Deva Deva Vana, Bidar-Zaheerabad road

September 4, 2018
The last day of our Bidar trip, we woke up early, went for a walk, had tea, bought newspaper at KSRTC bus-stand and went to Gurudwara. We found a spot under a tree, sat there taking in the peaceful ambiance. We left with plans to come back for a Punjabi breakfast. Back at the hotel, we got ready, checked out and headed back to the Gurudwara. We had aloo paratha, gobi paratha and lassi.. relished every bite and sip. As we headed towards Zaheerabad, we stopped by a flour mill to grind jowar into flour. With that one domestic chore was done during our holiday. Our next stop would be the forest department's botanical garden.

Deva Deva Vana is a popular weekend spot for Bidarians. Its situated on Bidar-Zaheerabad road, about 6 kms from Bidar. There's a board on the highway marking the place. That's the entrance to garden-forest..

At the entrance a forest department board formally identifies Deva Deva Vana. The place is open to public between 1PM and 6PM from Thursday to Tuesday and closed on Wednesdays. A nominal entrance fees is charged.

A creeper welcomes visitors, cool shade and fresh air. Vana is a Sanskrit word which means "forest" and Deva means divine beings.

A map of a garden shows the location of various gardens here. Deva Deva Vana consist of at least 10 gardens and one nursery. Here's the list-

• Rock Garden
• Medicinal Nursery
• Japanese Garden
• Rose Garden
• Ashoka Vana
• Shiva Panchayath Vana
• Brahat Pachavati Vana
• Rashi Vana
• Phala Pushpa Vana
• Navagraha Vana
• Nandana Vana

Stone tablets with short descriptions are placed at some of these Vanas. Some names have been picked from Hindu legends.

Pushpa shooting a video as we walk down the path.

A wavy Bougainvillea branch sticks out from the bush.

An angular tree..

We passed by Nandana Vana. Here's a rough translation of its description in Kannada- It is said that Kalidasa has described Nandana Vana in Mangalashtak Grantha. In this garden ten types of flowering trees which purify air are being nurtured. These trees bear flowers and fruits in all seasons. According to astrology, preserving such trees does good to the world in general.

Next we reached Ashoka Vana. In Valmiki Ramayana, Ashoka Vana is the where Sita was kept after Ravana abducts here. Ashoka garden was situated in Sri Lanka's capital city. In this garden are several multipurpose medicinal trees and also creepers which can cure sadness.

Shelters and children's park in Ashoka Vana. This spot would be bustling during weekends and holidays.

A stripey trunk of a fast-growing tree. In the background, Pushpa takes a break from shooting videos and switches to selfies :)

This forest has few streams running through it. Probably a century ago they flowed through out the year. Now they run only when it rains. One of the few bridges. I think this spot is marked as 'wooden bridge' in the map at the entrance. Looks like the wooden bridge has been replaced with a metallic one.

With pleasure comes little pain in the form of mosquitoes. They had bitten Pushpa on her arms, the itch was irritating her. Would be good idea to apply insect repellent before entering forests.

Next in our path was Shiva Panchayath Vana. Here's a bad translation of its description: Nature is made of earth, water, fire, air and ether. Ganapati, Ambika, Vishnu and Shiva are the principals of these elements. Shiva is said to be chief principal hence this garden is called as Shiva Panchayath Vana. As per Chudamani Grantha, a poor Brahman named Shandilya worshiped these Gods and with their blessings he was reborn as Emperor Jayadatta.

Being dedicated to Shiva, this garden has lot of Bilva Patri trees. For some reason, the sight of certain trees makes me extra happy. Bilva Patri tree is one of them.

A clump of bamboo..  yellow-green is a lively combination. There are Frangipani trees too.

Next in our path was Navagraha Vana. Navagraha means nine planets and heavenly bodies. Each of the Navagraha are related to particular tree based on their gender, age and color. In the 5th Century, the related plants' parts were used in Yagnas. The planets- Ravi, Shukra, Shani, Guru, Mangala, Chandra, Rahu, Ketu and Budha are associated to plants namely- Yekke, Atti, Arali, Khadira, Muttuga, Garike, Dharba and Uttarani.

Having seen so many varieties, I was wondering if there's Krishnae Ficus as well. It was as though I'd sensed it.. a minute later I was actually staring at a tree.. it was Krishnae Ficus indeed! Wow, this is amazing. Actually there are four trees within the circular enclosure which is named as Bruhat Panchavati Vana. At the center is a Neem tree with a platform around its base. This enclosure is for meditation.

Here's one of the four Krishnae Ficus. They seem of different ages. One of the trees has aerial roots - this could be the oldest.

Krishna's buttercups. So far I've seen Krishna Ficus at the Karnataka University, Dharwad and Lalbagh, Bengaluru. Its nice to be seeing them at Bidar. Here are the links to-
1, Ficus Krishnae at Karnataka University, Dharwad
2. Ficus Krishnae at Lalbagh, Bengaluru

Generally Krishna Ficus grows in cool weather and needs lot of rain. Bengaluru and Dharwad climatic conditions are good for Ficus. Coming to Bidar, Krishna Ficus may not have grown unless it nursed by humans. Thanks to Karnataka Forest Department, particularly the staff at Bidar. Young buttercup leaves soaking in sunlight.

Besides, Neem (Bevina Mara) and Ficus Krishna (Krishnana Benne Battilu Mara) there are Indian gooseberry (Bettada Nallikai Mara) too.

Bettada Nellikai ready for picking. This berry has medicinal properties, should be consumed regularly.

I picked few buttercup leaves.. drying process just started, half dry and completely dry.

Having discovered Krishna Ficus in Bidar district made my day. We decided to leave since Pushpa was irritated by the itchy mounds on her arms. We missed seeing the medical nursery and rock garden.. surely we'll plan another visit some time.

We resumed our journey to Hyderabad.

Bidar.. see you again soon.
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