The Methuselah of the Capital City
The tree is broken and twisted, but it still throws leaves out in defiance of nearly four hundred years of physical decay. Despite the endless ravages of nature and humankind, it has stood the test of time, standing tall as the city’s natural heirloom. If we listen hard enough, we can hear the tree speak to us. The short and stumpy Banyan, is the Methuselah of the Capital City. This ancient Banyan is more than just a tree, it is history, knowledge and life fused together in an intricate network of gnarled splendour. The fresh green leaves it produces every spring is a reminder of its existence lest we forget its humongous contribution to the lives of the residents of the capital.
The silent sentinel stands proud at the prominent city junction of Rajmahal Square. It has been there in the living memory of many of the old timers. What if left today, is just one aerial prop which took root centuries ago, the original banyan was spread over a wide area, and some say more than two acres. It extended right across the road where the present day Rajmahal Hotel exists till the second lane of the government quarters. The foundation stone of the New Capital was laid just 100 metres away from the tree. The plaque was put on by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on the 13th April 1948 near the existing Durga Temple in Bapuji Nagar. It was later shifted to the State Assembly complex.
The banyan tree has innumerable references in ancient Indian literature and the old trees were often worshipped with a little shrine below them. The tree is a microcosm of the natural world that is home to numerous species like monkeys, bats, squirrels, birds, snakes . The fruits are food for birds, bats, squirrels and even cattle! The cool shade is savoured by weary travellers eager to escape from the hot Indian sun!
In the initial days, the construction workers set up camp underneath the huge canopy. In later years the place was the Taxi Stand where dozens of Landmaster cars would take passengers to Cuttack and back. As construction progressed and the forests were cleared, the Old Banyan too was sacrificed at the altar of modernity in bits and pieces. Till the early sixties, the main tree stood amidst the multitude of aerial props that had taken root. A devastating cyclone tragically uprooted the main parent trunk, but its branches still made an ecosystems of its own, forming a lovely green canopy. Gradually, all but the single lone branch has remained, saved from the axe by the small shrine at its base. When the Smart City officials wanted to chop it down, locals protested and the tree was spared. Unfortunately, the little shrine is now engulfed in the aerial roots, though a portion is visible.
The entire area of the present day capital was once a part of the Chandaka forest. There were dozens of villages and hamlets, with many streams flowing in the valleys. The wooded hillocks studded the area and sheltered a variety of wildlife including leopards, deer, peafowl, bears, etc. The villagers cultivated rice and vegetables in their small fields. Many of these villages still hold their original names. To name a few, Aigania, Andharua, Baragada,Baramunda, Bhagabanpur, Bharatpur, Bhomikhal, Chandrasekharpur, Dumduma, Gangapara, Jagamara, Jharapara, Kesora, Laxmisagar, Patia, Pitapalli, Pokhariput, Samantrapur, Siripur etc. still bear their original names.
Lewis Road was named after Lady Lewis, the wife of the British Governor, Hawthorne Lewis, who had spent some time at the Sanatorium in the area. Many physicians of Calcutta would recommend patients convalescing from diseases like malaria and tuberculosis to go to Bhubaneswar and imbibe the therapeutic mineral water of the well inside the Kedar Gouri temple complex. It was believed that the water had curative and rejuvenating properties. A two-storied sanatorium had been made near the present-day Ravi Talkies, which catered to the convalescing Britishers. Unfortunately, it was demolished ten years ago and a block of flats has come up at the place. There was another medicinal water source in the form of an artesian well on the north boundary of the RRL complex. For many years, townsfolk would line up to collect water every morning, but the spring was destroyed when the Apollo Hospital acquired the place.
The Old Town still has Annie House Chakk, named after a British lady who had married a prominent Sevayat of Lingaraj Temple. She had set up a children’s school named Annie House, which was perhaps the first English medium private school of Bhubaneswar. For some reason, she left the place but is remembered by many of the old timers. Champa Pokhari, a big pond which was opposite the present Bhubaneswar Hotel was the red light area of the town.
The entire area which is now the CRPF Camp and the IRC Village was shrub land with tall elephant grass. The Stewart School, built in 1960, was the last building, built at the edge of the Chandaka Forest. As a school boy, I remember seeing foxes and wolves, even bears and deer that occasionally crossed the playfield. Pythons and other snakes were often caught and put in gunny bags to be taken to be released in the forest.
When the foundation stone for the state’s capital was laid, Bhubaneswar had only a small railway station, a post office, a police station near the Lingaraj Temple and a revenue collection office that existed since the British days. There were also two Dharamshalas, one established in 1920 and the other in 1929, which fortunately still survive, the police station and post office have been demolished recently.
A dense forest extended from the railway line till the Khandagiri hills. The small hillock called Bhalumundia was chosen for the Raj Bhavan. It was thus named due to the many bears who stayed in the small caves. Even when work was underway, the surrounding forests were full of wildlife. Besides elephants, tigers, leopards, bears, hyenas and poisonous snakes abounded. No one dared move out of Town after sunset. There was a lurking fear of being attacked by a leopard or tiger. There were many casualties among the construction workers.
In the 1940’s, the Railway Station was a four roomed affair with few amenities. Passengers would alight and take canopied bullock carts to go to the Old town to visit the temples. Dr. Ananta Mohapatro, the film and theatre aficionado recollects the time when his family would travel from Cuttack by train and take a bullock cart from the Old Station to reach the Dak Bungalow at the Old Town. The Railway Malgodown was built to facilitate the transport of materials required for the construction of the Capital.
