60 crore worth of land for the sacred grove

Namaskaram!

Right now I’m in the kaavu [sacred grove] of the family temple dedicated to Ponnakudam Devi that is run by a trust, in an eight-acre plot in Kalamassery municipality in Ernakulam district. Its market rate comes to Rs 50 or 60 crores but the land has been exclusively set aside by the family for the maintenance of the sacred grove.

This sacred grove is more than 300 years old. Its biodiversity is beyond our imagination. Many endangered species are protected here, and the sacred grove too. The responsibility of managing this is on the shoulders of a member of the family itself, Ramachandran sir, who is a trained botanist. He was a Rubber Board official and Joint Rubber Production Commissioner. Later he was the Ernakulam District Co-ordinator of the state Biodiversity Board.

The family has been preserving this for so many years, covering the cost of maintenance from their own pension funds. The number of species you will find here will outmatch the collection in the botanical garden of any college in Kerala. In fact, such a scale of biodiversity is very rare to find elsewhere. Let us see the sacred grove, and also find out more about it from Ramachandran sir himself.

Sir, namaskaram. Can you tell us some general facts about this sacred grove? You were born and raised here itself.

This sacred grove and the Bhagavati temple belong to the ancient family of Ponnakudam. The reason I chose to study Botany is that I grew up seeing this sacred grove since early childhood. After school, we came here every evening to light the wicks in front of the idols of Ayyappa, Bhadrakali and the serpents. In those days, monkeys used to live here. After playtime, we placed the lighted wicks. By dusk, we would hear the frightening hoots of the mottled wood owl. That was the time we dispersed.

So from childhood, I knew about the flora and fauna and biodiversity here, felt close to plants, and took up Botany for my B. Sc. and M. Sc. degrees. I joined for research in the field of medicinal plants at the University of Calicut but could not complete it because I joined the Rubber Board. After 35 years of service, I retired as the Joint Rubber Production Commissioner. Thereafter I was a member of the central Rubber Board for three years, and the Ernakulam District Co-ordinator of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board for two years. Sacred groves and the field of biodiversity are subjects close to my heart.

How old is the sacred grove? And how vast?

Our ancestors say that this is more than 300 years old, and it stretches across 8.25 acres. This area was partitioned for the Ponnakudam temple, like Devaswom land. Of this, four acres were set apart for conserving the virgin forest, one acre for the temple, and to conduct activities like festivals and so on, and three acres for paddy field. We did farming until last year.

In short, 8.25 acres have been preserved as such. What might be its commercial value, per cent?

Rs 7-8 lakhs per cent because this is very close to the town.

So this land worth Rs 60 crores is dedicated to a forest!

What we learnt very early on was that the benefits of this sacred grove extend not only to our family. The pure oxygen it generates is available to all in this area. As is generally known, sacred groves are the lungs of a locality. This sacred grove forms the lungs of Kangarappady and Thevakkal regions. Another noteworthy point is that there is no water scarcity within three or four sq. km area in the neighbourhood. That is because not a single drop of water which falls on the ground here goes waste. The groundwater level remains high always.

These are the two major reasons for our maintaining the sacred grove here. Just as we take care of the temple, ensure that the pujas are conducted on a regular basis, and so on, we conserve Nature and try to impart that lesson to the future generation as well. Plenty of school- and college students come here to study plants. A person comes here in connection with Ph. D. research. It is as though we are reminded from time to time about the need to preserve this sacred grove.

There are two points that I wish to raise, sir. One, we don’t get to see clear water anywhere. But here I found a clear stream, and we have taken video shots of it. Two, there seems to be copper content in the water and the sand, as we find in Kuttanad. Is it because of the sacred grove? It seems, the copper content in the soil of Kuttanad is because long back there was a forest fire, and all the burnt leaves that went underground eventually caused it.

As I said earlier, according to our ancestors, this is roughly 300 years old. Maybe there was a forest here even earlier. Our family had 100 acres of paddy fields, and plenty of water is needed for paddy cultivation. Perhaps some ancestor was farsighted enough to leave the higher ground vacant and untouched. That might have created a forest. Birds would have come to eat fruits, left droppings, and thus introduced new plants here. Such a forest had to be preserved, and the best way to do it was by linking it to faith. Faith may sometimes become superstition. However, when the idols – of Shastavu, Bhadrakali, Durga – were installed at various spots in the forest, it gradually became a sacred grove. The forest became a protected area as a consequence.

Even if a tree falls here, nobody chops it or takes it away as firewood. It is left to decompose, make the soil more fertile and allow newer plants to grow. Wherever you look, you’ll see earthworms here. And because this is an old forest, carbon sequestration has been taking place for a long time. Therefore, it is likely that the soil contains various metals. When it rains, perhaps the ferrous/iron elements appear on the surface. The soil, on examination, revealed a very high level of iron. Maybe because copper content is also high, the water here has a faint reddish tinge. It is called chemburava [mineral spring with copper content].

