Busy in July!

Jordyn: I was lucky enough to catch the special on WQED the other night about India in Pittsburgh. If you haven’t seen it, segments can be watched online at:
http://www.wqed.org/tv/onq/specials/india.php. I highly recommend watching this special; it gave me great perspective on the significant extent of the Indian community here in Pittsburgh. Did you know that Pittsburgh is home to some of the oldest and well known Hindu temples in North America?

Phipps staff has been very busy programming for our exhibit opening next year. Installation of Tropical Forest India will begin in January, to be completed in early February.

Ben: I have been busy ordering new plants for the exhibit. Here are some of the highlights that will be sure to inspire our visitors. Beautiful flowering trees like Butea monosperma commonly called “Flame of the forest” because of its vibrant red flowers. Also Delonix elata or as known in the Gujarati language “Sandesra” will make a lovely addition to the room with large white flowers that are fragrant. Other fragrant plants will also be included like Jasmine and a Champaca magnolia. Also economically significant crops like cinnamon, pepper, and tea are all being gathered up for an interactive experience in the coming exhibit. A few other plants we will be trying out are the Himalayan Blue poppy (Meconopsis betionicifolia) and a medicinal herb known as Ashwagandha used in Ayurvedic medicine. This is just a small selection of the plants that will be on display so make sure to come and see us when we open in February 2012.

A visit from Ambassador Shankar

Trustee Dr. Reshma Paranjpe, Board Secretary Jui Joshi, myself, Ambassador Meera Shankar, Board Chair Charles Brodbeck, Trustee Alka Patel

As we work to develop our Tropical Forest India exhibit we were lucky enough to have a special guest who stopped by on April 29th, India’s ambassador to the United States, Meera Shankar. Ambassador Shankar was in town to meet with prominent business, academic and community leaders. The visit was organized by the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, The Allegheny Conference on Community Development and various other institutions. While at Phipps she took a tour through our conservatory and excitedly listened to plans for our new Tropical Forest India exhibit. We were honored to have her and are very excited to create something that highlights India and Pittsburgh’s growing role in the international community.

Tropical Forest India is taking shape!

Jordyn:
As I noted, Tropical Forest India is taking shape! Ben and I have been very hard at work here after returning from our travels, debriefing the Conservatory staff and heading up the development process for the exhibit. We held our second round table discussion with individuals from local Indian cultural organizations at the end of January, who offered insight on our experiences and information that we will be able to apply to the displays. Ben and I are busy with the staff here synthesizing all of this information and working on an overall plan for the exhibit. One thing I can say for sure is that Tropical Forest India will be a very colorful display!

Ben:
Currently, I have been working to develop our plant list and it is always growing. If you have suggestions please let me know. I can’t promise everything but am interested to hear the thoughts of our readers. We have received the first shipment of plants (water lotuses) and have potted them up and plan on growing them all summer in our greenhouses to ensure they are big and beautiful for the opening. The majority of our large trees will be ordered in the coming months and delivered well before the end of the summer.

Another interesting development is a recent collaboration between Phipps Conservatory and the University of Rhode Island, in particular working with their College of Pharmacy. This partnership has opened up connections with scientists who are currently working with medicinal plants from India. I’m sure this will prove to be a fruitful endeavor and has already helped shape some of our plans regarding the Tropical Forest India exhibit.

Backwaters to back home.

Leaving Periyar and heading to Alleppey, we drove down the side of the mountain with lots of winding curbs until the road opened up to flat land filled with rice patties. This is the backwaters of Kerala, where water from the Arabian Sea mixes with the many branches of the Periyar river. Here, everything is at sea level. Our next leg of the journey was by a houseboat. It was different from what you might expect entirely mostly made from bamboo other than the hardwood hull.

