“Chennai is going through a hot summer and scarcity of water. How has the Theosophical Society fared? How is bird/plant life there?” asked Professor A Chandrasekar, whose pictures of the Theosophical Society’s trees have earned him scores of fans in the Madras Naturalist Society’s online group page. He went on to answer: “In spite of the baking weather, trees are in full bloom. Brownea, heavens lotus, bombax ceiba, flame of forest, neem, nagalinga, plumeria, cashew, gul mohar, lebbeck (vaagai), copper pod tree, bougainvillea, erythrina variegata (Indian coral tree), shaving-brush tree, sita ashok and tamarind are resplendent. There is a good number of birds too.”
How do you manage it, I asked Jaikumar Kannan, general manager of Theosophical Society and Marja Artamaa, the Finnish member of the cociety. “Your summer – April/May – means the White Lotus Day (May 8), an important day in our calendar,” said Marja. “It’s celebration time and Theosophical Society glows.”
Kannan put it down to good maintenance. “Theosophical Society is one of the three areas in Chennai (Theosophical Society, IIT-M-Raj Bhavan, Guindy Park) that boasts of greenery, as opposed to the ‘brownery’ all around,” he laughed, listing the measures taken for the green effect. The garden department went in for a major rejuvenation programme after Vardah felled hundreds of trees, he said. A localised water conservation programme was in place, so trees and plants never went without water. Rainwater harvesting, prevention of water-waste and upgrading of the piping network that distributes drinking water to residences and offices, also helped, as did a major shift in the planting policy.
“We planted 700 saplings, but this time they were all indigenous varieties — a majority of trees that had crashed were ‘imported’, exotic species.” Local fruit trees figure big in this new list, and “we get organic fruit in summer!” It is a conscious effort to keep spaces green, he said. It all fits into the Theosophical Society’s philosophy of seeing trees as a contribution, as an experience of being amidst them. The campus, a green lung of sorts, is open to walkers from all sections of society; its diverse eco-system is studied all the time; birds enjoy the bonanza of flowers and fruits in summer.
The garden superintendent described Theosophical Society as an evergreen forest that should allow no human intervention. Soil porosity brought down the trees when Vardah struck, and the trees sacrificed themselves to save the surrounding areas from devastation, he said. Efforts at restoration have been three-fold: fallen trees were left as deadwood to enrich the soil, those that could be rejuvenated were given support and new saplings were planted.
A theosophist, he finds a spiritual connection in the recent phenomenon of white lotuses blooming in May. “The soil around the lily/lotus pond had become alkaline and hazardous for the plants: they stopped blossoming,” goes his story. “Leaving just a foot at the bottom, we removed the top soil and filled the place with red earth, sand and manure. We brought fresh water from 300 metres away to fill the pond. Given that chance, an embedded white lotus plant came up and blossomed 25 days before the White Lotus Day celebrations. There were two more on May 8. Our focus on Nature provided the spark to energise the pond.”
His “tree” stories are equally engrossing. “The red and white flowers of plumeria rubra and alba hold no honey ornectar, but give forth a strong fragrance,” he said. This attracts bees and insects, which then find nectar in the nearby neem, and Mimusops elengi (Spanish cherry/magizhampoo). “Here’s a tree that acts like a conduit for butterflies and insects.”
Sadly, Theosophical Society has had its share of water and other woes. Fifteen years ago, the groundwater in areas abutting Adyar was potable, said Kannan. Not any more. The river has gone toxic, and the salinity is high. “We’ve had to install RO plants.” In summer, groundwater evaporation is more, so watering is done manually.
“A little stress is fine,” said the superintendent, philosophically. Alternating stress and luxury conditions season the trees, keeping their survival rate high. Another problem is littering and plucking of flowers. “The two-kilometre stretch of the Theosophical Society campus promotes a unique ecology, and it needs everyone’s collective effort to preserve it.”
