That’s Strange – A Tree that Makes Up an Entire Forest!

The last time when I blogged about the mysterious beach in India, I promised that in my next blog, I’d share another natural wonder that will completely blow you away.

And here I was in Kolkata, standing speechless…looking at this tree!

Oh My God!

‘You want me to believe that this entire forest is made of one single banyan tree and its roots?’ Her smile was beaming affirmation enough. Surfaced inside the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanical Garden in Kolkata, the Great Banyan Tree is the world’s widest tree. Spanning across an area of 3.5 acres of land, this 250-year-old tree has been spreading its elongated roots in all possible directions, making it as big as it is today. Isn’t that strange?

The Tree and Its Tall Claims

I’ve come across many banyan trees and I know that their roots spread fast but this is impossibly gigantic! While I walked on the 330-metre long road that has now been constructed for visitors, I realized that what looked like a bunch of trees from afar were actually the aerial roots of the Great Banyan Tree. There are a total of 2,880 roots at present and the number continues to grow with every passing year. No wonder a position in the Guinness Book of World Records comes naturally to this phenomenal tree.

The History of a Tree

In the 19^th century, the tree was hit by two consecutive cyclones that led to some deterioration in the tree’s trunk and the original trunk, which was 51 foot long, was removed. Despite the decaying, the present crown of the tree remains healthy and has a circumference of 450 metres.

Star Power

Withstanding Kolkata’s rich history, the Great Banyan Tree is India’s most glorious natural heritage that will be treasured forever. The tree is not just the most photographed tree but has become a favourite with Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa who compared the tree with the work of legendary filmmaker, Satyajit Ray – calling it “miraculously brilliant”.