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Musings on a magnificent mahogany
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The most famous mahogany tree in town not only provides shade and supports birds and insects, but also nurtures the 75-year-old Akkayamma who lives on the footpath beneath it. DEEPA GANESH spends some moments under the tree
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Greens in their own right: Prem Koshy with Akkayamma, who nurtured the tree, and her family. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.
WHEN BUREAUCRACY turns a deaf ear, the masses have to become proactive. The 60-year-old rain tree, bang opposite Shankar Math in Basavanagudi, would have been felled last week but for the timely intervention of Col. Rajan and his eco-conscious daughter Shambhavi. Doesn't this bring to memory the close call of another tree, the magnificent mahogany that stands tall near Koshy's on St. Mark's road?
Suddenly one morning last year, armed men turned up at its foot to bring it down. Akkayamma, the 75-year-old fruit vendor, who also sells dried flowers now, has spent 60 years of her life and has raised a family under its glorious foliage, was aghast. She ran up to them and pleaded, to no avail. The axe-wielding men brushed her off, saying the tree had been auctioned and they had orders to chop it down. Akkayamma then ran to Koshy's restaurant, looking for Prem Koshy, whom she calls her son and benefactor.
Immediately, Prem Koshy, a green and animal lover himself, called up a couple of friends, forest officials, and environmentalists, including Suresh Heblikar and former judge M.F. Saldanha. They in turn made a few judicious calls, and in no time forest official Basha landed up at the venue. By this time, a number of concerned citizens had gathered around the stately mahogany, almost doing a repeat of Chipko. The hacking was immediately stopped and the axe, which had run some three inches deep into the trunk, was pulled out.
"Take a look, the wound is just about healing," says Prem Koshy as he fondly holds the tree. For him, the tree has been a part of his growing up years. As also Akkayamma. So when well-connected, ritzy neighbours view her as an eyesore, and the tree an overhanging danger, Prem Koshy becomes indignant. "They have nurtured each other, and that's her home," he explains. And just as he is telling me this unusual story, three kids come running to him with a bar of chocolate. "Anna, we have passed our exams," they shout gleefully. They are Akkayamma's great-grandchildren, who've grown up in the shade of the mahogany.
Akkayamma came to Bangalore as a 15-year-old bride. Her husband used to work for Seetha Travels, above the K.C. Das outlet. "The tree was not this big then," she says, indicating the height with her hand. The couple would religiously fetch water from a nearby petrol bunk and water the tree everyday. In due course, she lost her husband and then her grown up son too. "I sell fruits and make Rs. 30 a day. My granddaughter Lakshmi and her children used to live here with me. Now Lakshmi has a house, because her children need a place to study. But this continues to be my home," says Akkayamma, wiping tears with the pallu of her tattered sari.
Even if one wants to briefly ignore this "human" side of the story, how can one overlook the worth of the tree itself? Ask M.B. Krishna, a city zoologist, who has done a "back-of-the-envelope" calculation, and he will tell you that the mahogany actually adds to the economy. Egged on by Prem Koshy, Krishna comes up with some vital figures: everyday the tree adds Rs. 395 worth of oxygen to the environment, not to forget the huge quantities of carbon dioxide it absorbs.
Yellappa Reddy, former Environment Secretary, supports Krishna's findings. "A mahogany produces about 500-600 litres of oxygen everyday. On an average, a normal human being's intake is about 4 kg. per day, which means the tree, on a daily basis, takes care of at least 100 individuals' needs," explains the mild-mannered Reddy, adding that in an oxygen club — very fashionable these days — one would have to shell out Rs. 100 per hour.
Apart from this, there are several other reasons why one should keep this tree, which Krishna reckons to be between 100 and 150 years old. The tree, he says, reduces the neighbourhood temperature at least by a degree or two, apart from absorbing noise. Most importantly, it has biological value, because it supports a wide range of fauna.
"Heritage trees must be kept," says Yellappa Reddy emphatically. Unless the tree is disease-ridden or there is a malformation in the root, these trees can stand till they are 400 years old. To attain maturity, the tree has to be at least 60 years old. Only then will it produce viable seeds. Mahogany trees, he adds, are evergreen species with full foliage. They make for excellent green manure, have several medicinal properties, and most of all, provide shade. "One mahogany tree is equivalent to 100 air conditioners and 200 air coolers," he says.
After the brouhaha over the tree, the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike withdrew permission to the contractor to cut it, as per a directive it received from the Horticulture Superintendent, Forest Department. According to a High Court directive, the BMP cannot cut any trees without permission from the authorities concerned. And this it can do only when the tree poses a threat to life or when it endangers buildings.
Talking about the tree, Akkayamma breaks down as she says: "This is my mother. She has taken care of me for 60 years. How can I bear to see her being pulled down?" And Yellappa Reddy: "Such old trees serve as mother trees and only they can produce viable seeds. Its sacrilegious to bring them down." They no doubt speak different languages, but the thought is the same. And you have a crusader in Prem Koshy who religiously distributes mahogany seeds to all those who visit him.
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