It was spacious enough though with two rooms and a large common area to eat and enjoy the ride. The cruise took us through the Pariyar estuary and was home to many birds. At one point we watched a heron swoop into the water and come up with a fish. There were also kites, egrets, ducks, and the ever present kingfisher. The kingfisher is quite a sight to see in flight as its luminescent blue color flickers with a spot of white on both wings as it flies. Another new mammal sighting as well this was a treat as it is the largest of all flying mammals the famous vampire bat. The bats wingspan must have stretched 2 feet as it swooped right over our boat. Along the water were narrow strips of land that was just enough to build small homes. Our driver mentioned that they were typical Kerala style homes and some of their features may be used in our exhibit. After a short walk through a small backwaters village where we were tempted to buy tiger prawns for dinner we cruised a little further. Once anchored, we had dinner, mostly vegetables, dal, and local Kerala rice. The rice is worth mentioning because we both agreed it was the fluffiest rice we had seen. We then settled in for the night trying to escape the mosquitos that congregate near the waterway.

Sunday December 12, 2010

B- After returning to our port in the houseboat we set off for the final destination of our trip. The journey took about 5 hours and was over a very busy road. Eventually we made it to Trivandrum the capital of Kerala. After checking in to our hotel we quickly returned to our driver who had contacted our guide and were off to see a local botanical garden. Of the many fine trees the highlight was a hundred year old rubber tree. It had been planted by the British and was very large. I should mention that Kerala is a very large natural rubber producer and we had seen many rubber plantations in the last two days of travel. In the garden was the Napier Museum. This was the only building built in Kerala specifically designed to house a museum. It was built by one of the ruling kings and was built in the hindu-sardonic form of architecture. This construction draws from both traditional Hindu and Muslim forms. Much of India had been ruled by both at one time or another and the people have adopted this particular style due to this fact. The museum housed a collection of some of the finest Hindu sculptures from 12 century onward. We received an excellent explanation of the deities and there many forms. All of which can be very confusing even with a guide.

J: We also visited a small palace (well, no palace is small, but compared to the ones we have seen throughout the trip) with grand views of the temple nearby. Unfortunately, the temple was under repair and covered in scaffolding, and foreigners are not allowed to enter inside.

On Monday, our last day here in India, we spent the day wisely. We had originally planned our itinerary so that we ended up in Trivandrum, home to Kerala’s Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, about 40km outside of town. This garden is not open to all it seemed, as we had to fill out an application to view the gardens (and cameras are not allowed!). We were given a guide who was finishing his studies here at the research institute, though he did not speak much English. He showed us around the property, visiting many of their collections such as the large outdoor orchid collection (lots of unique Vandas) and the bonsai Ficus collection which had a few different cultivars we had never heard of. We also visited their medicinal garden, and they were displaying different plants together that would have the same medicinal purposes. One of the plant groups was displaying what is called dasamoola, a mixture of ten different plants that is commonly used in Ayurvedic medicines. Some of the interpretive signage recognized the fact that medicinal plants are diminishing in Kerala for multiple reasons, and as the first step to conserving such plants, it is the garden’s mission to educate the public on why these plants are so important and how to use them. Today has been the hottest day on the trip so far, and we were dying in the heat and humidity after an hour walk around the property. But our guide tells us there are two other sections to see! He says they have about three hundred acres of land here. Whew.

TBGRI’s mission reads “To advance knowledge, enjoyment, utilization and conservation of plants through excellence in biodiversity research management, plant product development, horticultural displays and educational programmes.” The Research Institute hosts graduate students from all over the world, and is in charge of the National Gene Bank for medicinal and aromatic plants in India. The botanic garden is also the largest in all of Asia, boasting over 50,000 accessioned plants, covering 3,500 species. It also has the largest fern collection in Asia, and even walking through this collection in the open outdoors, I could smell that particular ferny scent. We were mesmerized by one fern in particular, the electric fern, that shimmered blue around the edges in the sunlight. It really did have an electric look to it.

Well, we had about a few hours before we had to head back to the hotel to pack up, so we went to the beach! We travelled to Kovalam, which is pretty far south in the state of Kerala. We could tell it was a very touristy spot, and rightly so, because the beach was beautiful and the Arabian Sea was warm, even at this time of year!

Well, we have travelled over 2,300 km, seeing beautiful southern India from its highest peak to sea level, and we are now headed home to rest! Our flight leaves at 5am, but we will be at the airport long before that. We have a long 25 hour trip home, see you all very soon!

