Meet the Oldest Tree in Chennai

The international headquarters of the Theosophical Society is located in Chennai, just a couple of miles from my home. Dedicated towards Theosophy, this unique society encourages the study of different religions and philosophies.  According to Lonely Planet, its library houses a vast collection of religious books, including “thousand-year-old Buddhist scrolls and intricate, handmade 19th-century bibles”. Yet, more often visitors, including myself, are drawn here for another reason – its natural beauty.  Of late, I’ve been making regular trips and I find I’m getting addicted to the fragrance and the loveliness of the place.

Burmese Pink Cassia

Tree Canopy

Vinka Lined Path leading to the Parsi Fire Temple

The entire campus is canopied by old, majestic trees. Paths leading to various bungalows and places of worship are lined with flowering shrubs that are often mobbed by swarms of butterflies and colourful dragonflies.  Although nature hasn’t been allowed to grow completely wild, here you will not find well manicured gardens, save for a few patches. Instead you may often find yourself under eerie bat colonies, buzzing bee hives or monstrous hornet nests. But it is this wilderness, in the heart of bustling Chennai, which I find so alluring.

Flying Fox Colony

Bee Hive Near the Cannon Ball / Nagalingam Tree

Hornet's Nest

The star attraction of the Theosophical Society is the Great Banyan Tree, the oldest tree in Chennai.  The tree is over 450 years old, and by the latest record, is spread over 65,000 square feet. It is not surprising then, that it can host a gathering of 3000 at a time.  The tree’s central trunk was destroyed in a storm, years ago, but now its prop roots support the tree and it continues to encompass more ground each passing year.  When one learns that the tree has been host to great souls like Gandhi, Maria Montessori, the Dalai Lama and J. Krishnamurti among others, one feels even more reverence for it. 

Great Banyan Tree: Over 450 years Old and Spread Across 65,000 sq ft.

There is another tree that characterizes the campus: the Nagalinga tree or the Cannon Ball tree. Native to the Amazonian rain forests, this is a tall tree with beautiful fragrant flowers that one can smell from a mile off. The Nagalinga flower attracts  hordes of bees and strangely it springs directly from the bark of the tree trunk.  If that’s not enough oddness for one tree, there’s more.  Its fruit is woody and resembles a cannon ball that can cause considerable harm if it were to fall on you. The flower is considered sacred in India as the petals resemble the hood of a Naga (snake) protecting a Shiva lingam (the stigma).

Nagalingam Tree/Cannon Ball Tree

Nagalingam Pushpa (Flower)

From Another Angle

Bordering the campus is the Adyar river, on the banks of which one can find many large water birds and Giant Ghost Crabs. And though I tried hard to get a picture of the Giant crab, they were just too quick for me. These crabs crawled into their holes, the moment they sensed my presence from afar. 

Cactus

Cactus Flowers

Palm Flowers

Snail

Enclosed within 100 acres of land, the Theosophical Society campus is a treasure house of diverse plant and animal species. The campus can easily be mistaken for a botanical garden. For a pictorial reference of the flora and fauna that reside here, click on the links you will find here.

Tamarind Drying

Harvested Coconuts

Rofous Treepie

Tough Nut to Crack

My recent trip to Auroville was very fruitful, quite literally. With summer fruits abounding, people freely offered us many fruits. Freebie fruits earned were: Jackfruit, Papaya and Cashew nuts. But this post is mostly about cashew nuts.

Cashew Nuts

Auroville, is dotted with many organic farms that grow cashew nuts, among other things. With the recent media attention on the deadly endosulphan usage on cashew nut trees, I believe Auroville's cashews are prized nuts. But in Auroville, they do not seem to think so; cashew nuts strewn on the road, probably never to be picked, were a common sight.  With the realization that the fallen fruit would probably rot, I picked up a handful.

Cashew Fruit and Flowers

Now for some facts. There are two parts to the cashew fruit: the soft cashew apple and the hard cashew nut. The actual cashew kernel that we eat is the "seed " found inside a hard shell. In Goa, the cashew apple pulp is fermented to make a drink called "Feni". Though cashew nuts are relished all over the world, cashew apples are not so popular, in part because they aren't easily transportable. Vietnam, India and Brazil are the top cashew producers. 

Red Ripe Cashew Apple

I've never cracked open cashew nuts before so I called my mother. Having grown up in a house full of cashew trees, she knows how to extract them. She explained to me the traditional method of roasting them. All the fallen cashew nuts are picked up, usually by kids and placed in a pile of palm leaves. The pile is then lit and an adult turns the cashews around constantly with a long stick, to avoid scorching them. Strict adult supervision is needed as an oil is released; this oil is rather toxic and can easily catch fire. Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL) is a highly  allergenic oil that can cause severe, even life-threatening reactions.

Cashew Nuts

My Cashew Kernel Extraction Kit

Since I had only a handful of cashews I decided to crack them. Yet, even this exercise had to be performed outdoors with due care. With gloves and  glasses  I made sure I avoided any contact with the toxic CNSL. The fruits of my labour are crushed cashew nuts, which I will roast (to get rid of the toxic oil) and probably add to some Kheer. Perhaps, drying the nuts before I cracked them would have resulted in whole kernels. Still, I can console myself with the thought, that more experience doesn't necessarily yield whole cashews. The reason why we have different grades of cashews in our shops: full, half and broken, is that cashew kernels are not easy to extract, even by experts.

Tough Nuts to Crack: Crushed Cashew Nuts

There is another nut tree in our building complex: the Almond Tree. The almond, unlike cashew is safe to handle and far easier to extract. Here is a picture of a half-hearted attempt at cracking an almond. My little boy loves these nut extraction activities and wants to "grow big" to be able to do it himself.

Fresh Almonds

Here is another picture. Though it does look like a nut, it is the tangy Tamarind; another fruit I rescued from the ground.The tamarind shell breaks easily with just a little pressure. Even a kid can do this, which is nice because tart tamarind is a hit with children.

Tamarind from the Tree

Tamarind is derived from Arabic "Tamar-E-Hind" literally meaning Dates from India. Tamarind is used almost daily in South Indian cooking. In fact, India is both the largest producer and consumer of Tamarind in the world. 

Tamarind: Fruit, Seed and Shell