Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Udyan / Phool Bagh (

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

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

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

city park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and other incorporate ...

Kanpur Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...

, the industrial hub of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

in North

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. 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 leased the park on BOOT basis to private developer.

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 (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

, 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 fem ...

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 that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

to the

British Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

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

Gandhi Bhawan

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

s who had settled in Cawnpore, felt the need for a European style

amusement center A family entertainment center (FEC) in the entertainment industry, also known as an indoor amusement park, family amusement center, family fun center, soft play, or simply fun center, is a small amusement park marketed towards families with small ...

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 such as home ...

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 us ...

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 structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

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

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914, construction of the hall was interrupted. There was a regular

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

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, a warrant officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word ...

injured in the

World War A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all 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 ...

. 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 The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

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 or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

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 gov ...

library and the

Kanpur Sangrahalaya Kanpur Sangrahalaya (Hindi: कानपुर पुरातत्व संग्रहालय), also known as Kanpur Museum, is the official museum in Kanpur, the industrial hub of Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built by the British as King ...

/ 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 which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary riv ...

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.

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 or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

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 Nana Rao Park.

Historical awareness

People like

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

Ram Manohar Lohia Ram Manohar Lohia ( 23 March 1910 – 12 October 1967) was an Indian political activist of the Indian independence movement and a socialist politician. As a nationalist, he worked actively to protest against colonialism, raising awareness of th ...

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian poet, writer and statesman who served as the prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 ...

have given public speeches inside this park.

References

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