The Hindu : National : World's tallest topiary cries for sustenance

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 12, 2005

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National

World's tallest topiary cries for sustenance

Sushanta Talukdar

Listed in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1999 The family, which nurtures the 61-feet tall topiary, does not have enough money for the tree's growth and maintenance.

A STEP BACKWARD: The 61-foot tall "Sambanlei Sekpil," the world's tallest topiary, in Imphal in Manipur. — Photo: Ritu Raj Konwar

IMPHAL: The tree forming the world's tallest topiary in this capital city of Manipur has stopped growing for want of funds. The family, which nurtures the 61-feet-tall topiary, does not have enough money for the tree's growth and maintenance. And no help is coming from the State Government.

Locally called Sambanlei Sekpil — botanical name: duranta repes linn — the topiary was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1999 as the tallest of its kind in the world. It was 50-feet-high and had 35 steps then. In 1992, it was included in the Limca Book of Records when it was 20 feet.

Moirangtham Okendra Singh, owner of the tree, left for his ancestral home at Kumbi in Bishnupur district in 2002 leaving the maintenance of the tree to his nephews. His only son died when he was away in Delhi seeking financial help.

"The growth rate has almost come to nil as we do not have enough money to buy the required [a small amount of] chicken's blood for its maintenance. We had approached the Government several times. But only assurances are given but till date we have not received any money. Sometimes, the chicken traders help us," Jayananda, a nephew, told The Hindu.

A religious symbol

Jayananda was born in 1981 when Mr. Okendra brought the topiary from his ancestral home to the present location at Sagolbond when it was just five-feet tall.

`Samban' in Manipuri means fencing, `Lei' is flower and `Sekpil' is a bamboo axis forming a canopy with odd numbers of round flower or cloth structure with interval one above the other, generally used in the worship of Umang Lai (God of the Forest).

Jayananda said the State Government appointed him as an assistant agriculturist after the topiary was included in the Guinness Book. However, that did not help Mr. Okendra much as the cost of maintenance grew along with the topiary. His dream that the tree would grow so tall as to block the view of an aircraft's take-off or landing at the Tulihal airport near his home was not realised.

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