Breathe in Lalbagh’s secrets at one of Abhishek Khan’s Fragrance Walks

Abhishek Khan’s Fragrance Walk through Lalbagh is a lesson in botany, birding and more

There is no denying that the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens in south Bengaluru is a favoured haunt for morning walkers, nature-loving locals and tourists. This sprawling garden is spread over 240 acres and houses close to 2,000 species of plants.

Apart from their famous biannual flower show, the gardens are popular for nature trails as well as activities such as bird watching. Did you know you can also participate in a Fragrance Walk each Sunday where you can immerse yourself in diverse scents ranging from fruity, floral and even spicy notes? Well, this is possible due to the efforts of 37-year-old Abhishek Khan who is also the creator of Lalbagh.info, a site that serves as a free guide for this spectacular garden.

The Fragrance Walk is a narrative experience meant to tell the stories of how botany has shaped the aromatic aesthetics of the western world. The walk features flowers and leaves which can be located in plain sight as one walks through the garden. Whether it is the fruity aroma of the frangipani vine or the mild fragrance of a golden gardenia or the citric notes of the bottlebrush tree, the walk is a treat for the senses.

“At a Fragrance Walk, we traverse through the garden, all the while smelling, tasting, touching and listening to what it has to say. This walk is always accompanied by a narrative where I talk about trees and plants that usually go unnoticed. I have curated a special set of trees, plants and botanical aspects that have an interesting story and shared context,” says Abhishek.

Previous walks, Abhishek says, covered the Botany of Alcohol and Mafia of House Plants. “I am currently on the Botany of Psychedelics. Lalbagh has each of these botanicals in plain sight whose stories are waiting to be discovered.”

In Botany of Alcohol, Abhishek talks about plants used to make spirits, apart from the popular ones, such as the fruit of the sausage tree, sea grapes, Mysore figs and the like. “Mafia of House Plants is about those botanicals associated with poaching which cause ecological disruption and extinction, while the Botany of Psychedelics covers the entheogenic use of botany by shamanic cultures.”

Abhishek says he weaves these narratives into the sensory experiences of the walk as he wants trees to be seen beyond their ornamental or nutritional value. During these walks, he also tries to teach people to read trees by breaking down features of their anatomy.