RAJPUT INFLUENCE 255 



prosper without the divine twins, the white 

 Hanas, the ducks or swans of good fortune, 

 swimming on its pools, and the butterflies of 

 good luck, the souls of the departed, hovering in 

 bliss over the flowers. 



Many fresh and charming ideas stepped into 

 the Mughal gardens with the first Rajput queen. 

 But the greatest change the Hindu influence 

 wrought was the introduction of the moonlight 

 garden ; the change from the sunlit Turki gardens, 

 with the glory of their blended parterres and red 

 rose alleys, to moonlight Indian gardens of dark 

 trees, white flowers, white paths, perfumes, 

 and lights. The Hindu pleasance is planned 

 essentially for evening enjoyment. Not that 

 the Mughals failed to see the beauty of night. 

 Babar, who so loved the glowing rings of the 

 camp fires, had his Mahtab Bagh, one may be 

 sure. But the Indian flowering trees being at 

 their best in the hot weather and the rains, 

 especially when the cool evening breeze brings 

 out their perfume, Hindu ladies until recently 

 rarely entered their gardens except at night. 



In the fierce hot weather of the Central Indian 

 plains the advantages and charms of the old 

 baghs, with their cascades and swimming pools, 