Another point, sir, is that water drains through the burrows made by earthworms, whereas in places where there is only sand, water gets collected in puddles. Here we saw the burrows of earthworms everywhere. As for the sights inside the forest, we observed the prominent presence of the odal oil plant.

In earlier times, oil needed for lighting the traditional lamps was extracted from two sources. One was from the jungli almond seed and the other from the odal oil seed. The seeds were ground to extract oil from them. The odal oil plant is a woody climber. That one is roughly 300 years old. It sprouted at the base of the wild jack tree, climbed all over it, and has now covered the entire area. The odal oil plant has male and female varieties. The male plant produces spikes similar to black pepper but they do not sprout. The seeds of the female odal plant are naked. Usually seeds are found embedded inside fruits. But the odal seeds are naked like the arecanut seeds, and those of the female plant produce saplings. These seeds are ground and the oil extracted for lighting lamps. So also with the jungli almond seeds. This is an urban forest, located in Kalamassery municipality, a mere 12 km from Ernakulam. The continued existence of this forest ensures benefits for everyone in this area.

I saw some newly planted trees and plants too in the outer spaces – burflower, vanni [Prosopis juliflora], quarrelsome tree – standing close to one another. You say they were planted nine years back. The burflower has registered an extraordinary growth; vanni shows reasonable rate of growth but the quarrelsome tree has not grown much. Different trees have different patterns of growth. But what they show is that much depends on the sunlight they get too.

Apart from the plants and trees that already existed here, what we wilfully planted are the Nakshatra [star] forest, Nava graha [nine planet] garden, Rashi [zodiac] tree garden and medicinal plant garden, nine years back. Besides, we get saplings from the Department of Forests as part of the social forestry programme, and we have been granted subsidies for raising them. In the Nakshatra forest, we have a tree for each of the 27 stars (from Ashwathi to Revathi) as prescribed in our Puranas. We conduct programmes for dissemination of scientific knowledge, observe Earth Day, Soil Day and so on, and organize seminars for school- and college students. Once, 101 students from Sacred Heart College, Thevara, came here to plant 101 saplings. In this manner, Indian beech, dwarf white bauhinia and Ashoka, were planted along with the Nakshatra forest trees. Most trees show different rates of growth. The burflower is the fastest growing one. When I was working in Assam, I used to see burflower trees in full bloom on the banks of the Brahmaputra. That tree shows the greatest vegetative growth.

The yellow burflower?

Yes. Beyond it is the quarrelsome tree which is made of hard wood. Scientists say that it takes nearly 300 years for it to grow to full maturity. Beyond it is vanni. That shows average growth.

There is a fish poison bough there. Although it has put out fruits it hasn’t grown much. Yes, there are different rates of growth in a forest. If one tree grows and develops a canopy, not  many can grow below it. But there are plenty of fruits on the fish poison bough. They have fallen on the ground, and the seeds have sprouted. You can see plenty of saplings. A lot of people collect saplings from here, and whenever I go to schools or colleges to deliver lectures, I take as many as I can with me to give them.

Sir, I saw a spotted sterculia that has grown really large. Has a climber grown on top of it?

No. There is no climber on it. What you see in huge numbers here is the Indian copal tree. It grows really fast.

Sir, did we see buttress roots of the spotted sterculia there?

Yes. That must be at least 100 years old. You can see ridges and furrows on all four sides of the roots. That is why they are called buttress roots. Many trees, like the black plum, have buttress roots.

But they sprout only after the tree has grown somewhat, isn’t it so?

Of course, only after the tree has grown big. Similarly, there are other trees with special features. Like the black varnish tree I showed you. It creates skin allergies in some people. Then there is the Malabar tree of Heaven which is really huge. It is another variety of the lucky bean tree. Its scientific name is Ailanthus malabarica.

I saw a freshwater mangrove . . .

Yes, it belongs to the mangrove family. It is called Carallia. Usually it has aerial roots because if it grows in marshy places or near lakes it should have many breathing roots. But this one doesn’t because it is growing in a terrestrial ecosystem. The sacred grove features two ecosystems. One half is dry land with a terrestrial ecosystem and the other has a marshy ecosystem. The flora and fauna are different. The trees you find on one side is not present in the other.

 This is a boon to students. No college will have such a collection.

True, many school- and college students come here to learn. M. Sc. students come here to study the flora as part of their dissertation. More than 63 varieties have been discovered in this sacred grove by Mukundan Kizhakkemadhom, the ornithologist. He comes here at 6 in the morning to observe the birds. You have to come very early if you wish to spot them. Otherwise, they would have left to look for food. Other bird-watchers also visit this place.

I see a special design on that tree . . .

