water lilies at Lalbagh tank

This post is a result of 9 year old memories. On July 5th 2015, I met up with my primary school friends at Lalbagh for a morning walk. That was my preferred way of catching up with friends... an early morning walk followed by a quick breakfast. That morning while walking near the water tank, we accidently discovered a tree named Devil's tree and later surprised to see a flock of the Spot-billed Pelicans. In between, somewhere near the bridge across the tank waters, I noticed a tight cluster of pink water lilies on the shimmering surface. There was no other convenient spot to shoot this cluster, I just a shot with sunlight blazing into the lens. Not a bad picture though.

Here's are two cropped versions of the original. A closer look at these beauties is needed.

Lalbagh is a Nature buff's dream. The variety of plant life and animal life is simply amazing. With every visit, something new could be seen. Lalbagh is home to the rare Ficus with cup shaped leaves, it's called Krishna's buttercup or Krishna Ficus. Then there are gigantic Silk Cottons. The largest of them is truly a giant in terms of girth and spread of branches. Until about a year ago, Lalbagh was home to an African tree as well - the enigmatic Baobab. African Baobabs are gigantic, so are some of the Baobabs in India. However, the Baobab of Lalbagh was small, with tree trunks emerging from one base. A few months back I heard this Baobab was axed spelling its end. I received the sad news from a friend who frequents Lalbagh. Then there was one really tall palm - an Arecanut tree situated close to Lalbagh Main Gate. The tall palm was missing during my last visit, probably sometime 2021. Anyway, there are a plenty to see, admire and be amazed of. For example there's a tree fossil, and the rock hillock is considered as a geological heritage. Lalbagh is not an hour long tourist destination, rather it's a place one needs to visit over and over and over to realize the hidden gems,

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squirrel, pigeon and parrot at Lalbagh

Dec 26, 2014
Found these lively creatures having breakfast of grains.. rice, wheat, maize, ragi, jowar.. There are spots in Lalbagh which have become feeding spots. Morning walkers from surrounding localities bring bags of grains and drop them at the spots. The largest spot is dominated by pigeons. Then there are smaller spots where parrots, crows and squirrels are also seen. These creatures spend time peacefully, rarely they fight over sharing the grains. Here we go..

sweet little squirrel nibbling at a grain of maize

looking for some buried stuff

pigeon dropped the maize, not edible? not tasty?

a short stroll and..

searching for grain on a tree, perhaps something in the valley

a parrot wishing it had reached a moment earlier

pigeon's feet slips and flaps its wings to regain balance; parrot is startled

regains its composure; looks at the pigeon having breakfast

waiting patiently for the pigeon leave..

Found my favourite tree from childhood days, I did not know its name back then but I imagined them as drum sticks.. the type which are used in pairs to bang both sides of the big drum.. boom boom boom

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water birds at Lalbagh

Lalbagh lake's life on the surface..

Duck

Water hen

Spot-billed Pelican

Cormorants are expert divers with an ability to stay under-water close to half-minute. You must see how this bird takes off from water to air..

Cormorant

Close to the Lotus Pond is a large signage "Birds of Lalbagh"

The board says birds seen are-

• Purple Heron
• Indian Pond heron
• Spotted Owlet
• Oriental White-Eye
• Red-Whiskered Bulbul
• Common Myna

I've seen Herons, Bulbul, Parrot and Myna but not the Owlet. Apart from these rare birds, the commonly found ones are crows and pigeons the grain-fed pampered brats. One other bird is the Indian Kite, usually 3 or 4 are seen hovering over the lake; suddenly they dive down and try to grab fish out of water.. if they caught a game, yes its breakfast time else back to gliding..

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Devil's Tree. Lalbagh, Bengaluru

July 5, 2015
This is my second gathering at Lalbagh Botanical garden with primary school friends. The first one was Dec 27th, the day we discovered Ficus Krishnae ~ the tree which connects our world with the world of Hindu Gods. Like the last gathering, I came early, parked my car at Double Road entrance, went up the granite hillock and went exploring. As I walking from the lake bund towards Glass House, I happened to notice a tree named Devil's Tree. Wow! Last time it was a godly tree and this time its a devil's tree.. that makes it even. Here it is..

