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| Distant View of the Ambedkar Memorial Park |
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| Rows of elephants |
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| Inside view of the domed structure |
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| Dr. Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sangrahalay |
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| Bronze statue of Dr. Ambedkar in Ambedkar Sthupa |
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| Shri Jyoti Rao Phule |
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| Shri Birsa Munda |
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| Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar |
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| Mayavati |
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| Buddha |
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| Shri Kanshiram |
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| Sant Kabir Das |
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| Bronze Murals |
Lucknow has
a rich cultural heritage with many historic monuments, gardens and famous
parks. Everywhere one can see greenery with shady trees and spacious parks. nearly there are one hundred parks such as Gautam Buddha park, Dr.Ram Manohar Lohia Park, Janeshwar Mishra Park, Swarna Jayanti Smriti Vihar Park, Chandrasekhar Azad Park etc. The
Nawabs of Awadh beautified this city with many gardens, palaces and mosques.
During my short stay there I had an opportunity of visiting the Ambedkar
Memorial Park, a public park and memorial in Gomti Nagar. Ms. Mayavati, the former Chief
Minister and leader of B.S.P. established this park with many monuments and
pillars to represent the democratic ideals of social reformers and noble persons who worked for the upliftment
of Dalit people. The foundation stone for this memorial park was laid in 1995. It
was called Dr.Bhimrao Udyan. Construction and development work continued up to
2002 and the park was re-named as Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar Memorial. In 2007 it was
further renovated and developed. On April 14, 2008 the park was opened to the
public. Finally in 2012 the park was re-named as Bhimrao Ambedkar Memorial. Red
sandstone from Rajasthan was used for this megalithic construction. Nearly seven
billion rupees were spent to build this lofty monument which has become the
pride and glorious symbol of this city.
Unlike other parks, here one does not find
much greenery and gigantic trees. So we don’t find any shelter if it suddenly
rains. It would be better if the authorities have set up some shelters for
visitors to protect themselves from intense heat of summer and rainy showers.
You will see a very spacious land of 107 acres with a broad stretch of road
flanked by sixty-two stone elephants on either side at the main entrance. This
spot is called “Pratibimb Sthal”. Priority is given to statues of elephants as
the elephant is the election symbol of Mayavati’s Bahujan Samaj Party and also
of Ambedkar’s Republican Party. Nearly three thousand elephant figures are seen in this grand construction. In the center of the park there is a massive
musical fountain. It stands as a symbol of Dalit empowerment and dignity.
On the left side of the park one can see a
huge building called Ambedkar Sthupa located on a mound. Inside the Sthupa one
can see a big bronze statue of Ambedkar seated in a chair. At the base of the
statue a message in Hindi is engraved which means “My struggle of life is my
only message.” Many statues are seen depicting the life of Ambedkar. In
Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Sangrahalay spread over 2.5 acres, one can see a
monument with two domes. Under one building one can see the statues of eminent
social reformers like Jyothi Rao Phule, Shri Narayana Guru, Dr.Ambedkar, Kanshi
Ramji and Rajarshi Chatrapati Shahuji Maharaj . In the second building the
marble statues of Gautam Buddha, Sant Kabir Das, Sant Ravi Das, Guru Ghasi Das
and Sri Birsa Munda are seen. This monument is an objective representation of
equality, humanity and social justice.
In Drashya Sthal one can see an eighty- foot
tall pyramid structure with water flowing from its top. From here one can have
a panoramic view of the whole park with its monuments and pillars spread around.
In Dr.Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Gallery spread over four acres one can see
many bronze murals. It would better serve the purpose of spreading the ideals and message of Ambedkar and other leaders if a gift shop is set up there where one can buy books, photos and souvenirs that contain the teachings and messages of these noble personalities. This park is open from 11.00 a.m. to 9.00 p.m. on all days
except on Monday. This park was under the supervision of the Lucknow Development
Authority.
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28th November, 2019 Somaseshu Gutala
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