Savour tamarind grove in Bangalore rural

Nallur’s botanical marvel has trees which are several centuries old, spreading roots and sprouting new ones.
Muniraju, a guard, is the sole protector of this grove | Meera Bhardwaj
Muniraju, a guard, is the sole protector of this grove | Meera Bhardwaj

BENGALURU: Far from the madness of the hustle and bustle of Bengaluru, there is a magical land. It is like as if time has stood still there. You find trees have survived several centuries. This is perhaps the only place where you will find very gnarled and twisted tamarind trees, spreading their roots.Welcome to the Nallur Tamarind Grove near Devanahalli.  Once, one of the sacred groves of Karnataka, the grove dates back to the Chola period. The sacred groves were a natural sanctuary for trees where nobody was permitted to fell them or kill animals or despoil the streams.

It was a divine abode where precious trees were worshipped and protected. It is believed that plantation of tamarind trees started at Nallur during Rajendra Chola’s rule.The majestic trees have withstood the vagaries of weather and human invasions, and ravages of time. Belonging to both Chola and Hoysala periods, 300 trees have stood the test of time but speak of utter neglect by authorities.

Situated on National Highway-648 on the way to Hoskote, Bengaluru Rural, the grove is still home to trees that are  very old. Tree No. 155 is  410 years old. The other trees, spread across 53 acres, are between 200 and 300 years old.With Lantana bushes and other alien weeds overrunning the grove, to go around the place is quite arduous. But the unique trees beckon one with their Martian look. The trees, with their sucker roots stretching forward and moving underground, make for an unbelievable sight.

 If some trees have withered away and become hollow or struck by lightning, some have regenerated and 3-5 more trees can be seen next to the fossilized ones. This botanical marvel has many forest experts puzzled.Clearly they are unique and need to be preserved.  Declared as National Biodiversity Heritage Site, the grove attracts tourists but needs attention from the Nallur Biodiversity Heritage Management Committee for its revival.

As per Nallur GP members who are on the biodiversity committee, funds have to be released by the Centre as it is a national biodiversity heritage site.  A member says, “Presently, we  make payments to the lone guard from the proceeds of the auctioning of the tamarind crop.  But  funds are needed on an annual basis for the upkeep, maintenance and fencing of the grove. We have submitted a memorandum to the Zilla Panchayat in this regard and hope funds will be released soon.”

Muniraju, BHS Guard who is the sole protector of this grove,  says, “How am I supposed to guard this place from morning till evening on a pittance of  Rs 5,000 per month? No facilities have been provided — not even a pair of shoes to traverse this overgrown thorny/weedy area where the  old trees are in a bad shape. No fence to protect it from unruly tourists who dump plastic, glass bottles and other waste in the grove surroundings.”

Each tree has been assigned a particular number by the six- member committee. However, many of the number plates are today broken or damaged.The yield from the tamarind trees is auctioned every year by the gram panchayat. Baba Jaan, a tamarind contractor who has won the tender for collecting the bitter sweet fruit for this year says, “The contract was for Rs 1 lakh but I will end up spending Rs 50,000 from my pocket as the process of removing fruits  from 220 trees is laborious. The quality of the fruit is very good despite the age of the trees.  After cleaning the fruits, we sell them at Rs 60 per kg.”

TABOO ADVANTAGE

This ancient sacred grove is just 7km from Devanahalli town on the NH-648 and 45 km from Bengaluru. Old trees are protected due to the prevailing local taboo that anyone using the materials from this place will be subjected to an evil spell throughout 
their life.

CALL FOR PROTECTION

As per the research done by naturalists for Status of Karnataka Biodiversity and published in the IISc newsletter, the grove is a habitat for a variety of 65 species ranging from slender loris, pangolins, porcupines, as also five varieties of owls and other avian species. An evaluation done by the team says the grove should be protected as it is a precious tamarind gene bank.

TEMPLE ATTRACTION

Nestled amid the grove is a Chennakeshava Temple in ruins but fortunately, a conservation group has come forward to take up a revival project. The temple with its unique carvings and Hoysala motifs is an added attraction here. The lyrical and fluid lines of various carvings in different poses mesmerize.

410-Year-Old Tree

Spread across 53.2 acres of revenue land, the grove is  believed  to  have  its  origin  during the period of Chola dynasty. Comprising 300 gigantic old trees, the carbon dating  of wood samples has shown that  tree  number  155  is  410 years old while the remaining are around 200 to 300 years old.

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