A residential layout - The image this brings to mind is wide roads, footpaths carpeted with soft grass, shaded by trees and an abundance of tree filled parks pumping out fresh clean air. Home, a place synonymous with calm, peace, relaxation and life. Toddlers out to explore their surroundings, youth jogging and socialising; the elderly meeting and cherishing a sense of communal togetherness. This is what the city planners dreamt of when we had just got our independence and Jayanagar - the first planned layout in free Bangalore - was designed in 1948. The green, grassy footpaths are almost gone, but the trees and parks still exist as a testimony to the vision of those visionary administrators. Thanks to these green loving architects, the walk to school was always fresh fragrant and invigorating. The change in seasons was marked by the colors and scents the trees put forth. It was even a mandatory superstition - that I had cooked up - to touch each tree on the path for good luck, and yes, extra taps on exam days!
I have wanted to create a map of these trees for a while now. The tree festival probably gave that extra push for the idea to become a reality. The below map guides you through the various trees lining the street. Try and remember the common names and identification indicators like leaves, flowers, bark and seed pods. There is an assignment towards the end of the walk :) We will encounter close to 26 species of common avenue trees in this part of the walk. A reference list is provided at the end of this post.
Link to the map: https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=ztVQM_ctozHo.krZ1CsfVSa3k
We begin our walk at Ashoka Pillar. It was built in 1948 to mark the new southern extension of the city. Thanks to the pillar's historic significance, this circle still stands showcasing the beauty of these charming roundabouts that once dotted major intersections of the city. The circle used to be adorned with seasonal flowering plants but today its beauty is diminished by the easy to maintain leafy 'show' plants. Flanking the circle on four sides are mini parks with colorful flowering trees and very aptly, Ashoka trees. Looking ahead at Jayanagar, one can hardly imagine the groundnut fields of Siddapura and Kanakana Palya villages that once grew here.
Some interesting trivia:
1) The Cluster Fig, Peepal and Banyan trees are all species of Fig, but only the Cluster Fig is edible by humans. Be warned, the figs tend to have small insects inside. Split open the fruit in hand and drive off the flies before popping them in your mouth.
2) There are a surprisingly large number of Peepal and Banyan trees in this locality. Worth noticing is the almost village-like charm at the kattes (sit outs) under the Peepal trees.
3) The parks are named after earlier Diwans like Madhavan park and Krishna Rao park. Keeping one's name alive takes on a more sensible serene approach than dust and smoke covered busts in a noisy street corner!
4) Vijaya High School as well as the Corporation stadium were once lakes.
5) Here is a little tidbit of information I have grown up hearing about the Elephant Rock road:
http://bangalorebuzz.blogspot.in/2007/07/this-road-is-ode-to-elephant.html
The map will be continuously updated and if you are interested to join me in mapping out more streets and trivia, do get in touch at placid.sun@gmail.com! Let's learn a little more about our life giving silent neighbors.
List of trees:
African Tulips
Mast tree (Ashoka)
Copper pod
Pine (Araucaria cooki)
Sausage tree
Mahagony
Peepal
Jack fruit
Rain tree
Eucalyptus
Neem
Mango
Purple Bauhinia
Silver Oak
Moulmein Rose Wood
Avenue tree (Honge)
Gulmohar
Cluster figs (Atti/Hatti hannu)
Banyan
Indian cork tree (Aakasha mallige)
Cannon ball (Nagalinga pushpa)
Sampige
Yellow Tabebuia
Queens Flower (Lagerstroemia flos-reginae)
Golden showers (Cassia Fistula)
Jamoon
Screw pine (Kedige)
Thanks to Karthik's blog wildwanderer.com for the quick reference at times.
I have wanted to create a map of these trees for a while now. The tree festival probably gave that extra push for the idea to become a reality. The below map guides you through the various trees lining the street. Try and remember the common names and identification indicators like leaves, flowers, bark and seed pods. There is an assignment towards the end of the walk :) We will encounter close to 26 species of common avenue trees in this part of the walk. A reference list is provided at the end of this post.
Link to the map: https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=ztVQM_ctozHo.krZ1CsfVSa3k
We begin our walk at Ashoka Pillar. It was built in 1948 to mark the new southern extension of the city. Thanks to the pillar's historic significance, this circle still stands showcasing the beauty of these charming roundabouts that once dotted major intersections of the city. The circle used to be adorned with seasonal flowering plants but today its beauty is diminished by the easy to maintain leafy 'show' plants. Flanking the circle on four sides are mini parks with colorful flowering trees and very aptly, Ashoka trees. Looking ahead at Jayanagar, one can hardly imagine the groundnut fields of Siddapura and Kanakana Palya villages that once grew here.
Some interesting trivia:
1) The Cluster Fig, Peepal and Banyan trees are all species of Fig, but only the Cluster Fig is edible by humans. Be warned, the figs tend to have small insects inside. Split open the fruit in hand and drive off the flies before popping them in your mouth.
2) There are a surprisingly large number of Peepal and Banyan trees in this locality. Worth noticing is the almost village-like charm at the kattes (sit outs) under the Peepal trees.
3) The parks are named after earlier Diwans like Madhavan park and Krishna Rao park. Keeping one's name alive takes on a more sensible serene approach than dust and smoke covered busts in a noisy street corner!
4) Vijaya High School as well as the Corporation stadium were once lakes.
5) Here is a little tidbit of information I have grown up hearing about the Elephant Rock road:
http://bangalorebuzz.blogspot.in/2007/07/this-road-is-ode-to-elephant.html
The map will be continuously updated and if you are interested to join me in mapping out more streets and trivia, do get in touch at placid.sun@gmail.com! Let's learn a little more about our life giving silent neighbors.
List of trees:
African Tulips
Mast tree (Ashoka)
Copper pod
Pine (Araucaria cooki)
Sausage tree
Mahagony
Peepal
Jack fruit
Rain tree
Eucalyptus
Neem
Mango
Purple Bauhinia
Silver Oak
Moulmein Rose Wood
Avenue tree (Honge)
Gulmohar
Cluster figs (Atti/Hatti hannu)
Banyan
Indian cork tree (Aakasha mallige)
Cannon ball (Nagalinga pushpa)
Sampige
Yellow Tabebuia
Queens Flower (Lagerstroemia flos-reginae)
Golden showers (Cassia Fistula)
Jamoon
Screw pine (Kedige)
Thanks to Karthik's blog wildwanderer.com for the quick reference at times.
