Aminul Gul pushes his kehwa cart through Srinagar each morning, but for months after April's Pahalgam attack, the tourists stopped coming. "I am the only earning member of my family," he says. "April is our bahar, the season of life and tourism in Kashmir, but that month, everything died for us."
Then, as autumn arrived and the season usually wound down, the government opened Bagh-e-Gul-e-Dawood — Asia's largest chrysanthemum garden. Spread across 100 kanals and holding more than 3 million blooming flowers, it arrived precisely when Kashmir needed it most.
"When Kashmir was struggling, this garden became a hope for me," Aminul recalls. "The day it opened, tourists slowly started coming again. I moved my cart outside the entrance, thinking maybe someone might stop by. I never expected such a change."
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Start Your News DetoxA Season Extended
By early October, Kashmir's gardens usually fade. Most flowers have finished blooming, and the Valley's tourism season contracts sharply. But chrysanthemums — known locally as Gul-e-Dawood — bloom until late November, a rhythm the Floriculture Department deliberately harnessed.
Feroz Ahmad Bhat, who worked at the earlier Tulip Garden, now works at Bagh-e-Gul-e-Dawood. "We spent one year preparing this garden," he says. "The introduction of these flowers extended the tourism season, because in winter flowers are usually not present."
World-renowned artist Zargar Zahoor examined the garden's design and found something distinctive. "This is the world's first garden where terraces have been maintained in a natural way," he said. "Surrounded by mountains on all sides, its beauty truly reflects why Kashmir is called the heaven on Earth."
The impact ripples outward. Parvez Alam, visiting from Delhi, noticed the difference immediately. "I've been to the Tulip Garden in spring, but seeing something like this in autumn is special," he said. "It's not just about flowers. It's about how every bloom seems to carry the spirit of this land — peaceful, strong, and full of life."
A Flower With History
The chrysanthemum arrived in Kashmir centuries ago, likely traveling the Silk Route from China. Locally, it carries deep meaning — a flower that blooms when others fade, symbolizing renewal and resilience.
Mehvish Mehraj, a Srinagar resident, felt that symbolism personally. "Usually, we associate this season with fading colours and falling leaves," she says. "But this garden feels like a return of life. The colours, the fragrance, everything here feels so full of warmth and hope. It's a reminder that beauty doesn't just belong to one season."
Mathoora Masoom, director of the Floriculture Department, frames the larger strategy plainly: "It catches the eyes of visitors and adds a fresh identity to Srinagar's landscape. Since chrysanthemums bloom till the end of November, we're not just beautifying the Valley — we're also extending the tourism season."
What began as a horticultural project has become something more intimate. The arrival of millions of chrysanthemums has revived movement, business, and conversation in a season once marked by silence — and it has given people like Aminul a reason to believe the morning will be kinder than the last.