Those are lichens. They are like the fungal patches on our skin [Tinea versicolor].

I saw them on a couple of trees.

This happens after the tree grows really old. The lichen is another kind of plant, and you’ll find plenty of them here. The same is the case with mushrooms. Those that sprout during the rains, are edible like Agaricus. Other than those, there are many . . .

 Yes, I saw them on the dry trees.

Those are polyporus fungi that grow on trees. There are others that grow on decayed debris of trees on the ground. They are called the earth stars, and are orange in colour. Each has a ball-like structure, like a ripe fruit, in the middle and five petals growing to the sides in the form of a star.

Was that what we saw in the temple compound?

The one we saw near the temple is another variety.

I see a lot of termite mounds.

When a tree falls, white ants appear there naturally. That is how the nests appear.

The dead trees are not removed, are they?

No. Huge termite mounds grow there. Rats come to eat the termites. The rats make those holes. And snakes come to eat those rats. Most of the time, we talk about snakes’ holes. Snakes can’t make holes. The rats do because they need to eat white ants.

Many people who come forward to create small forests often feel discouraged because of the prospect of snakes appearing there. What is your experience?

We cannot talk about snake menace. A snake is just another creature like any of us. It moves around in search of food, not to attack us. Many have seen snakes at various spots in this eight-acre sacred grove. I come here on most days but I haven’t so far. People report sighting cobras and vipers here. But there have been no untoward incidents. Snakes are part of the ecosystem. They bite us only if we happen to stamp on them unconsciously, and cause them pain. A cobra unfurls its hood out of fear and in order to fob us off. It won’t come chasing after us. There are plenty of mongooses. That brings an element of regulation. An ecosystem remains in equilibrium when one controls the other by eating it.

When I go to different places to deliver talks, I usually speak about the Indian concept of the environment. From very ancient times, we Indians have been taught to preserve Nature. Our daily routine itself is an example of it. Our ancestors have imparted that thought to us. The most important of them is associated with the sacred fig, a tree which releases the maximum amount of oxygen into the atmosphere.

Old-timers advise us to go barefoot to the temple, take a dip in the temple pond, offer worship and the circumambulate the sacred fig. When we walk barefoot over the gravel, it has an acupuncture effect on our soles. Blood circulation becomes better. We are instructed to go round the temple only three times but asked to go around the sacred fig seven times. That is to make us spend a lot of time under the tree so that we can take in plenty of oxygen. And the circumambulation should not be done in a hurry. Rather, we should walk as slowly as a woman in full term of her pregnancy can do, if she had to keep a full pot of oil on her head without spilling. Similarly, we are advised to smear sandal paste on our forehead, right in the middle of the space between our eyes, so that the meeting point of the veins there enjoys a cooling effect.

Sir, I see a slanting tree there. Did it fall? What is its name?

Its botanical name is Euodia. The branches of every tree go in search of sunlight. That is called phototropism. Only if the leaves get sunlight can photosynthesis take place. That was how this tree slanted.

Another tree standing close to it had to slant accordingly. And it appeared as if there were more roots below the trunk.

That is a balancing feat. When a tree slants, it automatically grows roots on the opposite side in order to maintain balance.

Sir, you bring seeds from other places and plant them here. But already plenty of seeds fall here in the natural course and sprout . . .

The peculiarity of trees that grow in forests is that a lot of them make small fruits. Birds come to eat them, and quite naturally, they deposit other seeds too before they leave. Another urban forest in the vicinity is the Kalamassery HMT forest. A crested serpent eagle from that forest comes here to eat cobras. Most birds of the eagle family eat snakes. By noon, this crested serpent eagle comes here, perches on a pine tree, and looks around to locate any crawling creature. If it spots a cobra, it swoops down, catches the snake and flies back. As it is an eagle, it does not catch its prey with its beak but with its talons. It goes back to the HMT forest. It doesn’t eat its prey here but goes back to where it resides to have the meal. That is its peculiarity. Migratory birds also come here. Like the Indian paradise fly-catcher. They come in two colours, one is white while the other is dark. Many other birds, like the black-bellied whistling duck, the stork, also come here. We don’t do much construction work here. If we wanted, we could do agriculture but that would be a monocrop.

Sir, if in the 300-year history of this sacred grove, no tragedy has happened because of snakes, the reason could be that they have place to reside. Once they eat their prey, they don’t  have to move around outside.

Certainly. Snakes are a prominent member of the reptile family. If you ask me whether snakes have been spotted here, there have been reports of cobras, vipers, common kraits and plenty of rat snakes. But as far as we know, they have done us no harm. That is because, as was said earlier, they get their prey from here, like frogs. Frogs also get food to eat here. They don’t eat ten times a day. Once their hunger is satisfied, they go out in search of prey only when they feel hungry again. There is a python which comes out in the open only after 8 in the night to catch grey jungle fowls that are found in the sacred grove. Once it has its meal, it goes away, and returns only a month later. In the meantime, it goes somewhere to rest. The reason it comes here is that it gets its prey. There are other creatures that control their number, like the mongoose. All these contribute towards keeping the ecosystem in a balance. Like in any ecosystem, here too there are predators and producers.

