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OFFTRACK:
SANJAN,
GUJARAT
Walking Tree
A
centuries-old mango sapling creates history in more ways than one
By Uday
Mahurkar
To
students of history, Sanjan, A small town on the banks of the Varli river
in south Gujarat, is quite familiar. This, they will tell you, is where
the Parsis first landed in India after fleeing from Muslim invaders in
Iran. The fort of Jada Rana, the local ruler who granted them sanctuary,
still stands on the distant coastline, its pale red ruins battling against
the vagaries of time.
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TIMELESS
JOURNEY:
The bow-shaped mango tree has traversed a distance of 4 km
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Barely a
kilometre away at Bhilwadi is a deep green mango tree, much less known,
but equally old. Its knotted, bow-like trunk and drooping branches, unlike
the crumbling ramparts of the fort, have stood the test of time. Believed
to have been planted by the first Parsi settlers who brought it from the
land they left, the mango tree has its own tale to tell. A tale of how
it has not just borne fruit-bright red in colour, small in size and number-all
these centuries but also how it has traversed a distance of 4 km over
this time. Villagers like Gangli Mahale, a 75-year-old tribal widow, vouch
for it. "It was at least 40 yards away when I was 15," she says.
The unique
phenomenon, which has attracted many researchers, occurs quite simply.
As the tree grows, its branches extend in a bow-like shape. When the extended
branches touch the ground, they begin to take root. Once they are firmly
rooted, the original trunk dries up.
In botanical
parlance, such trees are referred to as trees with creeping stems. They
are generally planted on the edges of a desert to prevent its spread.
The Manual of Botany lists them under "the rhizome or the root stock".
They are characterised by thickened stems or branches which run along
the surface of the ground, partially or entirely beneath it, with small
roots growing from the lower region and leaves and buds from the upper
portion. "The stems creep for a long distance in this way,"
notes the manual.
While general
classifications exist, there is no particular mention of such a variety
of mango tree. In that sense it compares with some peculiar trees in botanical
history like Kabirvad, the giant banyan tree planted by sage Kabir on
the banks of the Narmada river in Gujarat's Bharuch district.
The tree,
however, does find mention in studies by navigator Ashok Marathe as also
in a book on Parsi culture by historian Rustom Barjorji Paymaster. According
to Paymaster, the tree had a radius of 35 ft and around 10 branches in
1916 when the book was written.
Such records
notwithstanding, the Parsis say that the knowledge about the tree has
been handed down to them orally over generations. Says Rohinton Davierwala,
leader of the Parsi panchayat in Sanjan: "The community has known
about the mango tree for centuries." And although the tree has no
religious significance-villagers even use the peel of the trunk to treat
skin ailments-it does have great sentimental value.
The mango
tree is so much a part of Parsi history that its survival, in many ways,
is associated with that of the community itself. Right now, the mango
tree, with its 25-ft radius, stands on land belonging to Ahmedbhai, a
Muslim farmer. One of its branches, however, is trying to take root in
a neighbouring farm which belongs to Vallibhai, a paddy farmer.
If the tree
"walks" in, Vallibhai's paddy crop will be lost. A small farmer
who fears a threat to his livelihood, he is making no bones of not wanting
the tree to take root. In fact, he has been severing the extended branch
every now and then. Some Parsis see this as a strange coincidence, coming
at a time when the community itself is facing the threat of extinction.
Concerned members of the community have appealed to the Gujarat Government
to get the tree declared a heritage site and acquire the land around it.
The Government maintains that there is no provision under the existing
framework to afford protection to a tree. But as one Parsi argues, the
mango tree is an unprecedented case that merits unique treatment. It is
a tree that was meant to be timeless.
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METRO TODAY
As
the Government brings in more people and mops more money in taxes, it
must be seen to be rewarding those who come forth and pay up, writes India
Today Associate Editor V. Shankar Aiyar in 