Beautiful Kerala!

Thursday December 10th

After spending three days in very large cities we were excited to go to find a more quite place to enjoy nature. To do so we headed out of the state of Tamil Nadu and into that of Kerala. On the way we drove through rice paddy after rice paddy. We were able to see farmers wading in the water planting fresh fields by hand with laser precision. After the rice cultivation we came upon some of the largest vineyards I have ever seen. The grapes were most likely a hybrid of Vitis vinifera and Vitus lubrusca because they had characteristics of both and in such a humid environment, hybrids would likely provide the desired pest resistance needed. The grapes were table grapes and could be found in the markets of Madurai among other places. Another use was for beverages. Jordyn and I tried a grape drink that our driver had purchased and we both had to have one of our own because it tasted so good.

After many kilometers we came back to the Ghats. We had to cross the mountains to reach the state of Kerala. It was very clear once arriving in Kerala that while we had seen tropical forests in Bandipur and Madumalai, this was clearly a tropical “rain forest”. After checking into our hotel in Thekkady we went straight to a local hotspot where elephants give rides through a small plantation. The ride was a lot of fun and gave us an incredible vantage to look out over the trees. Our elephant was very sweet and you could tell well cared for. The plants we saw in this plantation were pepper, betel nut, vanilla, coffee and jatropha just to name a few.

(Jordyn: Who knew that elephants were so hairy?!)

After the ride we went and picked up a guide who took us to spice plantation. Something that I was happy to see was the use of wide spread intercropping in the plantations in the region. Intercropping uses many different crops together and is a more environmentally conscious way of farming than large mono-crop plantations. On the spice tour we saw just about every spice you can imagine. All that I listed above plus, clove, star anise, cinnamon, chocolate, stevia, ginger, turmeric, all spice or pimento plus the spice that is of particular value in this region, cardamom. The tour was of great value as I was able to see how the intercropping was done and I hope to be able to have a small element of this on our economic hillside in the new tropical forest conservatory.

J: After a brief lunch, Ben and I headed to a local lookout point where we could see for miles (or, I guess I should be speaking in kilometers) below us. This point was manned by Kerala’s forest department who also had an ayurvedic demo garden on site that we could walk through. We took pictures of some of the unique structures (thinking ahead for possible TF structures) and signage within the garden. It was small but well maintained and provided a lot of information, including the local names of some of these plants. One of these I remember talking about in our round table discussion is tulsi, or holy basil, which I have seen a lot if in these parts, particularly around people’s homes.

We purchased a ticket for the evening program to witness the art of Kalaripayattu, the oldest form of martial arts. I mean, who can pass up watching guys fight each other with various weapons? No really, it truly is an artform, as these guys moved in synchronized fashion while skillfully fighting in the weapon of choice. They used long sticks, ancient looking swords, and lances, and as the evening went on, out came the fire! Some fought with batons with fire on both ends, and the grand finale was not one but two rings of fire that one guy so bravely jumped through. My goodness! Glad I caught the moment, not sure you would believe me on this.

On Friday morning, we woke early to get a head start on the day and go for a morning trek through Kerala’s beautiful nature. We were greeted by our guide, Raj, who works for the Kerala Forest Department. He instructed us to put on these knee high leggings over our pants but into our shoes. For leeches, he tells us. So we climb onto a bamboo raft, and Raj pulls us to the other side of the bank, over the Periyar river.

On our three hour trek, we got a good sense of the plant communities and the successional landscapes. The annual floods create open grassland which are better to see large animals pass through. We saw more bison and wild boars, and a new animal, the black monkey (I will have to double check on the actual name, but they are in fact large whooping black monkeys). We also saw a tiger print in the mud; Raj says it’s about two days fresh. Ooh, I forgot to mention that we also saw a rabbit deer – look it up, I think it is the smallest deer in existence. Cutie!

Like Ben said, I could definitely tell that this was more of a rain forest, with a high canopy filled with jumping monkeys, and a soggy floor filled with camouflaged leeches. We noted some new grasses with more upright form- almost like a stiff panicum, lots of teak, massive banyons, some milkweed, eupatorium, and very few lantana shrubs. We headed back to the forest station, back over on the bamboo raft, and picked the leeches out of our shoes. Don’t worry, none of them actually got to the skin, thanks to our protective leggings.

