An excursion is always full of pleasure, fun, frolic, expectations and excitement. Once our class went on an excursion. The destination was the pleasure Wardens of Injure in Haryana. We were 30 students in all. We were very excited and made great preparations for the occasion. At last the appointed day came and we boarded a chartered luxury bus.
We reached Injure early in the morning. It was a beautiful, pleasant and fascinating morning. The cool and fragrant breeze was very refreshing and so were the natural scenes all around, bathed in the golden light of the rising sun. The various birds were chirping, which had turned the place into a veritable fairyland. It was quite a new and unforgettable experience for all of us.
We performed a night journey from New Delhi to Injure via Carnal, Tambala and Chandigarh. The journey was very comfortable. As it was undertaken during night, much of the time was spent in dozing, sleeping, talking and gossiping. On the way to Injure we had 3 brief halts for tea and refreshments at road side restaurants. The Injure Wardens are located at the beautiful\foothills of Chivalric Mountains. The place is 20 kames from Chandigarh and 12 kames from Kaka. Kaka lays 12 kames beyond Injure on the way to Sheila. The superb scenic beauty and splendor of the place has been a centre of great attraction for domestic and foreign tourists, lovers of nature and fond travelers. The place attracts princes, saints, merchants, students, men, women, children and common folk alike. The history of the place goes back to the pre-historic times of the Mahabharata. It is said that in ancient times, the Pandora Princes came and stayed here for a long time. These were the days of their exile. They built a temple here and also constructed a bath this bath was specially built for the use of their queen and wife Draped. In the memory of this visit of the Panamas, the village came to be known as Manchuria or the village of the five. Injure is the corrupt form of Manchuria.
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We entered the gardens through a majestic gate. The gardens contain seven descending terraces with an ornamental water-way flowing down the centre. It is flanked by well laid out lawns and gardens. The gardens are full of a variety of fruit and flowering trees. Among the fruit trees are mangoes, chinos, custard apples etc. The flower beds present a great feast of colours to the eyes. We roamed through the gardens, walked on the dark green velvety lawns and enjoyed ripe chinos. We paid for the fruit. We played indoor games, gossiped, enjoyed sweets and napkins under the dark and cool shade of the trees. There were also many flowering creepers which had climbed up along the tree trunks to their tops. After a hearty lunch some of us enjoyed napping while others engaged themselves in games. It was ail full of much fun and frolic. Our group consisted of 5 close friends. One of us is a very good singer. Every now and then he delighted us with his melodious film songs. We also enjoyed so many jokes. Some of these would send us into a fit of loud laughter. I exposed a couple of films to capture the golden moments and scenes of the picnic and excursion.
These gardens in their present form were built by Naa Fidaikhan, the then governor of the Punjab. Then arrange ruled over India. Arrange was so fascinated by the scenic grandeur of the place that he at once decided to have a terraced garden as his pleasure resort. In no time the place was developed into a splendid garden with a fountain flowing through it. Overlooking the fountains and water course, there are three pleasure palaces-Sheets Mahal, Rang Mahal and Jail Mahal. The Sheet Mahan’s ceiling has numerous mirror-pieces encased on geometrical patterns. Its windows opening over the waterways offer a beautiful scene of the gardens.
Down the second terrace one reaches a large orchard halfway, with two large chambers on either side or artistically designed woodwork ceiling in the open hall in the centre. A flight of steps leads to the magnificent Abrader. This entire complex is called Rang Mahal. Its walls are decorated with paintings and artistic woodwork.
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The third terrace leads to the Jail Mahal. It is a cube like structure with a square fountain-bed and a plinth to sit down for fun and pleasure. The gushing fountains are a fascinating sight to behold and it is soothing cool to experience. Down the Jail Mahal along the terraces you reach a disc like open air theatre. It also has a mini zoo but we did not find it interesting. A Japanese garden with a pool is an additional attraction. The Japanese style wooden bridges and the undulating greens dotted with flower-beds and rockeries make it a charming place.
Our visit and excursion to the place was like a lovely dream come true. In the evening we returned to Chandigarh. We had hotel reservations there. It was an exciting and new experience which shall be ever remembered.