Not Lalbagh, but yet a garden

The world knows Lalbagh as a botanical garden. If almost every Bangalorean has been to Lalbagh at least once in his lifetime, no visitor would dare to leave the Garden City without visiting Lalbagh.

Tourist broachers and tour operators term Lalbagh the only botanical garden in Bangalore and one of the few in Karnataka. What they do not know and even Bangaloreans do not know is that the city is home to another beautiful and sprawling botanical garden.

This garden is not at all known outside its campus and visitors are far and few. Even Bangaloreans are not aware of its existence even though the botanical garden became the bone of contention between the Bruhut Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the institution in which it located. The matters even reached the portals of the Karnataka High Court.

This is the botanical garden in the vast GKVK campus on Bangalore-Bellary road.  
The botanical garden is one of the best of its kind in India and it has among the finest and best germplasm collection in the world.   The botanical garden is located over 100 acres at the GKVK Campus.

Though the garden established during 1975, it has so far remained a hidden gem. The university authorities have planned the garden meticulously and the green has been organised into different sections representing various plant families.

The Garden is supported by a well-developed Herbaria which is attended to by a full-time curator. What makes this garden unique is that it is being regularly updated with collections from all over the State, including the bio-diversity hotspot of  the Western Ghats.

The garden is unique in the sense that it is an open air laboratory for students and researchers at GKVK. Several ad-hoc research programmes have been in operation here. The garden thus has imparted education to both students and researchers.

Apart from students, several departments of GKVK use the Garden facilities to impart practical taxonomic knowledge to the students. The research students find the garden an important source of material which  otherwise is not easily accessible.

The botanical garden was planned and developed by Dr R. Narayana, the then Director of Instruction, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities (BS&H), UAS, GKVK. It initially started  out of academic interest.

Dr. Narayana’s aim was to introduce indigenous trees, shrubs and woody climbers from various forests of Karnataka and also exotic species. Dr Boraiah and the late Dr G.P. Sathyavathi, the former Heads of the Department of Botany and all the other staff members of the Department of Botany, College of BS&H, have collected, introduced and maintained plants in the garden.

When the garden was started in 1971, its area was divided into ten blocks with paths and walkways. Today, enjoy the exotic trees such as Ficus religiosa, Azadirachta indica, Cocos nucifera, Areca catechu, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Plumeria alba, Guazuma tomentosa, Dendrocalamus brandisii, Bauhinia purpurea and Michelia chapaca.

The area surrounding the garden was a tropical scrubby forest with Azadirachta indica, Ailanthus excelsa, Anacardium occidentale, Albizzia lebbek, Artabotrys odoratissima, Tamarindus indica, Pongamia pinnata, Hardwickia binata, Cassia siamea, Caesalpinnia coriaria, Terminalia arjuna, Eucalyptus citriodora, E. hybrida, E. malaccensis, Bridelia roxburghiana and Casuarina equisetifolia that were planted by the Forest Department of the State Government before the area was handed over to the University. Even now, they are the conspicous flora in the garden.  Other dominant trees species found here are Limonia acidissia, Zizyphus mauritiana, Z. xylopyrus, Albizzia amara, Cassia fistula, Bauhinia racemosa, Butea monosperma, Wrightia tinctoria, Santalum album, Streblus asper, Holoptelia integrifolia.

The shrub species includes Cadaba fruticosa, Capparis spinosa, Flacourtia indica, Erythroxylon monogynum, Cipadessa baccifera, Dodonea viscosa, Cassia auriculata, Randia uliginosa, Canthium parviflorum, Pavetta indica, Jasminun rigidum, Gmelina asiatica, Lantana camara, Breynia retusa and B. rhamnoides.

The woody climbers include Toddalia asiatica, Scutia circumcissa, Zizyphus oenoplia, Pterolobium hexapetalum, Carissa congesta, Ichnocarpus frutescens, Tylophora cordifolia, Gymnema sylvestre, Argyreia speciosa, Lettsonia aggregata and Plecospermum spinosum.

The families in the garden are laid out according to Bentham and Hooker's system. Block A1is earmarked for Medicinal Plants, Block A2 starts with Ranunculaceae and Block A10 has Monocots and Gymnosperms. The total number of plant species are a staggering 600.

The Herbarium has 3,000 species. Nearby is the Sanjeevini Vana, a garden exclusively devoted to the maintenance of medicinal and aromatic plants.

The Vana is maintained by the Division of Horticulture and is one of the few such gardens in the state. More than 300 different plant species can be seen here along with information on their occurrence, distribution, propagation and medicinal use.

The Government of India supported a project in the garden called “Ex situ Conservation and multiplication of rare, threatened, endangered and endemic plants of South India” in 1996-1997 to provide basic facilities such as a greenhouse, pond environment and other equipment.