Tonight, there was another evening program for the traditional Kerala dance called Kathakali, which has been in practice for over 500 years. There were two main dancers, male and female, and they told their story using facial expressions and gestures while others played Indian instruments and sang. The facial expressions were highly exaggerated and elaborate to get the point across, and it seemed like the art required a real practice in controlling facial muscles. And the ornate makeup and costumes added to the overall emotions; apparently those costumes can weigh up to 100 lbs! It was a truly moving experience.

Treasures of Tamil Nadu

Monday December 9th
Ben- The drive from Ooty to Coimbatore took us through some of the most spectacular terrain on our trip thus far. As the drive into the mountains was, we experienced one hair pin turn after another while descending down the other side. Parts of it were a little hairy as large buses crossed into our lane trying to negotiate the turns. Honestly most drivers do as they wish in regards to passing each other which is no problem on the flat straight roads, but provides for some difficult driving on roads such as this. We are grateful our driver showed such skill in this regard. The vegetation changed back to that of palm trees and broad leaf evergreens. Here the mountains were incredibly steep with countless waterfalls cascading over their faces. The road was besieged with monkeys sunbathing on the stone wall that lined much of the road. What gave me great wonder were the dense forests that were untouched by agriculture or any development whatsoever. Looking out over this great expanse, one could not help but think how grateful we are to be blessed with such a wonderful planet to call home.

As we came to the base of the mountains we came to a plantation of betel nut palms. Thousands of palms on both sides of the road were clearly of value to all who enjoy this commodity.

Arriving in Coimbatore it was clear we had left the slow leisurely pace of the mountains behind us. Coimbatore is known for its many textile mills and the many brands of cloths that have production facilities here. We made sure to walk down the popular street “Cross Cut” to see the shops and get a sense of what the entire hustle bustle was all about. It proved quite an experience with a symphony of horns and noises that could wake Snow White from her poison apple induced coma.

Tuesday December 7th
We embarked on a very long drive on our way to Madurai. This had been the longest drive of the trip so far and took us over flat terrain for most of the journey. Along the way we stopped to try some of the local food. Throughout our trip we have seen countless venders along the road selling fresh coconuts but one vender in particular had a fruit that at first looked to be a small brown coconut. It was however something different. A type of Borassus Palm i had never seen. It grew on a palm that had fan shaped leaves unlike the coconut’s pinnate structure. It contained three seeds that were kind of translucent gelatinous structure. They had the slightest sweet taste to them and while I was not the biggest fan I was glad to have tried it. After washing them down with some fresh coconut milk in a palm leaf cup we hopped back in the car.

Another thing to mention was the miles and miles of wind turbines we passed. It was not a particularly windy day but the hundreds of turbines must have been capable of generating a lot of green energy. Upon arriving in Madurai we checked in to our hotel then went to some of the local shops to purchase some artifacts for the coming exhibit.

Jordyn:
Wednesday proved to be a very eventful day! We started out by visiting the Thirumalai Nayak Palace early in the morning. The large open square in the middle of the palace allows for all the detailed carvings and grand columns to be lit with natural sunlight. All other ceilings within the palace featured hand painted floral designs. Quite impressive! We only saw about a quarter of the palace as the rest of it was closed to the public, but historic records showed large gardens surrounding the palace back in its day. The palace had been partially destroyed in the 1700s but was renovated by the British during their rule. It is now being taken care of by the Tamil Nadu Archaelogical Department and is a large tourist attraction!

As we learned, Madurai is one of the oldest cities in India, with records going back as far as 4th century BC. The city was originally laid out in the shape of a lotus flower with the Meenakhshi temple as the pinnacle. We were able to visit this beautiful temple that is still used quite regularly by the people of Madurai and from all over the country, receiving over 15,000 visitors daily. Standing at 55m high, each statue and detail was hand carved, and took over 500 years to complete. The ornate pillars within the temple were all carved out of one piece of stone. Ben and I considered what a lost art stone-carving is, and how structures such as this are not built anymore. As regular upkeep, the outside of the temple gets a fresh coat of paint (still hand painted) every twelve years. The city has really grown over the last 2500 years, filling in around the temple as densely as possible. Today, Madurai is known for its agriculture, with most of the crops being grown on the outskirts of the city. As we drove around we noted a lot of markets, and our guide pointed out that one entire street may be dedicated to selling one crop as we drove down one for onions and one for bananas.

