Spread out over a sprawling 109 hectares (270 acres), the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, previously known as the Calcutta Botanic Garden, was among the first experiments commissioned by the East India Company to create a ‘ nursery’ for exotic plants that could be studied for commercial use.

Situated in Shibpur, Howrah, just across the Hooghly River from Kolkata, the Garden boasts over 12,000 specimens. The progenitor of plantations and cash crop in India, the various brands of Darjeeling tea and Indian cotton owe their origin to experiments conducted here.

Hosts: Jacob Koshy and Sobhana K Nair

Shot, produced, and edited by Jude Francis Weston