Work first began for the Secretariat and Assembly buildings, followed by the Raj Bhavan and the Airport. This was followed by the construction of the Main Market. The government quarters and the MLA Colony came later. As the city expanded, the forest was cleared and roads laid. Many of the old trees were still upright till the 1999 super cyclone. With Phani, Amphan and Hud-Hud, what little remained was lost. In a 2019 study on the Impact of Cyclone Fani in Bhubaneswar, conducted by ICAR, the loss of vegetation affected by the cyclonic storm was observed and recorded at different locations of Bhubaneswar. It was observed that more than 99 per cent of trees experienced damage, out of which nearly 5 per cent trees were damaged completely, and 57 per cent of trees partially damaged.
Some pockets of the city still have the ancient trees. Many are found among the Unit II and III Govt. Staff Quarters, some of which are very large and ancient. Unfortunately, most of these will now be chopped down as the quarters are slated for demolition and high rises will be made. During the recent Ekamrakhestra Beautification drive in the Old Town, nearly 150 ancient trees, many within the Lingaraj temple periphery were cut down. Each tree was a relic of the glorious cultural past and an invaluable heritage, a part of Ekamra that was lost forever. The Ananta Vasudeva Inscription of Paramarddi says that Ekamra was a sacred area “…adorned with hundreds of mango-groves, wherein exists a single Devakula [temple] surrounded by numerous temples.” Not a single grove exists today.
Two early accounts of Old Bhubaneswar describes both the antiquity and the decay that was prevalent.
Andrew Stirling in 1825 wrote : “At Balianta, on the new road, sixteen miles from Cuttack, the attention of a traveler is attracted by a lofty massive tower of stone, rising from amidst the thickets which skirt the adjoining frontier of Khurda. A path leads through the woods towards the object of curiosity, and conducts, at the end of about six miles, to a gently swelling rocky elevation.
On reaching which you will find yourself, with astonishment. In the center of a ruined city, consisting entirely of deserted and dismantled towers and temples sacred to the worship of Mahadeo. Under the innumerable titles, which absurd legends or the fancy of his votaries have assigned to that deity. From amidst the whole, the great pagoda of the Ling Raj, or Lord of the Lingam, lifts its singular form. Eminently conspicuous both for size, loftiness, and superior style of its architecture.”
Rajendra Lal Mitra, the first Indian wrote a rather biased account about Bhubaneswar in 1860. He wrote said, “Bhuvanesvara, in the present day, is a small, insignificant, uninviting place with no wealth, no commerce, and no manufactory, peopled by hungry priests, and desolate in every respect. It is nevertheless, a most interesting field for the antiquarian, abounding as it does in architectural remains of the highest value, and connected as it is with historical associations of rare importance.”
When we think of the heritage of cities we usually think of monuments, palaces, buildings etc. and ignore the living heritage comprising old trees, lakes, streams and hills etc. These heritage trees are important, of course, for their biological value, but so also for their cultural value. Heritage trees are historical artefacts, connecting urban residents to the past and providing a sense of belonging in cities that can otherwise be stressful places to live in. Imagine the feeling of serenity and peace which engulfs our minds and hearts when we rest under the thick shade of a large tree!
INTACH Odisha is also suggesting to the state government to enact a special law, the Heritage Tree Conservation Act (HTCA) to impose restriction upon removal of these precious trees. According to A.B.Tripathy, State Convener of INTACH, Heritage Tree Conservation Committees should be established in every district to conserve heritage trees.
Has the green paradise that Bhubaneswar was been lost forever? The city has seen trees vanishing faster than it’s assumed. In the last five years, official estimates show that over 10,000 trees have been axed for road widening, beautification, redevelopment etc. More than 1200 old trees are slated for destruction for the new MLA quarters being built. Could they have been saved since translocation technique has been successful for mid-size trees; with a survival rate of around 50 percent ?
Trees, woods and forests are embedded in the cultural memory of the inhabitants. Bhubaneswar is a tragedy of transition and change, growing from the creation and destruction of trees and woods. The city is at a tipping point, bursting at its seams. Originally planned for 40,000 people, Bhubaneswar now accommodated a million and counting. The originally planned area of 16.84 sq.kms is today a sprawling urban area of more than 150 sq.kms. The founding fathers did not envisage industrial and institutional area in the new administrative Capital, rather emphasis was given to an agrarian society with a small population that did resided in the city but visited the fields and forests nearby.The city which revolved around the temple precincts with classes of servitors, has slowly transitioned into a melting pot of different cultures. The Punjabi Biradari, the Maharasthra Mandal, Tamil Sangam, Kalibari , Sindhi Society, Gurudwara Singh Sabha, Andhra Association, Gujarati Mahasabha, Marwari Manch and the Chhat Puja Mandali are all examples of the melting pot that Bhubaneswar has become.
We have a choice of becoming another metro with high rises, traffic choked four lanes, slums and crowded markets or we can transform the city into an aesthetically and nature friendly metropolis with pristine forests, water bodies, and grasslands and still be a flourishing centre for culture, heritage, education, sports, commerce and enterprise. Instead of imitating cities like Bengaluru and Pune, we still have time to turn around from the self-destructive growth path we have embarked upon. While urban planners across the world are scrambling to create ecologically sustainable and environmentally sensitive green cities, we seem to have missed the bus. Green areas should be created wherever possible. Roof and balcony gardens, parks, avenue plantations etc. must be made. The old ponds, streams and lakes should be rejuvenated. We must preserve the original character of this ancient city. There is no better way to achieve this other than public demand. If the residents of this wonderful city decide the wise way forward; city planners and managers would be sensitised to their needs and plan accordingly.