 Here'e the transcript of the board:

ಜಂತಾಲೆ ಮರ

ಮರ ನೆಟ್ಟ ಗಣ್ಯರು: ಶ್ರೀ ರಾಜೀವ್ ಗಾಂಧಿರವರು

ನೆಟ್ಟ ಅವಧಿ: ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ 1985

ಸಸ್ಯ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರೀಯ ಹೆಸರು: ಅಲ್ಸ್ಟೋನಿಯಾ ಸ್ಕೊಲಾರಿಸ್

ಸಸ್ಯ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರೀಯ ಕುಟುಂಬ: ಆಪೋಸೈನೇಸಿ

ಮೂಲ: ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಭಾರತ ದೇಶದಿಂದ ಆಸ್ಟ್ರೇಲೀಯಾದವರೆಗೆ

ಹೂ ಬಿಡುವ ಕಾಲ: ಮಾರ್ಚ್-ಏಪ್ರಿಲ್ ಮತ್ತು ನವೆಂಬರ್-ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್

ಈ ಮರವು ಬೃಹದಾಕಾರವಾಗಿ ಬೆಳೆಯುವ ಗುಣಹೊಂದಿರುವುದರಿಂದ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಉದ್ಯಾನವನಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸಸ್ಯಶಾಸ್ತ್ರೀಯ ತೋಟಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇದನ್ನು ಬೆಳೆಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. ವರ್ಷದಲ್ಲಿ ಎರೆಡು ಬಾರಿ ಹೂವು ಬಿಡುವ ಈ ಮರದ ಹೂವುಗಳು ಬಿಳಿಯ ಬಣ್ನದಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಸುವಾಸನೆ ಭರಿತವಾಗಿರುತ್ತವೆ. ಮರದ ಕಾಂಡವು ಬಿಳಿಯ ಬಣ್ನದಾಗಿದ್ದು, ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಗೆ ಬಾಳಿಕೆ ಬರುವುದಿಲ್ಲವಾದ್ದರಿಂದ ಮರದಿಂದ ಬೆಂಕಿ ಪೆಟ್ಟಿಗೆ, ಶವದ ಪೆಟ್ಟಿಗೆಗಳು, ಕಪ್ಪು ಹಲಗೆಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಬೋಕ್ಷ್ಗಳನ್ನು ತಯಾರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.

Devil's Tree

Planting Year: December 1985

Common Name: Dita Bark Tree

Botanical Name: Alstonia scholaris

Family: Apocynaceae

Origin: India and Australia

Flowering Season: March-April and November-December

It is a gigantic tree commonly grown in big parks and botanical gardens. It bears flowers twice a year. Flowers are white and fragrant. Wood is white, not durable therefore used in making boxes, coffins, blackboards and matchboxes.

Besides its name Devil's Tree it also known as Dita Bark Tree. It is said that this tree's bark is used in traditional medicine to fight toothache, malaria, rheumatism and even snake bites. Also its latex is used for treating cough, throat sore and fever.

I walked towards the gigantic silk cotton trees, they are amazing trees, never tire of seeing them. A minute's walk from these trees is West Gate that's where I meet up with my friends. Expected number was seven but only five turned up.. never mind the numbers, it was good enough to be meeting up long time friends, We walked around the lake, talking about various birds we saw in the lake.. a black slender bird which takes off like a sea plane was amazing to watch. We also saw pelicans, I could count five of them. Another memorable sight was an Indian Kite diving down towards water trying to pick out fish from the water, We covered the lake trial and reached the bridge where we saw several ducks.. sweet little birds :) They dove and stayed underwater half minutes before surfacing. I was glad to have discovered another tree and to have shared with friends. That's our group for the morning.

left to right - me, Venu, Prashant, Subbu, Prakash

Done with our walk, its time for breakfast. We head towards Roti Ghar in Gandhi Bazar. Prashant, an avid foodie made us have a heavy breakfast... burrrppp!

Adding links to our other gatherings for the benefit of my friends..

• Krishnae Ficus at Lal Bagh, Bengaluru
• Gulmohars of Krishna Rao Park

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