Baobab tree of Devadurga

Here's another discovery by Vijay Menon, my explorer friend during his trip of the northeastern districts of Karnataka. This tree is situated in the outskirts of Devadurga, a historical town in Raichur district.

I had visited Devadurga in Nov 2013. It was a brief stop, we had seen only the ruins of fort like walls in the town. We could not make it to the ruins on the hill that day. During those years, I was ignorant about the ancient Baobab trees in India, maybe I only knew about Savanur and Bijapur. Between then and now, I learned about the existing trees, happened to see a few trees for real and a few other through my friends' eyes. I thank Vijay for his discovery and also for letting me post his pictures here.

Incidentally this Baobab (Adonsonia digitata) is mentioned under 'places of interest' page of Raichur district website. As per the page, situated on the grounds of Government College, is about 500 years old, and it's 45' wide and 40' high.

That's Vijay with Baobab of Devadurga. Vijay was concerned about it's future because people are quite ignorant about this rare tree. My prayers and wishes that the tree is not harmed, and town municipality declares it as a living heritage so that it remains protected.

Baobab is originally from the African continent. Between XIV and XVII Centuries CE, groups of Sufi ascetics traveling from Africa to India carried Baobab seeds & saplings with them and planted them wherever they camped for long periods. Baobabs, though a rare tree in our country, thousands of trees are said to have survived in the western parts i.e. Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh. Baobabs made their way interior regions i.e. the Deccan plateau and even down south to Tamil Nadu. For the reader's benefit, below is a list of known Baobab trees of India-

1. Hilltop Nightclub, Vagator, Goa
2. Cabo Raj Bhavan, Dona Paula, Goa
3. Quepem, Goa
4. Bamboo Motels, Goa
5. next to Yogapur mosque, Bijapur
6. Mahalakshmi Gudi premises, Martur, Kalburgi district
7. Dodda Hunashe Matha, Savanur, Karnataka
8. Near the aquarium in Lalbagh Botanical Garden, Bengaluru
9. on the outskirts of Devadurga, Raichur district, Karnataka
10. Purana Qilla, Golconda Fort, Hyderabad, Telangana
11. Attapur, Hyderabad
12. Vansthalipuram, Hyderabad, Telangana
13. near Chappel Road, Hyderabad, Telangana
14. Ranganath temple at Nanakramguda, Hyderabad, Telangana
15. Shivalaya on Balachandruni Guttalu, Nalagonda, Telangana
16. Uppal in Chengicherla Reserve Forests, Hyderabad, Telangana
17. Nellore, Andhrapradesh
18. Theosophist Society Gardens, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
19. The American College campus, Madurai, TN
20. Chinmaya Vidyalaya's campus at Ilanthope, Rajapalayam, TN
21. Mangaliawas near Ajmer, Rajasthan
22. Vadodara, Gujarat
23. Dayapur, Gujarat
24. Kutch, Gujarat
25. Bhanagar, Gujarat
26. Baroda, Gujarat
27. Victoria Garden, Sukharamnagar, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
28. Mulund, Mumbai, Maharashtra
29. Byculla zoo, Mumbai, Maharashtra
30. Outside the Vasai fort, Maharashtra
31. Tilak road and Ghokale road, Pune, Maharastra
32. near Aurangabad, Maharashtra
33. opposite Mandvi Darwaza at Vasai Fort, Maharastra
34. Nana Fadnavis Wada premises, Menawali, Maharashtra
35. Mandavgad or Mandu, Madhya Pradesh
36. near Sangam, left bank of the Ganga, Prayag, Uttar Pradesh 
37. Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, Bihar

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