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In full bloom

The cantonment manages to retain its glorious green cover, thanks to the efforts of the army personnel

PAINT THE TOWN RED Gulmohar trees add charm to sunny days Photo: Roy Chowdhury

In Secunderabad cantonment, far from the madding crowd , away from the noxious fumes and the omnipresent heat and dust , there are a few places where one can pause and breathe in clean air! You can stop and admire the cool shade under the sprawling mango and pipal trees. And then someone tells you that everything in this area is looked after by the Indian army and you bless the guys in olive greens for leaving these trees untouched, in spite of widening the roads!

If one were to drive out approximately northwards, heading towards Bolarum, after crossing Trimulgherry, one would notice the difference. Old gnarled trees on either side of the roads; sprawling old world bungalows with sloping asbestos roofs, large compounds with many old trees — giving you the feeling that you have stepped back in time.

But truly speaking, Secunderabad Cantonment is a lot like any other cantonment: wide roads with trees on all sides. Unlike the busy upmarket streets, even as close as Karkhana where all the old trees are gone, you wonder how these heavenly places have survived so far. And then you thank the army again!

Old timers say that until about 75 years ago, there used to be a hedge running from YMCA all the way up to Paradise.

So head out towards the Ranjitsinghji Institute (RSI), which has taken over where the Secunderabad Club left off, being the exclusive preserve of the armed forces. The Institute encompasses a large open area and has the most exquisite trees. There are ancient tamarind trees that have been kept intact even while the places were being built around them. There are many pipal, banyan and eucalyptus trees, besides the usual silk cotton, gulmohar, amaltas (laburnum) and jacaranda. The last three are in bloom these days and the blazing colours of these flowers add to their beauty.

In May, the gulmohar brings forth its flowers — lovely bright red, gently spiked with yellow. The flowers blossom everyday and give up by the end of it. Slowly a red carpet spreads under its shade, just like a yellow carpet spreads under the shade of the amaltas. The jacaranda in Secunderabad does not bear as many flowers as its counterparts in North India, but you do see the koel in its branches, cooing to the world at large that the mangoes are ready to eat and of course, the monsoon is around the corner.

It would not be out of place to mention the ubiquitous bougainvillea here. Although it is merely a climber, yet it is one of the hardiest flowering climbers. It adds its own charm even to broken down walls or old masonry.

SHYAMOLA KHANNA

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