The Big Banyan Tree

I had been to the Dodda Aladha Mara a.k.a. Big Banyan Tree this morning. It is 8 kms North from the Rajrajeshwari Dental college on the Bangalore - Mysore State highway #17

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As the name suggests, it is just a big banyan tree. Just standing there. Doing nothing. Harming no one. But civilization seems to have been a bit harsh on it. Men have erected a compound wall around it, as if to tell the poor thing that it shouldn't grow beyond those confines. To make things more clear to the old tree, they've built a road around it, abutting that compound wall. Lakshman rekha pei ek aur lakshman rekha. And, when the time comes to widen the road, they may even contemplate cutting the majestic thing down.

As I approached the tree, I spotted plenty of nurseries and plant shops along the road. I told myself that I'd stop on the way back, but never kept that promise - I thought it was pointless to stop. Me on a bike. What if I like a plant, how can I possibly get it back to Bangalore. So, can't say much about the quality... so if you are a plant kinda person, go by car, not by bike.

Back to the tree - as one enters the banyan enclave, and if one is lucky enough not to have a noisy bus or honking jeep go past, one can hear the mynas singing, the squirrels whistling, and the wind murmuring. Stereophonic.. nah... surround sound style - 1001.1 channel. At night, I am sure this would be one scary place. No wonder you find a temple smack in the center, to do what it is supposed to do - ward of any evil spirits :) On the garbage front, the place was fairly clean, couldn't spot any plastic or garbage anyplace, maybe it had to do with the time - 9.30 am.



Sitting on the abundant benches within the "park", one cannot help but imagine oneself as hair lice, infesting the roots and branches of the majestic tree. Think about it... the roots look like hair (Hello?? Remember Dreadlocks?), and I didn't belong there... And no, I sure was't high on crack or grass... Anyways, I could also imagine myself sitting there in the cool shade, reading a novella, or perhaps a novel, if it were that gripping. However, I was currently handicapped - by not possessing either of them, so I chose to just sit down, and do nothing for a while. Which by the way, proved to be quite difficult and being alone didn't help either. If only I was the contemplative kinda guy...

My advice to people going here, or planning to go here - Take a book, an interesting book. Plenty of water and some snacks to munch. Food per se may not be available close by, but you'll find plenty of shops selling biskoots and the likes just outside the park. That said, beware of the rouge monkeys that infest the rootwork.

How to get there? As I had mentioned earlier, there are buses plying this route, and plenty of them. You could get here from either the Mysore road side or via the Magadi road side. Your own vehicle, is what I'd recommend as it'll let you be flexible vis-a-vis timing and other things.

Pics from my Nokia E51. Quality of pics is pathetic, but looks good at this size:)

The Big Banyan Tree