The Ganjam figs

An earlier post had dealt with the City of Ganjam and also the jewellery making. This post is about the world famous figs of Ganjam.

Ganjam was as famous for its jewellery as it was for its figs. Though the city of Shehar Ganjam was constructed by Tipu just two kilometers away from his island capital of Srirangapatna, it developed into a distinct city in itself.

Tipu ensured that Ganjam was surrounded by lovely orchards, farms and plantations. He introduced a variety of Indian and foreign plants and trees. He planted many exotic trees and plants in the Gumbaz gardens and around Daria Daulat palace. If the Gumbaz housed the mausoleum of his father Hyder Ali, the Daria Daulat was his summer retreat.

Both the Gumbaz and Daria Daulat were surrounded by hundreds of varieties of  trees and plants. Since Ganjam city was built between these two buildings, it too received Tipu’s largesse. Tipu imported fig or anjura from several countries and had them planted in and around Ganjam.

Soon, the fog took root in Ganjam thanks to the salubrious climate and the ready supply of water from the nearby Cauvery. The garden department of Tipu supervised the fig in the royal gardens in Ganjam.

Ganjam soon became known for its figs. Farmers were encouraged to grow fig and the special and popular variety of fig grown here came to be known as Ganjam fig (Ganjam anjura).

Even Tipu is known o have enjoyed the Ganam fig. Soon, the fig was an important export from Srirangapatna and it contributed to the local economy.

When the British set up camp at Ganjam and overran the Gumbaz, they also captured Ganjam. They destroyed many trees and plants. Initially, growers and farmers fled Ganjam fearing the British. But they came back after the death of Tipu and once again began cultivating fig.

The British imported Ganja fig from Srirangapatna to Bangalore and other places. The Wodeyars too encouraged the farmers and growers to come back and take back possession of their land. Though the fort of Ganjam was destroyed in 1799, the British and the Wodeyars allowed residents to comeback after the death of Tipu Sultan on May 4, 1799.

 Fig cultivation once again took off. Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar and Dewan Mirza Ismail gave a boost to fig cultivation. Both were admirers of the Ganjam fig and they encouraged 150 farmers in and around the village of  Ganjam to grow them. They gave subsidy and donated five guntas of land to each of the 150 growers. They also initiated steps to irrigate the fig farms with water from the Cauvery.

The figs grown on these 150 farms were initially sent to Mysore palace where the royal family of Wodeyars took pride in serving them to the British officers and visitors. Soon, Ganjam figs began to be exported to other states and they commanded a good price in the market.

The Ganjam figs gave the Australian figs and Pune figs a run for the money. They had a unique taste of their own.  
The fig farms survived till1960 after which they slowly died. Lack of encouragement, lack of proper inputs and the growing interest in other cash crops led to many farmers abandoning the fig. Today, there are barely handful of the 150 fig gardens that could be seen in and around Ganjam till the 1960s.

There is a small patch of land which belongs to the  Horticulture department where it has grown 20 plants. The department had taken possession of this 5.5 acres of land from the PWD in 1964.
It is said that the Horticulture department has taken over the 5.5 acre fig gardens from the Public Works Department in 1964. However, we can see a few Sapota plants there. The Ganjam fig plants can be seen at the department nursery at Javarahalli farm in Ganjam (there are 100 fig trees there) and at the farm in Nagamangala taluk.
When we visit Ganjam, even today we can see rusted machines and pipeline network that were used to pump water from the Cauvery to the farms. The two pumps of 40 HP and 20 HP capacity can still be seen but they are defunct.

Guavas of Ganjam

The small village of Ganjam or Shehar Ganjam near Srirangapatna was several decades ago known for its fruits and vegetables.

Ganjam today is more famous for housing the Daria Daulat-the summer palace of  Tipu, the Gumbaz-where Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan are buried and the Gosai Ghat and Sangam apart from the Nimishamba temple.

Bur just a few years ago, Ganjam was known for its high quality fruits and people of Mysore and surrounding areas literally went gaga over some of the fruits such as guavas.

There are many guava orchards in and around Ganjam and most of the yield was sent to Mysore, Srirangapatna and surrounding towns and cities, including Mandya and Malavalli.

Apart from guavas, Ganjam was also known for rearing good quality jackfruits and even figs, which were first introduced here by Tipu Sultan sometime in 1780. The orchards and fruit gardens in Ganjam received royal patronage from Hyder Ali and his son, Tipu Sultan.

The guavas of Shehar Ganjam, the city founded by Tipu, are better  known as Kabul Benne. They are known for their high-quality pulp.

The Ganjam guavas have a distinct taste and flavour. This gives them an edge over other varieties, especially those with the pink pulp. The Ganjam variety has less seeds and its pulp is highly tasty. They are, therefore, much sought after by agro-processing industries.

Many of the guava plantations are anywhere between 15 acres to 20 acres in area.

Once on the decline, the Ganjam guavas seem to have made a comeback what with bumper harvests. The unique taste has led traders and wholesale merchants from Kerala and Tamil Nadu to come to Mysore and place orders for this fruit.

