Kalpavriksha in Kashi

Did you know that kalpavriksha exists in real? Yes, this morning I was bewildered after reading a newspaper report which said that there is a Kalpvriksha in Kashi and that too just a few steps from the doorstep of my house. People have already started thronging the Varanasi Cantonment area with hope of getting their wishes fulfilled. For those who are still unable to associate with this name – Kalpvriksha/Kalptaru/Devvriksh(wish fulfilling divine tree) is a mythological tree which finds its mention in our holy scriptures. Popular belief says that if you sit under the tree and desire for something, your wishes get granted. Hindu folklore has it that along with the Kamadhenu, or 'wish-giving cow', the Kalpavriksha originated during the Samudra Manthan or "churning of the milk ocean", and the King of the gods, Indra returned with it to his paradise. Symbolically, the Kalpavriksha is the symbol of one's identity and its potential. The roots are the deeper spiritual dimensions and the trunk one's constitution. The branches, leaves and fruits represent our constitution, abilities and skills, actions and achievement. Until today I used to believe that this is a fictional tree which might be present on this earth thousands of years ago but it’s not existent on this planet anymore. But the Dainik Jaagran report corrected me.

I had happened to pass by this tree many a time but had never imagined that it would come under the spotlight someday. The tree is peculiar enough to catch one’s attention on the first glance itself. I remember discussing about its peculiarity with my mom when we first saw it during an evening walk. The swollen trunk of the tree gave us the perception that it was not just one tree but two or three such trees are entwined together. The trunk is so thick that a motorcycle or even a car can pass through a hollow made through it. The body of the tree has a silvery sheen and is huge. Leaves resemble that of a bel tree. The tree looks very ancient. Kalpavrikshas are believed to have a life of more than 2500 years. There are only about 7-8 Kalpavrikshas known in the country till date. This one is the latest discovered by a team of forest department officers in Varanasi.

After reading the news I couldn’t stop myself exploring the internet to get the details of this mystic botanical species.

KALPAVRIKSHA

Scientific name: Adansonia digitata, Family: Bombacaceae

Common Names: (English) baobab, cream-of-tartar tree, guinea tamarind, lemonade tree, monkey bread tree, sour gourd, upside-down tree; (Hindi) gorak ali, gorak amla, gorak lichora, gorakh-cinch, gorakh-imli, kalpa-vriksha, khura-sani-imli

Physical Characteristics: The tree is characteristic of thorn woodlands of the African savannahs. A digitata is resistant to fire, termite and drought, and prefers a high watertable. Adansonia digitata is a large, round canopied tree with a swollen trunk, about 10-25 m in height, often with a bole of 3-10 m; bark is soft, smooth, fibrous, reddish-brown, greyish-brown or purplish-grey. Leaves are dark green, with short, soft hairs. Fruit has a hard, woody shell, covered with yellowish-grey velvety hairs. Flowers are waxy white with white, silky hairs inside, large, crinkly, spreading petals and bear an unpleasant scent. Digitata means hand shaped, referring to the shape of the leaf. The flowers are mostly pollinated by bats, which probably get attracted to its strong carrion smell. Natural regeneration occurs when the fruits fall off the tree and crack. Ants enter the fruit and feed on the pulp. In this way, soil is introduced into the fruit and it becomes moist with the onset of the rains, thereby allowing germination to take place.

Uses: Food: An edible white, powdery pulp found in the fruit is very rich in vitamin C and B2 and makes a refreshing drink. Young leaves are also rich in Vitamin C, contain uronic acids, and are high in demand in West Africa as a soup vegetable and a condiment. The small stem and roots of the seedlings are eaten as vegetable. Having high water content, the wood is chewed by humans and animals in case of extreme water scarcity. The wood can be used as a salt substitute. The acid pith is used as a substitute for cream of tartar in baking, to curdle milk and smoke fish. It is also roasted and used as a coffee substitute. The seeds contain appreciable quantities of tartaric acid and potassium bitar; they are refreshing to suck, and when soaked in water make a palatable drink.

Fodder: Young leaves, fruit, pods and seeds provide fodder for game and domestic animals. During drought, donkeys and game animals chew both the bark and fibrous wood for sap.

Apiculture: The tree is a source of fine quality honey. Wild bees manage to perforate the soft wood and lodge their honey in the holes. In many parts of Africa, the hollow trunks are used for beekeeping.

Fuel: The long-fibred wood is suitable for firewood. The shell and seeds are also used for fuel.

Fibre: The fibre from the bark used to make excellent cordage, ropes, harness straps, mats, snares and fishing lines, fibre cloth; musical instrument strings tethers, bed-springs and bow strings. Strong, tough and tear-resistant paper is produced from the fibre.

Timber: The wood is whitish, spongy and light. It is used for making canoes, rafts, insulating boards, wooden platters and trays, boxes and floats for fishing nets.

Gum or resin: Glue can be made by mixing flower pollen with water.

Tannin or dyestuff: The wood contains some tannins, and the acid pith is used to coagulate rubber. In East Africa, the roots produce a useful red dye.

Lipids: A non-drying, golden yellow oil of agreeable taste, which may be obtained by distilling the seeds, A.digitata seeds are also used as a substitute for cooking oil.

Alcohol: The Wasandawe of Tanzania uses the liquid from the pulp for brewing beer.

Poison: The bark is boiled for days to extract a substance poisonous to ants. Fruit pulp burns with an acrid, irritating smoke that can be used to deter insects troublesome to livestock.

Medicine: Hyposensitive and antihistamine properties are present in the leaves, which are used to treat kidney and bladder diseases, asthma, general fatigue, diarrhoea, insect bites, and guinea worm. Leaf and flower infusions are valued for respiratory problems, digestive disorders and eye inflammation. The seed paste is used for curing tooth and gum diseases. Gum from the bark is used for cleansing sores, as an expectorant and a diaphoretic. The bark is used in steam baths for calming shivering and high fever. A decoction of the roots is taken as a remedy for lassitude impotence and kwashiorkor. The bark is boiled and taken as a cure for body pains. This infusion is also used to treat colds, fever and influenza. Seeds are used to cure gastric, kidney and joint diseases; they are roasted then ground and the powder smeared on the affected part or drunk in water.

Other products: Ash from the shell, bark and seed, rich in potash, is widely used in making soap, prepared by boiling the bark and fruit ash in oil. The shell can be used as a dish, water dipper, vessel for liquids, snuffbox, fishing float; it also makes an excellent rat trap. The powdered husk may be smoked as a tobacco substitute or added to snuff to increase pungency. The pulp extract can be used as a hair wash.

Soil improver: Decaying wood of a tree that has died of old age or from lightning is spread on fields as a fertilizer. Ashes from the shell bark and seed are rich in potash and are useful as a fertilizer.

Ornamental: A. digitata is a popular species for bonsai specimens.

Other services: In dry regions, A. digitata plays a vital role in water storage; a hollowed trunk may hold 400 gallons, water stored in them is said to remain sweet for several years if the hollow is kept well closed. In East Africa the trunks are hollowed out to provide shelter and storage, and in West Africa the hollowed trunks are sometimes used as tombs.

With the plethora of uses cited above, the tree truly deserves to be called kalpvriksha because of its ability to amply provide for human needs. So next time, when you plan to visit Kashi, don’t forget to add this tree to your must-see list.

//Muley Brahma twachaa Vishnu shikhayaam Mahadev, patre patre devaaye Kalpavriksha namostutey//

Source : World AgroForestry Centre’s Tree Database, Wikipedia