Baobab of Fadnavis Wada

Another discovery by my friend Vijay Menon. This time the Baobab's at Fadnavis Waada, Wai, Satara district.

This is one of the few discoveries in which Baobab fruit is seen. The fruit has high nutritious content and can be preserved for a long time. Apart from the fruit, it's leaves and bark have herbal properties and used for various health conditions.

Built in the XVIII Century, Fadnavis Wada is a historical monument. I'm quoting it's description verbatim from Nana Fadnavis Wada website: This palace (wada) at village Menavli was constructed by Rajamanya Rajashri Nana Faadnavis in 1770s and is situated on the banks of Krishna River. The 250+ year old wada structure comprises of the main stone plinth above which rises the two storeyed wooden framed structures with walls made of bricks and dried mud, hay and lime mortar. The wada has some excellent specimens of art in the form of well-carved wooden ceilings, and cypress pillars with cusped arches and Maratha style wall paintings, that are adorned with faunal and floral motifs.

Baobab originates from the African continent. Between the XIV and XVII Centuries CE, groups of Sufi ascetics travelled to the Indian subcontinent carrying Baobab seeds & saplings. The Sufis planted them wherever they camped which was usually for months at stretch. Baobab, 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. Tilak road and Ghokale road, Pune, Maharastra
31. near Aurangabad, Maharashtra
32. inside Shirala fort, Maharashtra
33. Revdanda-Murud road near Korlai, Maharastra
34. opposite Mandvi Darwaza at Vasai Fort, Maharastra
35. Nana Fadnavis Wada premises, Menawali, Maharashtra
36. Mandavgad or Mandu, Madhya Pradesh
37. Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, Bihar
38. Purani Jhunsi, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh

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Baobab of Purani Jhunsi, Prayagraj

Explorer Vijay Menon & team discover another baobab tree. This baobab is way up the country, at Purani Jhusi in Prayagraj.

That's Vijay with the Baobab.

The tree is situated on a large platform which quite convenient for the baobab. However Vijay noted some people were scrapping layers off the tree's trunk. Apparently the scrapings were to be used to prepare medicine for headache or some other ache. Hoping this is not a regular happening considering the tree's safety. Hoping local authorities take notice of this and erect a fence to prevent people coming in physical contact with this living heritage.

And here's Vijay & team at Prayagraj for Maha Kumbha Mela 2025.

Baobab originates from the African continent. Between the XIV and XVII Centuries CE, groups of Sufi ascetics travelled to the Indian subcontinent carrying Baobab seeds & saplings. The Sufi ascetics planted them wherever they camped for long periods. Baobab, 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. Tilak road and Ghokale road, Pune, Maharastra
31. near Aurangabad, Maharashtra
32. inside Shirala fort, Maharashtra
33. Revdanda-Murud road near Korlai, Maharastra
34. opposite Mandvi Darwaza at Vasai Fort, Maharastra
35. Nana Fadnavis Wada premises, Menawali, Maharashtra
36. Mandavgad or Mandu, Madhya Pradesh
37. Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, Bihar

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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. Purana Qilla, Golconda Fort, Hyderabad, Telangana
10. Attapur, Hyderabad
11. Vansthalipuram, Hyderabad, Telangana
12. near Chappel Road, Hyderabad, Telangana
13. Ranganath temple at Nanakramguda, Hyderabad, Telangana
14. Shivalaya on Balachandruni Guttalu, Nalagonda, Telangana
15. Uppal in Chengicherla Reserve Forests, Hyderabad, Telangana
16. Nellore, Andhrapradesh
17. Theosophist Society Gardens, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
18. The American College campus, Madurai, TN
19. Chinmaya Vidyalaya's campus at Ilanthope, Rajapalayam, TN
20. Mangaliawas near Ajmer, Rajasthan
21. Vadodara, Gujarat
22. Dayapur, Gujarat
23. Kutch, Gujarat
24. Bhanagar, Gujarat
25. Baroda, Gujarat
26. Victoria Garden, Sukharamnagar, Ahmedabad, Gujarat
27. Mulund, Mumbai, Maharashtra
28. Byculla zoo, Mumbai, Maharashtra
29. inside Shirala fort, Maharashtra
30. Revdanda-Murud road near Korlai, Maharastra
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 Ganga-Yamuna Sangam, on the left bank of the Ganga, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh
37. Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, Bihar

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Baobab tree of Korlai

Little more than a month after discovering Baobab trees of Vasai, Vijay Menon discovered the Baobab near Korlai fort. The Baobab is situated next to Revdanda-Murud road. Not sure if this the only Baobab here or if it's more than one.

Thanks to Vijay for noticing this living heritage and for sharing its photo.

Here's the list of Baobab trees compiled over a few years of research:

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. Two Baobab trees at Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashaala, Yadavagiri, Mysuru
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. Close to an entrance of Vasai fort, Maharashtra
31. Tilak road and Ghokale road, Pune, Maharastra
32. near Aurangabad, Maharashtra
33. Nana Fadnavis Wada premises, Menawali, Maharashtra
34. Mandavgad or Mandu, Madhya Pradesh
35. near Sangam, left bank of the Ganga, Prayag, Uttar Pradesh 
36. Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, Bihar

Hoping to discover more.

