Yesterday's Star of Mysore, an evening daily published from Mysore shows the newly built but yet to be inaugurated main gate of the Brindavan Gardens at the KRS dam. This gate is the alternate approach to the Gardens after the main gate, which once used to allow traffic on the dam itself, was closed a few years ago for security reasons. I feel that security concerns apart, this was a good move simply because of the fact that the old approach had become rather inconvenient to handle the two - way movement of both vehicles and pedestrians on the narrow road atop the dam.

Like many government built structures and buildings which wait patiently, sometimes for many months or even years for a suitable VIP, from the good books of the government to inaugurate them, this massive new gate too is perhaps on this strange waiting list. Meanwhile, because the Gardens themselves cannot be left unutilized as a tourist attraction and a source of revenue, visitors and tourists are being allowed inside through an alternate entrance just alongside the hitherto unopened one. The whole arrangement seems like a sick joke but even as a few like me laugh over it, bureaucracy has to be respected in our country which is famous for its red - tapism.

I fail to understand why every little thing done by the government, already at a much escalated cost, has to go through the formality of an inaugural function at a further loss of public money before the public can start using it. In the not so distant years that have gone by, only very important industries and projects like major dams or hydro - electric power stations used to be inaugurated by some VIPs and dedicated to the nation. Now it does not matter even if it is something as trivial and as basic as a subway, a much used but re-named road, a drinking water kiosk or just a public toilet. The government can never allow it to be used before it has beaten its drums and blown its trumpets while the rest of the world laughs at our silly pompousness. Getting back to the once world famous Gardens themselves which we all used to enjoy visiting in the good old past and which we used to proclaim as one of the best sights to see in the vicinity of our city they have to be seen now before those who have seen them in their better days, can believe how bad things can get.

I had not visited the place for a very long time and when I went there, about a month ago in the company of some guests from Mumbai, I was simply shocked by what I saw. Earlier it used to be a fairyland like place with extremely well - laid out and well - maintained Gardens and colourful fountains that used to maintain perfect symmetry. Except for the couple of shops that used to sell some snacks near the boating pond the whole place was largely free from any kind of commercial activities which used to ensure the kind of tranquility that any visitor would expect at such a beautiful spot.

Now all along the route to the Garden from the parking place, there are rows and rows of shops selling all kinds of fancy trinkets, footwear and eatables, making it look like some kind of a garish village fair. There are even stalls selling fried fish which naturally make the place very smelly and sickening, especially for vegetarians. As a consequence of this “development”, the whole place is littered with garbage that overflows even onto the lake which is literally choked with it. The Gardens do not show any signs of maintenance whatsoever and even the fountains are completely out of synch with each other. The whole place which once used to be brightly lit is now so dark with almost no ambient lighting that it is very dangerous even to simply stroll there. Many of the lighting fixtures have fallen down and lie unrepaired. I felt sad that heartless greed and bureaucratic apathy had reduced what was once a sight for sore eyes to an eyesore.

While I have no complaints about the vehicle parking fee being collected which is justified, even visitors to the Royal Orchid Hotel inside, who never use the parking place meant for the Garden, are made to cough it up by goons of the contractors despite protests. The authorities would do well to put up a board at all the toll booths stating that visitors to the hotel need not pay this fee. Now, this hotel was once one of the guest houses of our Maharajas along with the Lalitha Mahal and the majestic Metropole Hotel in the heart of the city. Perched atop the most elevated point of the south bank, it has a very imposing presence that lends grandeur to the Gardens it overlooks. In the past it used to be my favourite destination whenever I escorted any guests to KRS and its majesty and its cuisine used to impress them as much as the Gardens themselves. Sipping coffee, while seated in the deep wicker sofas in its semicircular foyer late in the evening was always a magical experience, even long after the lights and fountains had gone to sleep. Thankfully, nothing of this charm is lost yet as I discovered during my last visit.

It was my childhood dream to stay overnight in this place and somehow it never materialized until very recently when I could spend a weekend there with my family. My sorrow over what has happened to the fairy tale Gardens seemed a little assuaged that at least this one charm was intact. The place has not even lost its musty old world smell that is somehow characteristic of all the wood, brick and mortar buildings of the colonial era. However, some of the ornate wooden staircases at the two ends of the building have been heartlessly sawn off in half to make convenient modifications for present day use. I do not know at what stage this has happened as the management of the hotel has changed hands more than twice as far as my knowledge goes.

Interestingly, not very long ago, when I was cleaning one of the book shelves in my house, I happened to find it lined by a very old newspaper that had turned brown. With my strange habit of doing some of the oddest things, when I glanced through it I found that it carried the news of the mysterious death of one of the sons of the famous writer Sir Arthur Conon Doyle, in a room of this hotel. Since the portion of the page which carries the date and year was missing, I am not able to throw much light on when this incident occurred. From the rest of the news items that were there alongside I have surmised that the year was perhaps 1957. The world wide net too was not of any help. If there is a Sherlock Holmes among the readers, he or she may be able to throw more light on this event. Otherwise you will have to wait till I get my chance to meet Sir Arthur himself and tell you when it happened!