Nature's records

USHA RAI

QUIZ competitions and record books are the order of the day. But the Limca Book of Records in the market for over a decade now, is unique. It chronicles not just the tallest, the fattest, the shortest and the fastest, but also the most unusual endeavours by man, bird and beast in India. Nature, in all its splendour, has also been creating records which we very often taken for granted.

Did you know that the largest hollow tree stands in the Golconda fort near Hyderabad? Known as the monkey-bread tree, this African-origin Baobab tree (Adansonia digitata), has a 36 sq.ft. hollow and can comfortably accommodate a dozen people. This 700- year-old tree, locally known as the Hathino ka jhad, is 29 metres wide at the base. Seven concrete steps, quite obviously made by man, lead to its base. Testing the girth of the tree, 27 people once stuffed themselves into the hollow.

Indian herbs with their immense medicinal value are in great demand all over the world but most of them have not even been patented. It is therefore heartening to hear that Gargi Banerji, who received the prestigious œ50,000 (Rs. 35 lakhs) Whitley Prize for protecting 1,000 species of medicinal and aromatic plants in the Himalayas, is planning to set up a herb orphanage with the money. The cold mountain deserts of Lahaul and Spiti, heights ranging from 8,000 to 18,000 ft., are home to 7,500 plants used in drugs for treating asthma and cancer. Many of these plants are on the verge of extinction. In addition to setting up the herb orphanage, Gargi will teach locals to harvest the plants in a sustainable manner.

India's tallest trees, the fir (Abies pindrow) and the deodar (Cedrus deodara), grow to a height of 76m or 250 ft. However, the world record is held by the eucalyptus regnans of Australia. It grows to 98m or 250 ft. The tallest India orchid, Galcola falconeri, has deep yellow flowers and, would you believe it, is 5m high. Orchids of the genus Taenophyllum do not have leaves but depend on their green roots to produce food. The world record for orchids, however, is held by Malaysia's Grammatophyllum speciosum that grows to a height of 7.6m.

Tourists to Jaipur visit the Amer fort, the Hawa mahal, the Palace of the wind, and other well documented tourist spots. But they would do well to stop by at the house of K.K. Agarwal, whose collection of succulents is well known. He has cultivated the Victorian water lily from seeds and last September, the leaf of the water lily, a hybrid of V. crusonia and V. amazonica, was 52.5 inches in diameter and still growing. The leaves are so big that they serve as tables on which meals can be served. Agarwal has nurtured 24 varieties of water lilies and a special hybrid, the flower of which changes colour from pink to white.

The banyan tree, as everyone knows, has the biggest spread. But these trees too compete for record-breaking dimensions. The tree with the largest canopy was discovered by accident in 1988 by photographers Regret Iyer and K. S. Ramakrishna of Bangalore. In Thimmamma village, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, is the record-holding banyan tree whose canopy covers 2.1 hectares. The tree, which is believed to be over 600 years old, has 1,100 odd prop roots. To prevent vandals getting at it, guards are posted round the clock.

Environmentalists are concerned about the excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides by those seeking bumper crops and giant plants. Padma and Balaji Dakojus of Bangalore with their green fingers have nurtured cosmos and dahlia to heights of 14.10 ft. and 13.9 ft. without using either. The French marigold bush plants grew 5 feet tall and covered 105 sq.ft.. Their Bethlehem lotus that traditionally flowers on one night once a year, flowered several times in 1995 and had 42 flowers on June 1, 1995. Their 9.2 ft. African marigold is a world record. The Dakojus provide a practical example of how wonders can be done with plants without using fertilizers and pesticides.

Moirangthem Okendra of Imphal, Manipur, Manipur, is a topiary artist, cutting plants and hedges to desired shapes and heights in his "Hedge to Heaven" Garden. Starting in 1983 with the ordinary hedge plant Duranta in a pot, he trimmed it into umbrella shapes, one above the other. Today, after 17 years, it is 61 feet tall. With a 44-step step ladder he reaches the topmost canopy and continues the magnificent umbrella formations, cutting, trimming and reaching for the heavens.

While Okendra has created a record in Manipur with his topiary artwork, in Dharwad, Karnataka, P. S. Mungi has grown a hedge cactus (Cereus genus), 50 ft high and is still growing. Though planted just 10 years ago, this hardy, erect cactus produces cream coloured funnel shaped flowers in summer. Iron angles and the wall of Munji's house support India's tallest cactus. The world record is held by the Saguaro cereus gigantecus of the United States and Mexico that grows to a height of 59 feet.

Water harvesting is the credo of the day. Chewang Norphel, better known as the glacier man, harvests water in Ladakh by diverting the flow of a river or a steam through pipes down a shady mountain incline. At intervals, stone embankments are made to impede the flow and form shallow pools. In winter this water freezes into glaciers. In summer the glacier melt is used for irrigating fields. The largest glacier, made by Norphel's efforts, is 1,000 ft. long, 150 ft. wide and has a depth of 4 ft.

While man struggles to save water for his innumerable needs, the camel effectively stores its quota in its body. A dromedary, a fleet-footed, one humped camel used for riding in Rajasthan, may go without drinking water for 10 months. During this period it feeds on succulent desert plants. It can function perfectly even if it loses water amounting to 30 per cent of its body weight. Humans can survive a maximum loss of 20 per cent in cold climates and 12 per cent in hot climates. A dromedary can drink up to 160 litres at a time enabling it to regain its body weight with a single drink. In cold weather a dromedary can walk up to 1,040 km or 650 miles without drinking water.

Most of us are terrified of being stung by bees and wasps. But Malika Seth was only eight years old when she created a record by covering herself with 25,000 bees. On May 23 last year, at 13, she improved her record by covering herself with a mantle of 1,00,000 bees. Just her face, hands and one foot could be seen when she gave a demonstration of her prowess at Kishanpura village, Kurukshetra.

K. P. Vinodan of Pinaryi, Kerala, was able to coax 35,000 bees to cover him and stay on him for 25 hours in July 1999. The demonstration was in a glass case to protect onlookers. The world record is held by Danielle Goulet of Australia. In 1988 he was covered with a mantle of 1,41,000 bees.

To conclude, there is the heart warming story of Janwarwale Jadai who shares his home, his earthly possessions and life's savings with a menagerie of animals and even lizards in Narsinghgarh, Madhya Pradesh. After retiring as a lab assistant, he has put his saving of Rs. 2 lakhs into a trust for animals. Dumkata, the tailess monkey and Kallu, the black-faced langur, share a cage with him while two cobras and a score of rats share the broken cage near the house. Learning from him, the inmates also play surrogate parents to orphaned animals who come to Jadia in search of a home. Daddy, the monkey, raised a kitten. An orphaned baby donkey was suckled by a bitch. Another monkey raised five pups. He realised how loyal animals can be when a monkey he had raised and given to a friend crossed the Yamuna to come back to him.

Help comes for 74-year-old Janwarwale Jadia from all quarters. The civic authorities did their bit by laying a pipeline to his ramshackle hut to ensure a regular supply of water.

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