I’ve talked about this for years… when we did go, it was mind-numbingly unplanned. When we left home with our chauffeur, we had no clue on the destination. I was thinking it must be one our usual exploits like Lalbagh. Thamba surprised me by picking “Nandi Hills”. We drove north discussing other places and turned west settling for “Big Banyan Tree”. Mysore road had one of its worse traffic jams. It was a welcoming change to get out of the city. At least four people asked us “go straight for three kilometers” after taking a right near Rajarajeshwari Dental College. It was about seven kilometers from Mysore road. Finally, we got there…
400 year old banyan (Ficus Benghalensis) tree is set in the backdrop of mighty monolithic hill – Savandurga. This tree is supposed to be the fourth largest in India after the ones in Andhra Pradesh, Kolkata, and Chennai. I’ve not seen the one in Chennai in spite of living very close to it :( This big banyan tree currently has more than 1000 aerial / prop roots and supposed to expand by a few feet every year. The green canopy spans across three acres. The main trunk is dying of some disease, hosts a Siva temple underneath. It hurts to note that most branch and trunk of this beautifully gnarled tree has been etched with graffiti by vandals. Horticultural department took the tree under their care to protect and conserve its roots.
I wished to go further to Machanabele dam and Savandurga… without lunch, we had to return after carefully picking up snacks like tender coconut and peanuts… Anyway… happy to meet the old giant at last :)
400 year old banyan (Ficus Benghalensis) tree is set in the backdrop of mighty monolithic hill – Savandurga. This tree is supposed to be the fourth largest in India after the ones in Andhra Pradesh, Kolkata, and Chennai. I’ve not seen the one in Chennai in spite of living very close to it :( This big banyan tree currently has more than 1000 aerial / prop roots and supposed to expand by a few feet every year. The green canopy spans across three acres. The main trunk is dying of some disease, hosts a Siva temple underneath. It hurts to note that most branch and trunk of this beautifully gnarled tree has been etched with graffiti by vandals. Horticultural department took the tree under their care to protect and conserve its roots.
I wished to go further to Machanabele dam and Savandurga… without lunch, we had to return after carefully picking up snacks like tender coconut and peanuts… Anyway… happy to meet the old giant at last :)
0 comments:
Post a Comment