Time to remember the Lalbagh man

A book on the man who helped make Bangalore look pretty all through the year

Expert’s method: Gustav Hermann Krumbiegel is said to have conceptualised a ‘serial blossoming’ system for the city where it was never without a flowering tree. Many of these, such as the pink-flowered Tabebuia, however, are exotic to the country and were brought in from South America. File Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Bangalore's image as the Garden City owes much to German horticulturist Gustav Hermann Krumbiegel, the man who developed Lalbagh into what it is today and planned some of the best tree-lined avenues in the city.

He is a man the city would do well to remember at a time when trees are being felled without a second thought for various developmental projects.

Max Mueller Bhavan, in association with Visual Artists Collective, is bringing out an illustrated volume,

Whatever he touched, he adorned , a tribute to the legacy of the horticulturist who served as the Superintendent of Government Gardens in the erstwhile princely state of Mysore.

The volume pays tribute to his vision of urban ecology that can include nature as part of its heritage.

The book contains essays by experts exploring various aspects of his role in the history of the city and the lessons to be learnt in planning for the future.

There will be a panel discussion involving prominent public figures of the city and planning experts on Krumbiegel following the book launch.

This is part of a larger archival project called Bangalore Mapping.

The book launch and panel discussion is on February 11, 6.30 p.m., at Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan. For further details call 25205305/6/7/8.