Savanur, an erstwhile princely state

Holy mother of trees

Savanur, an erstwhile princely state, and the headquarters of Savanur Taluk in Haveri District in Karnataka, is not listed as a tourist spot. But it is the only place in India where three giant baobabs stand together. The baobab (scientific name Adansonia Digitata), is a type of tree native to Africa, and is almost impossible to hack down as it regenerates quickly from the roots. Yet, when their time is up, the trees vanish, leaving little more than a heap of fibres behind, and no one can tell what a giant it once was. A few years back, a few of us students were out doing field research for our Masters thesis. I was working on the receding cultivation of betelvine in Savanur. After the day’s work, we asked our autorickshaw driver and guide if there were other places nearby that might interest us. He told us about these trees. “How different a tree can be?” we thought. Were we wrong! In full bloom, the tree was impressive. Three 2,000-year-old trees stand tall in face of water shortage and unbearable heat. They look like guardians of Savanur, or like the trees that come to life to protect middle earth in Lord of the Rings. With a thick, greyish-brown trunk, the tree looked like it had been planted upside down, with roots for branches. Three of them together resemble a small forest. The thickest baobab is 15.5m tall with girth of 15.7m. The second reaches a height of 16.4m and girth of 12.92m. The last one stands at 15.7m with a girth of 12.62m. The bark looks swollen because it can store thousands of gallons of water. Incidentally, this is what sustains the tree even in the most arid soil. In parts of Africa, people access this water by cutting off branches (which later grow back). According to legend, baobabs were the first trees on earth. In Savanur, locals believe that Lord Krishna planted the baobabs with seeds he got from Africa. It is also believed that the tree can prevent decomposition of a body, and that food kept under the tree does not spoil. In recent years, people have reported seeing baobabs in Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh and Raichur, but never in a cluster as in Savanur, and not as tall or as wide as these. The largest known baobab in the world is reportedly in a farm in South Africa’s Limpopo Province. Tall at 22 metres and with a circumference of 47 meters, the tree’s hollow was cleared by the farm owners to create a pub inside the tree.