And we’re off to the Gandhi Museum to gain some insight on the history of this beautiful country. We spent about two hours reading every single poster in the museum, enthralled by the story and the struggle of India’s freedom, and how Gandhi spent his whole life dedicated to gaining the equality and freedom of his people, both from the British and even among India’s own people. One room contained the clothing that Gandhi died in, it was moving to say the least. His non-violent means of seeking change is what inspired MLK Jr, and there was one room of the exhibit that discussed the similarities in both Gandhi and MLK’s lives and roles in their respective countries, how fascinating.

We went back to the Thirumalai Nayak Palace for the evening sound and light show. It was about a 45 minute program that told the story of king Thirumalai’s rule as timed lights flashed the pillars and the open hallways of the palace, setting the tone of the story along the way. This was a pretty neat way to see the palace; it is even more grand at night.

On Thursday morning, we will be leaving the state of Tamil Nadu and heading to Kerala, a state of dense tropical landscape stretching between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats.

Blue mountains and beyond

Ben: Saturday was one of the most interesting days on the trip thus far. The day started with an early morning trek that took us to the top of a butte that was between the Eastern and Western Ghats. While ascending up the slope there were a few times we had to scramble over rocks and by the time we reached the top our breathing had become deep. The hike proved worthwhile as it provided a spectacular view of the Mudumalai National Park and the Ghats with a 360 degree vista. Also, a small Hindu temple stood at the highest point. The temple paid homage to a goddess named Parvati (wife of Shiva) the goddess of knowledge, music and art. She is usually accompanied by a peacock. The placement of the temple could not have been more moving. It was very spiritual. The winds blew as the sun warmed the earth burning off the night’s dew to form a light haze over the impressive mountains. There were no words to describe it, and we stood in awe. After blessing each other with Kumkum, a red paste applied to the forehead, we descended back to our lodge for breakfast while identifying trees and watching out for cobras as we hiked.

After breakfast we packed up and headed from the valley floor to high into the Western Ghats. On the road we passed many waterfalls and went around 36 hairpin turns, zig sagging up the mountain. As our ears popped and the air got cool the vegetation suddenly changed- broadleaf trees gave way to towering conifers, lantana scrub changed to ferns. A few hour drive seemed a world away in regards to plant life. One can clearly see why this region is listed in the United Nations top ten regions for biodiversity. In real time two hours had passed before we reached our hotel in Coonoor yet it seemed only a brief journey.

Finally the day wrapped up with a visit to Sim’s Park. The Park is run by the government of Tamil Nadu’s Horticultural Department. This botanical garden was a jewel in the mountains. The first trees were planted in 1869 with many trees from all over the world added later. One tree making a great impression was the monkey puzzle tree. Both Jordyn and I had seen this tree before but we both remarked it was by far the largest specimen we had ever come across. Another impressive tree was the Rudraksh or Sacred bead tree (Elaeocarpus ginitrus). It has special value as its seeds are used for religious decoration and in jewelry. The climate was high enough in the mountains that cool winter nights allowed for the planting of trees not commonly found in the tropics, yet tree fern and palms survived as well. In all my journeys, Sims Park will be forever listed as one of the great collections of trees in the world due to this unique climatic location.

Jordyn: Our time left in Coonoor was short on Saturday morning, so Ben walked down to the pomological station (about a two minute walk) as I packed up and checked us out of our lodge. This research station is also run by the government’s horticulture department, and held mostly pears, peaches, and apples. It was clear that the fruit trees were being grown for different experimental reasons, as they were all scientifically numbered and organized, but the language barrier kept Ben from finding out exactly what they were researching.

