The Tree Sanctuary

I carried out a quick survey today of that part of SunderNursery which is slated to fall 'under the axe' for the purpose of buildingthe proposed new road. My methods were rough and ready--just going around with apen and notebook, taking down the names of the trees that grew within theproposed 'demolition zone' and making an estimate of their numbers. I triedto be careful about numbers and if there are errors, they will more likely be byway of underestimation. In one case, that of a large number of eucalyptus treesgrowing near the boundary wall with DPS, I was unable to count them individuallybut put down 200 trees as a reasonably conservative guess. I should mention thatonly adult trees were counted and if the growing stock and juvenile trees wereto be included, we would end up with much higher figures. 

The figures and species list are revealing of the intrinsicvalue of Sunder Nursery, even though there are undoubtedly parts of the Nurserythat are not carefully tended, at least not in the recent past. 1000+ trees is avery large number in itself, and if they are all earmarked for destruction thatshould send alarm bells ringing within the conservation community. However, thatis not the whole story.

It is highly significant that there are at least 114 species in the demolition zone. To place this number inperspective, the whole of Lodi Garden–which is undoubtedly the mostcarefully cultivated garden in this city–has only 110 species of trees andpalms growing within its bounds. In other words, even with its 'air ofneglect' (in some parts of its grounds), Sunder Nursery holds more speciesof cultivated and wild trees than any other patch of land in this city. Thisitself is highly noteworthy, and we must ask ourselves if we are prepared towatch this valuable natural resource get gobbled up by the proposed road. Weknow that gardens offer much less resistance to re-development (compared tobuilt-up areas) and that is why they are usually the first victims to theprocess. But we need to take stock of just how important Sunder Nursery iswithin the context of Delhi's tree diversity.

How Important?

You will see from the accompanying list that apart fromsheer volume (114 species is huge), anumber of very unusual and rare trees lie within the demolition zone. Some,indeed, are the sole specimens of their kind in this city. I have indicated whatthey are in two orders of importance (by highlighting them).

It is useful to remind ourselves of just why it is thatSunder Nursery is a repository of so many unusual species.

I don't know the precise dates, but some time in the1940s, perhaps a little earlier, Sunder Nursery became the prime nursery for theCPWD which was the agency responsible for planting avenue trees in Lutyens'Delhi and inside the bungalows of this area as well. This is where candidatespecies were brought for 'field trials' to see if they would do well inDelhi's climate and soil conditions. From there, 'successful' candidateswere propagated and planted out where they were considered appropriate. Forexample, the row of wild almond trees in Sunder Nursery may well have beenplanted here as the first attempt to grow them in this city. Once they hadproved their worth, they were planted in other places in New Delhi. In thissense, Sunder Nursery has been an important site for experimentation andinnovation in new tree species for this city.

What about the 'unsuccessful' ones? Such as thediminutive coca tree from the Andes and the carrotwood from coastal New SouthWales--both small and unprepossessing, and clearly now abandoned to their owndevices. The evidence suggests that Sunder Nursery became the final restingplace for all the species that were notdeemed suitable for Delhi's avenues and bungalow gardens. This may not soundlike a great commendation of the species list, but I want to emphasize that this'negative criterion' actually led to a highly unusual and interestingdiversity of species. Sunder Nursery was the crucible of experimentation ingrowing suitable trees for the capital. Many species did not make the cut, butcombined with the 'successful' species, they make up a species list that abotanical garden would be proud of.

Also – inadvertently, perhaps, Sunder Nursery became asite where a number of native Delhi species found the itminaan to grow to maturity. Thus, the extremities of the nurseryare home to some large wild date trees; to a few outsize salvadoras; the sirasand kanju are self-sown and propagating wildly here. Even the desi babool, whichis fast disappearing from the inner city, finds sanctuary in Sunder Nursery.(N.B.: Connaught Place was originally a babool forest. Lodi Garden was full ofbabool. None there now.)

I don't think there can be any two opinions about it:Sunder Nursery houses a truly remarkable and valuable assemblage of trees. Wecan close our eyes and allow it to be bulldozed into oblivion. Or we can take astand, perhaps even start a move to create a real botanic garden there instead of this misconceived road.

This is the full version of an article that appears in Outlook Delhi CityLimits, April 2007