ENVIRONMENT|SELF|LiFE LESSONS
The Regal Banyan Tree
The tree with a difference
I am sure you have seen Banyan trees.
What is so special about these trees?
To me, they are royal and regal!
I went to the Waste To Wonder Park in New Delhi in India. It was environmentally friendly. There were replicas of seven beautiful wonders of the world over there.
It is a theme park and the monuments are replicas of The Taj Mahal, Great Pyramid of Giza, Eiffel Tower of Paris, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Christ the Redeemer Statue of Rio De Janeiro, Rome’s Colosseum and the Statue of Liberty of the United States of America.
The replicas are made out of waste material. So it is an environmentally friendly park.
What is important in the park is that it is very green and each replica is enclosed with greenery around it. It is full of beautiful trees and plants.I was blessed to see the beautiful ancient 150 years old Banyan Tree over there.
The Spiritual Speciality of the Banyan Tree
In the waste to wonder park, there was the royal and regal Banyan tree. I was reminded that it was a spiritual tree because of its connection with Buddha
Under the Banyan tree, Budha got his enlightenment. The Banyan tree is known as the Sri Maha Bodhi, or the Bodhi Tree. It is considered to be a sacred tree. The Banyan tree still exists where Buddha had his enlightment. It has been given the name of Ficus religiosa.
The Physical Beauty Of The Banyan Tree
The speciality of the Banyan tree is also its regal look. Its physical appearance is so magnificent. It has a personality of its own.
The tree under which I stood, I was told by the park supervisor that it was One hundred and fifty years old. It had a little board on it that said that it was an ancient tree.
The tree had long ariel roots touching the floor. The roots as you can see in the picture are very long. The longest one was eight feet long.
Awareness And Lessons Learnt About The Banyan Tree
- The tree is revered by people in India. Every Saturday people keep light under it and pour milk to bring happiness to the house. It is believed that if the Banyan Tree is happy, the Gods will be happy and will bless the house.
- The trees are protected as no one is ready to cut this tree. It is believed even if you decide to prune and cut the tree, bad luck will befall you. So the tree keeps growing.
- The Banyan Tree does not require much care. It just grows all over if left to itself and makes several figures in its trunk. The figures almost resemble human beings.
- The Banyan Trees are huge and give a lot of shade so people enjoy the tree in summer.
- The sad story of the Banyan Tree that I learned that day was that during India’s struggle for freedom many rebels were hung from the Banyan Tree by the British.
- I also learned that Banyan Trees are the national trees of India but they also exist in many countries in the world besides India and are appreciated in all parts of the world.
- The Great Banyan Tree in Kolkotta is over 156000 square feet and it is the largest tree in India. It is housed in Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanical Garden
In conclusion, I would like to say that Banyan Tree is regal, royal, ancient, and conserves soil. It is beautiful to look at. It is sacred and spiritual. Do enjoy the Banyan Tree and remember Buddha got his enlightenment under the tree.
Thanks to R. Rangan PhD for this wonderful prompt on plant science. I chose to write on the Banyan Tree which I enjoyed a lot in the Waste To Wonder Park that was blessed with a beautiful 150-year-old ancient Banyan Tree.