The Wish-Fulfilling Tree

Kolkata's Botanical Garden is home to the world's largest banyan tree, the Great Banyan. This "forest" (below) is all one tree, approximately 250 years old.

Banyan are tropical fig trees having the unusual characteristic of  "aerial roots" which descend from the branches and go into the soil, forming additional trunks. The 1500 aerial roots of this tree originated from one main trunk and now spread out over 1300 feet (450 meters).

The banyan tree is the national tree of India, and these beautiful spreading trees can be found in every village. In Hindu mythology, the banyan is referred to as the "wish-fulfilling tree" because its ever-expanding branches symbolize eternal life. India's second largest banyan is at the Theosophical Society in Chennai, not far from my house. That one is older (450 years) than the one in Kolkata but does not have as wide a canopy.

Visitors stroll through the Botanical Gardens in Kolkata.

The Botanical Garden's 272 acres are also home to these giant lily pads, some of which looked like they were more than 6 feet in diameter.

I was strolling around the garden taking pictures when I realized I had an entourage behind me. This gaggle of schoolboys (spotlessly clean, for mischievous young boys!) started out as 2 or 3 curious boys, and soon grew to about 40, following me around from one part of the garden to another, quizzically watching me photograph trees and lily pads.

Comments

[Francis Muncaster]

Wow, great photo's again, what camera go you use? (Sorry, you must be asked this a hundred times!) I will try to see the Banyan tree in Chennai next month when we visit our village project.

[Esben]

Hello there!

I randomly stumbled upon your blog via the expat blog directory and I must confess that I find this to be an exceptionaly interesting blog. The quality of the pictures is consistently very high, and the background commentary is long enough to be meaningful and short enough to not get boring. I am an expat in India myself, which only makes it more interesting and inspiring to see your perspective on this amazing country.

Will keep checking your blog, and will also go through your archives once I find the time.

Best regards,

Esben

[Max]

Great blog, just love those pics of the Banyan tree. That really is some kind of tree. Live in Thailand at the moment, never been to India but hope to go soon.
All the best!

[Sheila]

This is such an impressive tree, Basia. Thank you for giving us the pleasure of seeing it. And those lily pads are fantastic, too!

[kevin g]

As usual, great photo's. Almost felt like I was walking through the Garden.

[Basia]

Francis: I have a 5 megapixel Nikon CoolPix 5700 digital camera. It has an 8x optical zoom Nikkor lens (4x digital zoom), with a focal length range of 35-280mm. But -- my battery charger got damaged recently, and the camera stores no longer stock this type of charger nor even the type of battery that I need for this camera, so I am going to use that as an excuse to upgrade to a new camera! Haven't decided yet what kind-

Esben: Thanks for the nice words! Just checked out your blog. That Pakistan-India border crossing ceremony looks very interesting. I will have to add that to my list of places to check out when I get back to India.

Max: Welcome to the blog. I like the clock-link on your blog. I will have to install one of those on my site.

Sheila: Aren't those lily pads something? They look like something out of a horror movie -- the man-eating lily pads!

Kevin: Thanks. The light was exceptionally nice that day in the garden -

[Teresa]

Basia - I am enjoying your blog immensely, especially the fantastic photos that you take. My family and I are moving to Chennai in spring of '07; perhaps we'll meet up someday.
If you know of any expatriates who will be leaving their houses around Feb/March I would appreciate a heads up. We are looking for one on the ECR corridor with a pool. I know, hard to find and very expensive, but it's the company's money. :)
Thanks!

PS you can reach me at mitchellst@insightbb.com

[Clare]

As a Buddhist, I have frequently heard of "wish fulfilling trees" and lotus pads wide enough for a person to sit on. But I thought they were just fantasy! How wonderful to see them in your blog.

[Basia]

Teresa: I'll let you know if I hear of any available housing. Hope to see you in Chennai someday-

[Anil]

This is a pretty old blog, but anyway for all the banyan tree lovers here, our company did plant 3 banyan trees for our customers on the starting day and more to come. Hoping to see them grow huge before I die :)

[amreekandesi]

Great pictures of the lily leaves!