VERINAG – It was a place beloved for both Mughal emperor Jehangir and his queen Nur Jehan. The pair is inextricably united with the romance and invasive charm of this beautiful slice of the Vale of Kashmir, filled with balmy breezes whispering sweet nothings in the chinars and poplars, during the short spring and summer. Today, Nur Jehan’s meticulously planned garden (in close co-ordination with her royal spouse who was an avid botanist) is a shadow of its past glory with its pavilions in ruins and walkways an evocative reminder of the emperor and his queen strolling, across the sunny water courtyard, to the pool formed by the natural subterranean Verinag spring. This sacred spring is said to be the source of the Jhelum River which runs through Srinagar.

The octagonal structure embracing the pool around which the traditional char bagh pleasure garden and the grand royal residence was gathered was commissioned by Jehangir. The emperor was so enamoured by this serene spot, he expressed a serious desire to be buried here by this beautiful spring; but when he died while travelling in the mountains, because of the approaching winter, his mortal remains were taken away to be interred in Lahore instead. Today, picnicking families stream through the ruined garden with its flowerbeds and beautiful trees, its scattered remnants of the Shahjehan-era pavilions and royal baths, kids swim and dive in the waterway… others just stop and gaze upon the flash of sunlight on the pool’s icy turquoise water reflecting the graceful creamy arches of the surrounding cool and shadowed arcades. Look here for the inscriptions dating the complex to Jehangir’s days.

There’s not much left of the palace itself, but what there is offers a window to the splendour of its glory days. The quiet of the place invites you to sit down and ponder under the spreading chinar trees—while itinerant breezes, in heat of the approaching noon, bring you the evanescent scents snatched from the sprawl of roses in the flowerbeds. Read… take photos… paint watercolours… slip into a day dream of Mughal times—how appropriate is all this is in this lovely place. Exiting the Mughal complex one encounters the ancient shrine of Lord Shiva—the Nilanag temple, where Hindu devotees pay obeisance to this day, doing the parikrama of the sacred tank and feeding the fish.