Dodda Aalad Maraa

It means Big Baniyan Tree, Big is like 4.27 Acres of land. Yes that is how big this particular tree is. Its in Bangalore, on mysore road. This tree in history has played a vital role in one of the most famous song sung for friends by friends – Yeh Dosti, hum nahin todenge, todenge dum magar, saath na chodenge from the movie Sholay. If you have managed to get a picture of the song, the you might as well remember someone hanging onto a Baniyan tree and swinging around. Oh yes, it was this very tree and the village Ramgarh where the movie was set is actually very close to this place.

The tree is supposedly the second largest in India, the first one being in Calcutta, spread of 7.8 acres of land. The central tree i.e the Mother tree had fallen down around 40 yrs before, for now its only its children that are alive and keeping the legacy alive. In remembrance of the central tree in that very place a small temple has been constructed where pooja takes place.

This land has been taken up by the government now, setting up a small park, with benches and a few picnic spots. Its so nice to know that most of these places have now been declared monumental and have been granted certification from the Archaeology Dept of India. I simply loved the place and the way it was kept. For example, when the roots that hang from the tree come to a certain distance downwards, the team there sets up a small wired fencing around it putting in mud in to it so that it can easily spread itself into the soil.

In case you are a nature lover and have time at hand when in Bangalore this is definitely a place that you would wanna see, though we are now forbidden to hang from the trees like in those good old days.