......... 

Baobab trees of Vasai fort

On the 30th of December 2022, Vijay Menon, my friend from Thane had shared pictures of the Baobab tree at Shirala fort. On the 1st of February 2024, Vijay surprised me with pictures of four Baobab trees at Vasai fort. The fort is situated on the northern side of Vasai creek and the Baobabs are opposite Mandvi Darwaza of Vasai fort. Here are the pictures, I'm very happy to be adding another Baobab site to the steadily growing list of Baobab trees in India.

Of the four trees, three are in one cluster bang a stone's throw from the fort doorway. These trees remind me of the Baobab of Lalbagh Botanical Garden in Begaluru. Lalbagh's Baobab is probably one tree which looks like three trees and it could be the same with Baobab of Vasai fort. Maybe it's two trees since there's a date palm in between.

A zoomed out view of the trees.

View of the trees from the gateway.

The fourth Baobab is within 100 meters of Mandvi Darwaza. Going by the looks of the trees, they seem to be relatively young, maybe 150 years. That's my guess, they could bee younger or older.

The sight of these trees is a bitter-sweet feeling. Bitter because of the conditions they are in. Local people ignorant of this tree, for that matter any tree, have dumped construction waste close to it. The pavers around the tree are choking the tree's base. Baobabs grow continuously hence they need open ground around their bases. I hope some local realizes that and removes a few pavers exposing the earth below.

Within the fort are several places of interest such as Vajreshwari Mandir, Hanuman Mandir, Saint Joseph Church, Gonsalo Garcia Church, Saint Anthony Convent, and other ancient ruins. Around Vajreshwari Mandir are a dozen or more sculptures of which Brahma idol is the most eye-catching one. Below is a collage of three sculptures. Extreme left is Brahma and the other two I'm unsure.

Thanks to my friend Vijay for sharing pictures of Baobab trees.

Before closing this post, I would like to add the list of Baobab sites compiled over the past few years:

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. Two Baobab trees at Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashaala, Yadavagiri, Mysuru
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. next to Revdanda-Murud road at Korlai, Maharashtra
31. Tilak road and Ghokale road, Pune, Maharastra
32. near Aurangabad, Maharashtra
33. Nana Fadnavis Wada premises, Menawali, Maharashtra
34. Mandavgad or Mandu, Madhya Pradesh
35. near Sangam, left bank of the Ganga, Prayag, Uttar Pradesh 
36. Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, Bihar

.........

Baobab tree of Shirala fort

On the morning of December 30, 2022 I happened to share the link to "Baobab trees in Karnataka and Telangana" with Vijay Menon, an acquaintance through this blog. Vijay Menon and a few of his friends are fort experts - the group has visited 580+ forts, 500 in Maharashtra itself. The group is undertakes regular expeditions to forts, explore them thoroughly identifying the key spots within, participate in restoration work and conduct photo exhibitions. Having shared the link, I fely Vijay might have seen a Baobab or two during his explorations. My intuition was right. Vijay responded that he would read the post and a few moments later he shared pictures of a Baobab with a caption "In our recent trip ...boabab tree in Shirala fort- Sangli district." I was elated. We spoke over phone, I wanted to know more about the new discovery. During the chat I learned about Vijay's interest in Banyan & Peepul trees... basically huge and rare trees.

Shirala is a town in Sangli district of Maharashtra state. The ruins of the fort marked as "Bhuikot fort" is situated on the southwest side of the town. According to Vijay just a couple of bastions and rampart walls remain of the fort. Besides the fortification, there are couple of shrines and an ancient well in the fort area. One of the shrines is a Shiva Mandir close to which is this Baobab tree.

I zoomed into the picture to get a closer look at the bark and compared it with barks other Baobabs. They are almost same, any difference seen could be due to different lighting. Going by this Baobab's form, it is closer to the Baobab of Ogapur near Vijayapura. As to its age, it could be 200 to 300 years old.

In the fort area are offices of forest department. I assume the round platform around and benches around the tree are forest department's contribution. People can sit under / near the rare tree and appreciate its beauty. However, the round platform around the tree's stem might restrict the tree's growth. Unlike other trees, Baobabs grow newer stems which merge with the main stem thereby increasing its girth over time - this is the reason for their long life spanning 1000 to 3000 years. Perhaps it would be wise to remove the round platform altogether, create open space around the stem and fix a fence so that people do not step on the open space.

Hoping the people of Shirala and the forest department take good care of their town's living heritage. Thanks to my friend Vijay Menon for discovering this rare tree.

Before closing this post, I would like to mention that Baobab is originally from Africa. Between the XIV and XVII Centuries CE, groups of Sufi ascetics who travelled from Africa to India carried Baobab saplings and planted them wherever they camped for long periods. Baobabs though a rare tree in our country, thousands of trees are said to be existing 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

.........