Ficus Krishnae trees at Mari Kanive Park, Vani Vilas Pura

It was in the third week of January 2023 I heard from a cousin (actually cousin's husband) that there were Krishnae Ficus trees in a park at Vani Vilas Sagar dam. This dam has been on my 'list of places to see' since primary school years, somehow I never made it. Now, my hunt for Krishna Ficus trees could fulfill the long pending wish. So a plan was formed- drive down to Bangalore and see a few historic spots on the way.

January 23, 2023. I left home around 3-45 AM, reached Dodda Bathi at 6-30 AM. I spent about 20 minutes at Revana Siddeshwara Devastana, weather was pleasant and it was peaceful. Then I went into Davangere city, visited Anekonda Basaveshwara Devastana a temple built during Chalukyan times. Then I headed towards Hiriyur, reached the city by 10 AM. I got off NH48, entered Hiriyur town and took the road to Vani Vilasa Sagar, a 20 km drive. It was around 10-30 AM when I parked the car under a huge Fucus opposite Kanive Maramma Devastana. The dam and its two parks are in sight from the Ficus. Since the primary object of this trip was to find the Ficus Krishnae tree, I decided to check out the parks. Though both parks' gates were closed I decided to check out Karnataka State Tourism park since it had some semblance of a park. I scanned the park area completely, no Ficus Krishnae here. The other park "Aranya Elakhe Prakruti Vihara Vana" looked more like a jungle, as though the place has been abandoned. Even the entrance looked shabby with trash littered all over and the gates were shut. I assumed the gates were locked. I was disappointed and decided to move on... let me check the dam and any other garden at the hill top guest house.

Maari Kanive dam is 43m high, it was built from 1897 to 1907 to impound river Vedavathi, a tributary of river Tungabhadra. The dam's reservoir Vani Vilas Sagar is named after its proponent Rani Kempa Nanjammani Vani Vilasa Sannidhana, the widow of Raja Chamaraaja Wadiyar of Mysore Kingdom. The name Maari Kanive is derived from the Maari shrine situated next to the dam. Kanive means valley. I drove up the hill and parked at the guest house gates. It's a small premises, I scanned it quickly, found no Ficus. My disappointment went by a few more degrees. The view of the dam, hills and the sprawling reservoir kept me distracted for some time. On asking the guest house caretaker about my subject, his answer was little encouraging.. he asked me to check out the forest department park. I told him about the locked gates and told him that I might check at the forest office close to the park.
Before leaving I stopped to take a few pictures of the park's entrance. Since I had stopped I decided to freshen up with a quick face wash and have water. I noticed the smaller swing gate slightly ajar, and went closer... it wasn't locked! My hope was up again.

I stepped into the park which was mix of a trash yard and a jungle. I ventured with slight hesitation... place looked perfect for a stick up. After a few minutes of exploring I shook of the hesitation. This park, a collection of theme gardens, had been developed on the same concept as Deva Deva Vana near Bidar. There were boards which read Nandana Vana, Gulabi Tota, Japanese Udhyana Vana, Ashoka Vana, Shiva Panchaya Vana and lastly Bruhat Panchavati Vana. The moment I saw "Bruhat Panchavati Vana" board, hope of finding Ficus Krishna rose again. The requirements of a Panchavati Vana are five types of trees: Ashwatta, Banni, Bilwa Patri, Neem and a country fig i.e. Ficus. Also the Panchavati Vana at Bidar has four Ficus Krishnae.

A shepherd grazing sheep came into sight. I asked him if there's a tree with cup-shaped leaves. No. The moment he answered coincided with me spotting a tree with familiar leaves. I went closer and lo it was a Krishna Ficus! I thanked my cousin's husband in my mind. 

A closer look at the buttercup leaves. Some of the leaves were still velvety and some smooth.

