Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Udyan / Phool Bagh (

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

: गणेश शंकर विद्यार्थी उद्यान / फूल बाग़, कानपुर ), ''earlier'' Queen's Park, is an urban

city park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to res ...

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation ( help· info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military station ...

, the industrial hub of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

in North

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. It has been the location for many public meetings and political rallies in Kanpur from the early twentieth century. Kanpur Sangrahalaya

Importance

The original greenery of the park has been restored after local Development Authority has leased the park on BOOT basis to private developer. Beautiful landscaping gives a lush green look to the park. Witness to major political rallies earlier, park is now not open to such events. A 150 feet high mast Indian National Flag has been hoisted in 2017 by JCI Kanpur-adding glory and attraction to the park.

History

Queen Victoria Park

During the reign of Queen Victoria in Britain, the park was named as Queen Victoria Garden.

King Edward King Edward may refer to: Monarchs of England and the United Kingdom * Edward the Elder (–924) * Edward the Martyr (–978) * Edward the Confessor (–1066) * Edward I of England (1239–1307) * Edward II of England (1284–1327) * Edward III o ...

ruled Britain from 1901 to 1910. In 1876, as the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

, he had been the first

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

royal prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

to visit India on a state visit, after the control of India passed from the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sout ...

to the

British Crown The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...

. During this trip to India, he had visited Kanpur as well.

Gandhi Bhawan

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

s who had settled in Cawnpore, felt the need for a European style amusement center in Cawnpore. On the death of King Edward in Britain, the hall was initially established as a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of ...

to commemorate his 1876 visit to Cawnpore and was named as K. E. M Hall. The

funds Funding is the act of providing resources to finance a need, program, or project. While this is usually in the form of money, it can also take the form of effort or time from an organization or company. Generally, this word is used when a firm uses ...

for the park were collected from European traders settled in Kanpur and

n merchants. The K.E.M. (King Edward Memorial) Hall was initially planned as a

wooden Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

dancing floor for Western style, ball room dancing. Due to outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

in 1914, construction of the hall was interrupted. There was a regular hospital in Kanpur Cantonment for

soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

injured in the

World War A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I, Worl ...

. As the facilities in this hospital were not adequate, the K.E.M. Hall was temporarily used to house wounded World War I British soldiers in the temporary hospital inside KEM Hall. The hall construction was completed after the end of World War I in 1918. It was used by European

settler A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settl ...

s in India for cultural activities. Occasionally it was rented to rich Indian merchants for marriage ceremonies. After independence in 1947, KEM Hall was renamed as Gandhi Bhawan. A part of this Gandhi Bhawan now houses a

Municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

library and the

Kanpur Sangrahalaya Kanpur Sangrahalaya / Kanpur Museum ( Hindi: कानपुर पुरातत्व संग्रहालय) is the official museum in Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city ...

/ Kanpur Museum.

Location

The park is located in the central area of Kanpur city and is close to right bank of river

Ganga The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

Kanpur Central Kanpur Central (formerly known as Cawnpore North Barracks, station code: CNB) is a central and junction railway station in the city of Kanpur and is one of the five central Indian railway stations. It is third busiest in country after Howrah ...

railway station, LIC Building and

Nana Rao Park Nana Rao Park / Company Bagh (Hindi: नाना राव पार्क / कम्पनी बाग़, कानपुर ) is a public city park in Kanpur, the industrial hub of Uttar Pradesh, India, built after Indian independence in ...

Attractions

( Kanpur Museum ) is located in the park ground. * Cawnpore Union Club is located inside the precincts. * A water pumping station supplying

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ...

to Kanpur residents is located inside the grounds. * An enclosed sewage dumping ground has been created inside the park by the Kanpur Municipal Corporation authorities. * It is located close to

* A 150 feet high mast National Flag has been hoisted herein by JCI Kanpur on December 03rd,2017-tallest such structure by a private group of persons.

Historical awareness

People like

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure ...

, Indira Gandhi,

Ram Manohar Lohia Ram Manohar Lohia ; (23 March 1910 – 12 October 1967) was an activist in the Indian independence movement and a socialist political leader. During the last phase of British rule in India, he worked with the Congress Radio which was broadcast s ...

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...

have given public speeches inside this park.

Maintenance and sponsors

Now the park is not given to politicians for rallies.

References

{{Kanpur Kanpur Tourist attractions in Kanpur Gardens in Uttar Pradesh History of Kanpur Indian independence movement in Uttar Pradesh