Sir, there have been plants overrun by creepers and then retrieved, like the paper flower climber.

That is the special feature of a sacred grove. There are plenty of plants belonging to various species. Not only big trees, but we have climbers, shrubs, herbs, grass, ferns and so on. Take the case of climbers. They embrace and twine themselves round trees and go upwards. After a point of time, that becomes a problem because the leaves of the climbers outnumber those of the host trees. As a result, the trees will wither and die. We have lost many trees in this manner. Initially, the tree will get sunlight but when the climber grows thick, the tree will not get sunlight and will naturally fall. The climber will also die in the process. But when one tree decays, many others will take its place because there may be seeds and saplings on the ground. So in the sacred grove, there are some fallen trees, some in the path of growth. It goes on like a cycle.

Sir, I saw a lot of butterflies here. We haven’t tried to film them because capturing them on camera is very difficult. What is the reason for so many butterflies? Have you created a butterfly garden or are you planning one?

Although I have not made any conscious effort at setting up a butterfly park, many species of butterflies come here. I wanted to have a special park for them, and visited the garden at bird sanctuary at Thattekad and spoke to the curator there. What he told me was that if a butterfly appears anywhere, it does not come looking for a beautiful flower or its nectar. But it searches for a suitable, edible leaf for its larvae. So the first step towards setting up a butterfly park is raising the right host plants. Here I have seen many species including our national butterfly, the Malabar banded peacock. They are not permanent residents. Rather, they come here, inspect the atmosphere and if it is not suitable, leave. I have seen more than 60 species of butterflies. So although there is no butterfly garden really, numerous butterflies visit this place.

I did not come alone to see this sacred grove. Two people accompanied me. One is Dr Shaji whom I introduced in an earlier episode that handled the subject of riverine species. He had come close to this place earlier but is visiting this sacred grove for the first time. Let us listen to his response to the sacred grove.

I am associated with a research project that sought to study the sacred groves of Kerala, especially the southern districts of Kerala, regarding their species composition, biodiversity and carbon storage value. As part of it, I got an opportunity to see the Ponnakudam sacre grove. There are more than 400 native species of plants here, and they show a kind of stratification that one generally sees in tropical forests – with large trees, medium-sized trees, small trees, shrubs, and herbs, including ferns. This formation of strata can be seen very clearly here, and is more prominently evident in certain trees. For instance, the Indian copal tree that [Ramachandran] sir spoke of, comes under the ‘vulnerable’ category, as per the IUCN [International Union for Conservation of Nature]. We can see this tree here in large numbers. There are also plenty of other varieties like Pithraj, Malabar kino and very many other trees and shrubs, a very old odal oil plant as he mentioned, cane [Calamus metzianus] and so on. All this contributes to the uniqueness of this sacred grove. This sacred grove is like a reference book on biodiversity. For this reason, the experience of a personal visit to the sacred grove teaches us more than the reading of any number of books ever can. Besides plants, this sacred grove accommodates many creatures too which form a kind of food chain. A visit to this sacred grove gives us a direct experience of it. As I said earlier, our study includes the issue of carbon sequestration capacity of sacred groves. That is, there is a method to calculate the vegetative biomass of the trees which we do through an indirect means, to find out how much carbon they carry within. We have undertaken this exercise in the sacred groves of three districts – Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kottayam – and wish to do it in here as well, if we have sir’s permission.

The other person who accompanied me was Cherian sir. I have introduced him too in one of the earlier issues – about the Miyawaki forest in his compound. He has come here several times in pursuance of his hobby of collecting saplings from sacred groves. Let us listen to his take on this sacred grove.

As years go by, the area of many sacred groves in Kerala is shrinking. But the sacred grove of Sri Ponnakudam Sri Bhagavathy Temple Trust is an exception. People like P. K. Ramachandran maintain it well, have made out a list of trees as part of the Kerala state government’s Sacred Grove Protection Project, and make use of the government funds that are given annually. So he is maintaining it exceptionally well.

Generally speaking, even a person who puts a Miyawaki forest in one cent of land wants to find out what he or she gets in return. Here, a family has been maintaining a forest for the last 300 years. In this new era of liberalization and globalization, when everything is assessed in terms of its commercial value, this family has been maintaining a forest in a land that is worth Rs 60 crores. All of us should bow in reverence in front of this family. It is very rare to find people who are willing to spare money and time for protecting sacred groves. Its benefits are there for all the people in the locality to enjoy. So let me express my gratitude to this family on your behalf as well.