Then I called the shepherd and showed him the leaves, he was surprised to see the cup-leaves and remarked that he never paid attention to them. Next I asked of there were any more such trees. Yes, there are four such trees here. At the center of this 'Vana' is a Mantapa, around the Mantapa at 90° interval are four Ficus trees and along the perimeter are a dozen Amla trees. Also in this garden are two Bilva Patri and one Ashwatta tree, however I couldn't find Banni and Neem trees here. May be those trees are lost. For now, lets take a look at the other three Ficus Krishnae here.

Going by the girth of the stem and branches, these trees could be 15 to 25 years old. They seemed to well cared for in their earlier years. None of the trees have developed aerial roots yet. 

Of the four trees, this tree has the most branches.

This one took a slanting stance, probably while it was very young.

Here are a few close up shots of leaves.

It's sad to see the state of this park. Going by the weeds, the park hasn't been cared for in the past two years. While researching, I happened to see a few pictures of this park uploaded between Aug 2014 and Dec 2017. One of the pictures show Panchavati Vana Mantapa with a Krishnae Ficus in the background however it is not recognizable. Also there are photos showing murals of Chitradurga fort on the park's entrance walls. Apparently there is a plan to revive this park and a budget has been sanctioned. I hope Karnataka state forest department revives the park at least for the sake of the rare Krishnae Ficus trees.
Truly this tree is rare because I have managed to locate just five sites in Karnataka including this place. The other four sites are:

1. Botanical Garden inside Karnataka University, Dharwad

2. Lalbagh Botanical Gardens, Bengaluru

3. Deva Deva Vana near Bidar and

4. Discovery Village resort, Vaderahalli, Bengaluru-Kanakapura highway

There could be other sites as well... until their discovery. While we are talking about rare trees, I would like to mention Baobab trees as well. In the past 15 years of traveling, I've seen Baobab trees in just seven places. Here's a link to the article on the Baobab trees of Karnataka and Telangana.

Dear reader, if you happen to come across any other Baobab or Krishna Ficus tree or any other rare tree, do share the location details as a comment.

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Utsav Rock Garden - part 2

..continued from Utsav Rock Garden - part 1.

The rural life gallery starts with this space which is like a village square. At the center is a cast iron light pole. That's Amma and Pushpa. In the background is a typical village house door with a colorful frame. Flanking the gate are idols of children playing cricket.. wondering why these idols here?

On this streets are models of houses which are almost real. There are so many scenes, the only way to show them was to make collages. An elderly man relaxing after his morning chores. The village astrologer. Women pounding grains. The living room of a village home.. the old woman is making wicks from cotton for oil lamps while children are practicing lessons. I guess the old man reading the newspaper is the children's Guru. Notice the little details like the lantern, woven lacework, traditional sarees, cane baskets, etc.

A village store. A coconut wrapped in cloth hung fro the door frame to ward evil spirits. Food items are realistic especially the jaggery blocks. Notice the paper decoration and lamp put up during Deepawali.

A glance of cattle room. In traditional north Karnataka homes, the living space for men and cattle were same. Cattle were considered family members and required equal treatment. Even to this day, oxen are given proper burials. In the recent past, life has changed, especially in the age of mobile devices. Earlier there are hardly any homes without cattle but now cattle are gone, priority is TV, bike and mobile phones.

On the side is another modern art alley. Lets take a look at it and then resume rural life scenes. The most eye-catching is this artwork depicting religious harmony.

Here we are looking at a model village.. is it imaginary or the artist created a copy of his or her village.

Tiled houses, fences, electric poles, and windmills.

I have no clue what this painting is about. Wish I could hear its description from its creator.

Cricket alley. That's Sachin Tendulkar, isn't it.

There were other idols, like the characters seen in comic. Modern art tires me out, I prefer to be with real life. So we are back at village scenes touching various professions. A washer woman driving her donkey loaded with a bundle of clothes while her husband presses washed clothes. A man attired in traditional costume for seeking alms at a village shrine. A cobbler couple making footwear. The lad is waiting for his slippers to be mended. A village school. Then there were home scenes with whole family together, women grooming, etc.Also there were carpenters, a barber, two men playing a board game, a village temple and so on.

