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Landscaping,
in-thing on college campuses
It helps them sell their institution, and create
a salubrious ambience for academic pursuits, writes KARTHIK MADHAVAN |
 LUSH GREEN, well-manicured grass drapes the undulating terrain.
Shrubs and ornamental plants, in varying shades of green complement
it and flowering plants only add to the beauty. And, topping it
are fountains, terracotta figures and artificial cascades.
A walk on such a terrain on a moon lit evening with the receding
orange on the western horizon will be an ideal holiday spot. Hey,
wait. This is not a resort or a holiday home! Nor one of those
idyllic spots where the hero and his girl friend sing and dance.
This is how private colleges have come to look, at least in this
part of the State. For, for the managements landscaping has become
an essential component of the college infrastructure, which, they
say, helps them sell their institution to students and create a
salubrious climate for academic pursuits.
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Best
impression
 "When parents and students visit our campus for the
first time, either to book an engineering seat or have a look
before deciding, we want to create the best impression. Since
the proverbial first impression is the best impression we have
invested in beautifying our campus by landscaping," says
PSS. Srinivasan, principal, K. S. Rangasamy College of Technology,
Tiruchengode. The college has 60 acres landscaped at a cost of
over Rs. 70 lakhs.
The
other important reason the managements attribute to investing
in landscaping is its complementary factor in helping the
students study. "In the evenings, after a strenuous day at classrooms
and laboratories, the students need to relax and unwind before
they start studying. The greenery, the chirping of birds and
the cool breeze are a definite factor in helping the mind relax," says
T. N. Ramesh, a Chennai-based landscape artist, who decorated
the college and many other institutions in different parts
of the State.
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Psychological level 
According
to him, since learning takes place both on and off classrooms, it is
important to landscape. Besides that, landscaping
also plays at a psychological level: students do not resort to violence
or indulge in strike. It mellows tempers, Mr. Ramesh says.For this,
the landscape artists take pain in deciding the type of grass, shrubs,
ornamental and flowering plants. "We go in for plants that flower
in different seasons of the year. There will be continuity," says
Mr. Ramesh, adding that students tend to associate with the cycle during
their course of study on the campus.
In front of buildings,
it is usually intensive landscaping with a combination of grass,
shrubs, flowering and ornamental trees. And,
at the entrance trees that grow tall are planted to help humans relate
to the tall structures. "Without the trees, the buildings appear
imposing and leave the humans feeling dwarfed. Trees tend to arrest
this factor," he says.
At the Kongu Engineering College, Perundurai, the management has
even gone to the extent of drilling rocks to plant tress. There are
thematic depictions too: there is a knowledge tree in metal with
spanners, nuts and bolts and sprockets as flowers and fruits. Students
stand below the knowledge tree. The college has spent over Rs. 1
crore on landscaping.
"Landscaping, besides other advantages, helps instil a sense
of discipline in students. If the terrain is as it is, students will
litter. Now with the grass and plants on, students do not throw wastes," says
C. Devarajan of URC Constructions. He, during his stint as the correspondent
took the lead in providing a face-lift to the college. He feels well
planned and executed greenery is necessary to increase performance
in any place where thousands of people come together for a common
cause. "If the landscape is organised, students tend to organise
themselves. Besides, the greenery soothes the mind," says Mr.
Devarajan.
At the Kongu Engineering College, plants are watered using recycled
water from the in-house cycling plant. Even for watering the plants,
the college management has seen to it that different sprinklers are
used.
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Recycled water
 "For watering flowering plants, we have installed sprinklers with
minute perforations to create a mist effect. From a considerable distance,
the water droplets appear like mists," says the principal A.
M. Natarajan, who too stresses on the complementing nature of greenery
in aiding the academic ambience.
At the Bannari Amman Institute of Technology, Sathyamangalam, 15
acres is under the green cover. With 15 employees for gardening alone,
the college spends about Rs. 50,000 a month.
Not to be left behind in this race for packaging their campuses
are arts and science colleges and schools. Some schools here sport
children's garden too!
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