There is an entrance fee for visitors who have to take prior permission from the GKVK authorities.

The Pomelo of Devanahalli

Devanahalli is known as the birth place of Tipu Sultan. Today it is known for the location of the Bangalore international airport. But what many do not know is that  Devanahalli is also known for its pomelo-a fruit whose local flavour is not found anywhere else in India.

Interestingly, the Devanahalli Chakotha or Pomelo was on the verge of extinction a few years ago, Soaring land prices and the location of the new international airport had almost sounded the death knell of this wonderful fruit.

However, the State Government and agriculturists joined hands in preserving this “rare piece of heritage:, which was first introduced in this region by Tipu Sultan more than two centuries ago.

The world over, Pomelo is  used in exotic cooking, particularly in Thai desserts, jams and jellies.

The Pomelo fruit is unique to the Devanahalli region where it is cultivated. The shallow, well-drained, deep soil in and around Devanahalli is ideal for its cultivation.

Changing climatic conditions,  lack of proper cultivation methods and soaring land prices made farmers lose interest in cultivating this exotic crop. A few years ago, Chakotha was grown in large numbers in Melinathotadahalli, Raghunathapura, Shivanapura, Soopanahalli, Neelaganapalya, Beerasandra, Vishwanathapura, Neelaguntepalya and other villages in and around Devanahalli.

Today, many of the lands are gone and cultivation of Pomelo is shrinking.

Generally, there are 60 to 70 trees in an acre and each acre yields about 100 fruits weighing between 2 kgs and 2.5 kgs. Today, less than a hundred farmers are cultivating the fruit, when their number was more than a thousand a few years ago.

The Horticulture Department has begun conservation of germ plasm of the fruit to retain its originality. Plants have been collected at the department's biocentre in Hulimavu and are being propagated to farmers. Grafted varieties of the plant are also being looked into.

However, the highest number of germplasms of this fruit is in the Institute of Horticulture in Hesarghatta.

The Horticulture Department is trying to introduce new varieties of Chakotha in its farm at Doddakaggere, about 60 km from Devanahalli. It has setup a Pomelo Conservation Centre at Devanahalli. It is also introducing new plants in the area apart from supplying genuine quality planting material.

Chakotha is a thick, yellow-skinned fruit. It is the largest citrus fruit in the world and belongs to the Rutaceae family. It is known in the West as pomelo, Shaddock, Batavia lemon and its scientifically name is Citrus Grandis. The fruit is consumed as it is and is also used in cooking to make desserts and jellies. It can weigh up to 10 kg.

What makes it imperative to preserve the Devanahalli Chakotha is that the type of Pomelo grown here cannot be grown anywhere else. The unique nature of Devanahalli soil-loamy, clay and neither too dry nor moist- disallows the fruit from being taken to other locations in the state for cultivation

The Chakotha of Devanahalli is unique in the sense that its outer rind is thick and light yellow in color and its flesh is pinkish and mildly juicy.

Chakotha is also seen in eight villages in Siddlaghatta taluk, seven villages in Doddaballapur taluk and one village in Chickballapur taluk. Chakotha can provide supplementary income to the farmers and each tree has the capacity to bear around 300 fruits in a year.

As there is no organised market for Chakotha, most of the produce is sold by pushcart vendors at Devanahalli town and along the adjoining National Highway No 7.

Apart from the fruit, demand for the Pomelo peel too is increasing. The peel is used in some cosmetic and Ayurvedic preparations.

The Horticulture Department, under the National Horticulture Mission Programme, imported varieties of Chakotha from Thailand. Samples of imported Chakotha  were planted in Lalbagh, Hulimavu, Devanahalli, Hesaraghatta and other places. Unfortunately, it was only in Lalbagh that one of the samples started thriving.

The new variety which is successfully yielding fruits in Lalbagh is named Lalbagh Seedless. The Indian Institute of Horticulture Research (IIHR) at Hesarghatta has developed another variety called Devanahalli Red.
Chakotha or pomelo is a native of South China and South East Asian countries. It is a bigger version of the orange and it is known for its therapeutic qualities. The fruit is good for people suffering from heart related ailments as it reduces cholesterol and purifies the blood. It is also used as an anti-oxidant and prescribed for people recovering from Chikungunya in order to tone their fatigued muscles.
The tale of the Chakotha is as fascinating as the history of Bangalore. Though the Horticulture Department claims the fruit came to Bangalore along with the Britishers way back in 1880, others say it was Tipu who first introduced it.

While a small-sized Chakotha weighing around 1.5 kg to 2 kg will cost you Rs 35 to Rs 40, the bigger one weighing 2 kg will cost you Rs 50 to Rs 60. The Chakotha plant starts yielding fruits at the age of 3 to 5. Each tree bears around 30 to 40 fruits at a time.