From the rural life gallery we move on to the jungle.. idols of wild animals.

Here are few examples- hippopotamus, zebra, giraffe and stags. Then there were elephants, tigers, wild pigs, and many more. Well done sculptures.

Having done with wildlife we come back to village life, this time the grain, vegetable and cattle, markets. First is the grain merchant. Vegetable market.. one can easily identify onions, tomato, potato, cucumber, brinjal, carrots, etc. Next is the ox-shoe fixer doing business at the cattle market.

Halli-santhe are weekly markets where one can find all kinds of goods and services. Utsav Rock Garden team has done a great job recreating it. I've covered a few here. Knife sharpener. Gaana - the village oil mill.. oil sellers are called Gaangyaar. Puffed rice seller. A family manning their lime kiln.. this community is called Sunnagaar. The market scenes also showed scenes of deals being struck, peep shows, etc.

Done with the market we move on to sports side. Here's a scene of a crowd watching a Kustee Pandya.. a wrestling duel. Then there's a beautiful model of gymnastics. Village gym is called Garadi Mane and the wooden pole on which gymnastics are performed is called Malla Kambha. The challenge is to climb the well polished, oiled pole.. that's the show of strength in the form of grip.

Village girls playing merry-go-round and hopscotch. The sculptors have a great sense of anatomy.. they know how to create sexy looking girls :) Earlier I mentioned Garadi Mane.. here are a two Pehalwans practicing weight lifting. Traditionally wrestlers used wooden or metal clubs to train arms and wrists. For show of overall strength, they lifted stone balls weighing 150 to 180 kg if not more.

We come to the end of our tour. Close to the exit is a scene of a present day restaurant.. tables, chairs, life size models and vacant seats for visitors to take pictures with the idols. Pushps chose for a picture with the Sheikh and his Begum. This reminds me of our visit to Chowmahalla Palace where we met a real Arab attired in traditional gear. Pushpa has a picture taken with the Arab.

The tour was nice though I would've preferred to have started earlier in the morning while it was still cooler. Anyway, it was good.

Besides Utsav Rock Garden there are similar gardens-

1. Graama Samskriti Park, Someshwar Waadi, Paashana, Pune
2. Siddhagiri Museum, Kaneeri Matha, Kolhapur
3. Bareed Shaahi Park, Bidar
4. Revolutionary Freedom Fighter Life History, Interior - Exterior Art World, Sangolli
5. Shaalmala Park, Chipagi, Forest Department, Sirsi
6. Nature Camp, Dandeli
7. August-15 Garden, Hadagali
8. Bellary Cultural Complex, Bellary
9. Kunte Gadde Garden, Bellary
10. Bheeshma Kere, Gadag
11. Singataaluru Park, Mundargi
12. Heritage Village Park, M.G.R.E.D Jakkuru, Bengaluru
13. J.P Park, Bengaluru
14. Jaanapada Looka, Raamanagar

Long Live Artists!

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Utsav Rock Garden - part 1

January 17, 2019
We were traveling from Bangalore to Dharwad. Plan for the journey was to visit Bati Siddappa Devastana near Davangere and then the much spoken about Utsav Rock Garden - generally known as the garden of life-size sculptures. However, as the creators say it is a combination of art, architecture and nature. The garden has a huge vehicle parking ground, so parking is not an issue. Entry fee is ₹200 per head and parking is ₹20 per car. This is the rock formation like front of the garden. The little cave like openings are the ticket counters. Welcome to the land of imagination and creativity.

This is the entry gate, as seen from inside. There's art in all directions right from the entrance. There are guides here to show you around, no fee for that however one could tip them. I'd allotted an hour and half for this stop, but our guide said that one needs about 2½ hours to see the place completely.

