I often spend my evenings drinking a cup of tea while reading Star of Mysore. On the evening of 18th May, Dr. Javeed Nayeem’s article about trees in and around Mysuru truly delighted me. The article was an awakening call for all tree-lovers in Mysuru.

As I was reading about the mention of the trees in Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashala campus in Yadavagiri, I was reminded about two very rare trees in their beautiful garden.

The Saraca indica and Amherstia nobilis stand close to each other. Both have long leaves that look similar, but their flowers look very different. Alongside the picture of the flowering tree is the picture of the  beautiful flowers.

Most of us know the Saraca indica as the Asoka tree. It is a religious tree for Hindus and Buddhists. Sita, when abducted by Ravana, was kept in a garden among groves of Asoka trees — Ashokavana.

Amherstia nobilis is a tree that came from Burma when Lady Amherstia travelled to  Calcutta from Burma. It is one of the most beautiful flowering trees in the world, which is why it is also called the  ‘Pride of Burma.’

We bought a sapling of Amherstia nobilis from Lalbagh, Bengaluru and gave it to Acharya Vidya Kula in Yelwal to plant on their campus.

We waited 10 years for it to flower, so imagine our disappointment when it turned out to be a Saraca indica tree! Oh, the confusion caused by similar-looking leaves! Though we were disappointed, we were happy to know that it was a religious tree.

There is another variety of trees in the city that’s not very rare, but very beautiful. These trees came to India from Central America and can be found along Valmiki Road Avenue and in many other locations around the city — the rain tree.

There is a large and handsome rain tree on the campus of Nirmala Convent. You’ll often see students spending  time under its vast canopy of evergreen feathery foliage and puffs of pink flowers that bloom in the spring.

 It really is a beauty of a tree and I’m sure you’d like to see it the next time you’re around Nirmala Convent, Mysuru.

By Shanthi Ganapathy