Guava is native to tropical America where it occurs wild. It was introduced in India in the seventeen century. The area under guava cultivation in India increased by 64 per cent  from 94,000 hectares  in 1991-92 to 155000 ha. in 2001-02 whereas the production increased by 55 per cent from 11 lakh tonnes to 17 lakh tonnes. Major guava producing states include Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh

Guava  is a good source of vitamin C, pectin, calcium and phosphorus. It is used for the preparation of processed products like jams, jellies and nectar.  Guava jelly puree is very popular for its attractive purplish-red colour, pleasant taste and aroma. Leaves of guava are used for curing diarrhoea and also for dyeing and tanning.

Once considered a forbidden fruit, as per the Philippian mythology, guava is an essential part of a weight loss diet. In fact it also has more Vitamin C than in an orange and makes it to the list of super fruits.

According to the Karnataka Directorate of Economics and Statistics, guava is grown in almost all the districts in more than 4,200 hectares. Kolar alone produces over 30 per cent of the annual 23,000-tonne harvest in the State.

Generally,  Bangalore gets its guavas from Nelamangala, Hoskote, Magadi, Yelahanka, Doddaballapur and Devanahalli. The Allahabad Safeda and Lucknow 49, also known as Sardar are the most widely grown varieties in Karnataka.

Today, the guavas of Ganjam are also sold in Bangalore, Kodagu, Chamarajanagar, Mandya, and Dakshina Kannada.

Located just two kilometrs from Srirangapatna and to the east of the historic island, Ganjam gets its name from the Persian ‘Ganj-i-am’ meaning granary of the world.

Guava which is called the Apple of the Tropics or poor man’s Apple, is the sixth most cultivated fruit in India. It is today commercially cultivated in more than 60 countries across the world.

Roman beauty of Bangalore

An apple a day keeps the doctor away has been  a very popular saying. However, buying apples in Bangalore is expensive as they cost upwards of Rs. 120 per kilogram.

Bangaloreans are a fortunate lot as they can taste apples from Himachal Pradesh, China, Washington an even Australia and New Zealand. Unfortunately, these apples do not come cheap as they have to be imported into the city.

This is an ironical situation as Bangalore in the early years of the 20^th century was known for its apples. Yes, apples grew here and they were plenty.

Apart from Whitefield and surrounding areas, many old time bungalows in Bangalore, particularly in Cantonment had apple trees.

Horticulturists and old-timers recall that a vary particular variety of apple was grown in Cox Town called Rome Beauty. These were sturdy varieties of apples but they fell prey to the growing urbanization of Bangalore and the changing climatic condition. These trees almost disappeared from the City’s landscape in the 1960s.

Now, you can see this apple only in Lalbagh. The officials of the Horticulture Department, which looks after Lalbagh and Cubbon Park, have planted ten apple trees of Rome Beauty near the Fern Garden in Lalbagh.

These trees require a cold climate to grow. They grow very well if the temperature is less than 13 degree Celsius. They need hundreds of hours of chill to mature.

Well, coming back to apples: Bangalore had several well-known orchards where apples were a prized tree. Most  of these apple gardens vanished around 1925.

The credit for making Bangalore an apple growing centre goes to the British. While the Cantonment catered to the military and civil needs of the British, many Anglo-Indians and British constructed houses in Whitefield where they planted several trees and plants native to England.

Since apples play a major part in an Englishman’s daily routine, the British wanted to introduce apples in Bangalore. James Cameroon, the Curator of Lalbagh, took the first tentative steps in 1887 to introduce apples.

Cameroon imported 17 varieties of apples to Bangalore from England and had them tested in Lalbagh. Out of the 17 varieties, only the Rome Beauty was found to be resilient and adaptive to Bangalore.

Cameroon then decided to introduce Rome Beauty to Bangalore. He ensured that a large number of seeds of this variety of apples were procured from England. These seed were then distributed to farmers and owners of estates in Bangalore and Whitefield.               

Cameroon was keen to ensure that Bangalore became a major apple growing centre and, therefore, distributed the apple seeds free of cost.

Local farmers and British plantation owners took to apple growing in a big way and by the turn of  the century (1900) and the early years of the 20^th century, more than 1,000 acres of  land were exclusively growing apples.

The apple orchards came up around Palace Grounds called Upper and Lower Palace Orchards, Vasanthnagar, Whitefield and the soggy area between Konankunte and Kanakapura Road.

Initially, the apples were being grown for the Europeans who lives in and around Bangalore, Slowly, Indians too began to like the local variety of apple as against the apples imported from Jammu Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

The popularity of Bangalore apples grew as they were locally available and much cheaper.        
In those days, the apples had many takers because the ones from Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh would take several days to reach the south.

The apple orchards met a slow death for several reasons. The chill of Bangalore that attracted the British to Bangalore slowly began to disappear. Other varieties of crops made their entry into Bangalore displacing apples. Growing urbanization of the city and its hunger for land meant disappearance of orchards. The water bodies too vanished, depriving apples of a vital component. By the time India became Independent, the apples had practically vanished.

Today, apples are not grown in Bangalore. The only ones growing are in Lalbagh and at Hesarghatta.