheer, the landscape architect, designed this new city park along a central axial spine around which gardens and landscapes are arranged. From formal gardens to informal settings for families to enjoy picnics, the park will offer a variety of recreational and cultural venues. Water features, ponds and lakes are part of the master-plan, which includes nursery beds, a flower showcase, arboretum, rose garden and orchards. The masterplan aimed at achieving a truly urban scale, deriving inspiration from the traditional Indian concept of congruency between nature, garden and utility coupled with environmental conservation.

Sunder Nursery now serves as Delhi’s first arboretum with AAA tree species, the largest for any Delhi parks. A contiguous stretch of dense green cover across Sunder Nursery continues on to the adjoining National Zoological Park and the Batashewala Complex, providing a protected bird habitat for the ground nesting national bird, the Peacock.

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Embracing sustainability, the restoration became a zero-waste endeavor, repurposing materials from the Humayun’s Tomb complex to level pathways. A sophisticated rainwater harvesting system, reaching depths of 1.6 meters, replenished the water table, demonstrating a commitment to ecological balance.

Central to the Nursery's revival were its three diverse water bodies, each meticulously designed to foster unique ecosystems. Aeration, algae control, and mud bottoms were carefully managed, proving, as Ratish Nanda aptly put it, that "nature just needs a little encouragement to recover."

The Nursery's vibrant flora plays a crucial role in its ecological health. Bees thrive on mustard and poppy blooms, while these same plants create unintentional bird corridors, attracting species like redstarts and Siberian stonechats, as observed by Gillian.

Gillian’s observations highlighted the delicate interplay of nature within the Nursery. The early breeding of Indian spot-billed ducks in January, triggered by unseasonably heavy rain, led to vulnerable chicks falling prey to crows, a poignant reminder of nature's raw realities. It also shows the urgent need to have more spaces like Sunder Nursery so that our dear capital city can lead at the front and model that cities can be hotspot for helping mitigate climate change. As IUCN put it, Well-managed urban areas can support rich biodiversity, with many species rapidly adapting to the built environment. Green and blue infrastructure can also cost-effectively enhance the liveability, sustainability, and resilience of cities, but it suffers from chronic underinvestment.

From a sleepy relic to a bustling biodiversity hotspot, Sunder Nursery stands as a testament to the power of thoughtful restoration and a deep respect for nature. It's a place where history, ecology, and community converge, offering something for everyone who steps within its verdant gates.