The garden was designed by the renowned artist Prof. T.B.Solabakkanavar along with his family members and several other artists. The first thing one see is circular pond with a garden around it dedicated to the great cine star Dr. Rajkumar. The garden has a dozen or so idols depicting different roles played by Dr. Raj. At the center of the pond is Bedara Kannappa's idol, Dr. Raj's maiden cinema. 

This scene here shows Dr. Raj practicing Yoga. The scene is from the movie Kamanabillu. On the left hand side is the idol of the historic poet Kalidasa. Dr. Raj played the lead role in Kaviratna Kalidasa.

Besides the circular garden, there's also an avenue with idols depicting Satya Harishchandra, Bhakta Kumbara, Raghavendra Swami, Sanadhi Appanna, and few other I can't recall.

This idol depicts Mayura Varma and in the background is the scene from the super hit song Huttidare Kannadanadalli Huttabeku. A befitting memorial for Dr. Raj's unparalleled talent to play legendary characters. By now you must've noticed the greenery of this place.

From the green outdoors we move indoors, into another world. We step into the area dedicated to the Aalda Mara, the great Banyan tree. This tree is a tribute to three great artists from Karnataka - Dr. M V Minajigi, D V Halabhavi & T P Akki. These artists established the Fine Arts Colleges for the development of artists and art teachers. A Banyan tree symbolizes eternity.. art and artists forever!

It's a psychedelic treat. Lot of effort gone into creating this realistic monument. A guided path takes visitors through the place, no straying around or getting lost.

The Banyan tree is home to several creatures. Here, in the roots are serpents and human like creatures including a woman with two children. At the middle is an idol depicting Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara as one.

The roots entwine pillars of art. The roof is one massive painting.. I can't really remember the details though.

As we take a tour of Aaladamara, we get to see the Sculptural Fountain.

As we step out from the world of Aladamara we get to see scenes from an art school. This scene is dedicated to artist T P Akki, I think. The teacher is practicing art along with his students. There are semi clad models posing for students practice. In the foreground is a pillar with modern art showing kitchenware.

Shri T P Akki's office.. a discussion of artists. On the left is a pillar depicting a woman warrior, I think.

Then we step into the Modern Art Gallery. Being honest, I can't really understand some of the art. Also, here I find some of the art forms too strong, too loud for my taste. Nevertheless, I understand the effort behind each of the artworks here.

These ceiling panels here are dedicated to wildlife. Art is not just sketching, painting or sculpting. One has to possess knowledge about different types of material used for the artwork. I think, these are paintings over glass. The artists would have spent a great deal of time and effort to get the right effect.

Of the several dozen artworks, a pair of oxen and farmers was the one that appealed to be most. Its created in honor of the most noble profession.. the farmer.. one who toils day and night to feed the populace. As the famous quote goes "The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways" the farming community has been taken for granted. God bless them with courage and strength.

The other items shown here is a mermaid and a cricketer holding a bat and trophy. Besides sculptures there are also paintings in the background. My visits to art exhibitions have been a different experience. I'd artworks displayed individually, in a hall with plain walls and floors. Some cases I remember seeing a set of paintings or sculptures. But here the experience is completely different. Its just artwork except the path we walked on.

On one side of this hall are two life size sculptures of elderly couple flanking a door way to another hall.. the Marriage Hall. I think it should be called The Wedding Hall. Coming back to the sculptures, they depict a couple from a well off landlord family. Attired in traditional garments, in a posture considered graceful for the status.

Stepping into the wedding hall, the main item here is the set of life size idols showing group posing fr a photograph with the couple at a typical Indian reception. There are idols of a photographer and a videographer as well.

Done with the Modern Art, we step out, ready to move into the rural life gallery which is an outdoor setting. Pushpa shoots something that catches her imagination.

My thought, if you are in a large group, break yourself into groups of 5 or 6 so that t doesn't feel too crowded and makes it easier to take pictures.

 ..will continue in Utsav Rock Garden - part 2.

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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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