We were off to Ooty by train, another town along the mountains. This region is known as the Nilgiris (nil meaning blue and giri meaning mountain). It is so called for the many eucalyptus trees growing up here, giving the mountain a blue hue. We stood on the highest peak in all of south India, Doddabetta Peak. What a view! This is a very touristy spot, and it being Sunday, many tourists from around the country were there. We also went to a tea factory where we watched the entire process of making tea, from harvesting the leaves to finely chopping and drying them until they looked like the tea we are familiar with. We also learned a little bit of history of how tea plants were introduced by the British, and how the British shaped the landscape as it is today, terracing the steep land and building roads and trains to export tea. The Nilgiris are very well known for tea; the cool weather and mountainous land give the tea leaves a unique flavor. Of course Ben and I bought a lot to bring back!

Ooty also has a botanic garden that is run by the government. Every year in May, they hold their annual flower show that attracts a lot of people to the area. This garden had more lawn and open space, and had a few greenhouses that we could walk in to. Lots of impatiens! Some interesting bonsai as well, including a Ficus religiosa.

Currently, we are headed off to Coimbatore.

Lotus, banyons, and elephants!

Later in the day on Wednesday, we tried to get to another nearby wildlife sanctuary, Nagarhole. Travelling on many back roads, with road blocks of cows and goats, proved to be a difficult task, and we weren’t able to make it there. Alas our trip was not in vain- we were able to see locals threshing grains by laying them across the road and using the weight of passing cars to separate and crush the grains. It was quite an interesting and novel idea to complete a difficult task otherwise done by hand. We also found a large body of water that was host to many lotus plants. How beautiful it would have been to see this in bloom in the warmer months, but it was still impressive as our photo shows.

On Thursday morning, we pack up and head to Mudumalai National Park, which is just about an hour away from Bandipur but in another state. We crossed from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu, and noted a completely different landscape. The terrain is much more varying, with mountains as a backdrop to very lush forests. This park is the convergence of the Eastern and Western Ghats, and makes for an interestingly biodiverse habitat. Outside of our host lodge, we found small community temple surrounded by Buddha figs (Ficus religiosa) and banyons (Ficus bengalensis).

Later in the evening, we were privy to visit the government’s elephant training facility. These elephants are really quite smart; they happily get bathed in the river by their owners and they anxiously open their mouths during feeding times. Beyond trained elephants, we have seen quite a few wild elephant herds. I didn’t realize that elephants got more spots on their head and ears as they age.

On Friday we were able to get a little more information on some of the local vegetation.
Our lodge provided an interpretive walk and we were eagerly trod through the brush and mud learning local names to some we could recognize and some that were foreign to our eyes. Some of the interesting things that perked our attention were the many ayurvedic uses for the plants, some for memory enhancement others for antiseptic purposes to name a few. We hope to have a lot more information on display in the coming Tropical Forest India exhibit opening in early 2012!

Bandipur brings us good luck

We were without internet while in Bandipur National Park, so let me catch up here. We left Mysore in the morning and headed to Bandipur, but on the way, we stopped to have a little fun – Ben was swinging from the roots of the banyon! Ha.

We arrived in the national park on Tuesday a spent two days there in the wild. On our first night there, we went on a jeep safari ride- just me, Ben, and our driver flying down the trails, he knew them well it seemed. It was a bumpy ride for the whole two ours, but well worth it. We saw peacocks, bison (known as gaur here), spotted deer, Samba deer, two types of monkeys, and two wild elephants. Everyone must have been crossing their fingers and sending us good vibes because we saw a tiger! And I don’t mean off in the distance, we got up close and personal. Just at dusk when we were wrapping up the ride and giving up on the totally wild and rare chance of actually seeing a tiger, out comes a full grown male sauntering in front of the jeep. He moved slowly without much care of us being there, and walked along the jeep with us for about three full minutes before disappearing into the understory. He was majestic and awe-inspiring, and the driver turns around and tells us that we are very lucky; tigers are good luck.

The next day we go for a trek early in the morning and hike around the area. Bandipur has been described as dry and scrubby, but only as compared to neighboring parks. It is still lush and full of diverse plants and animals. Our guide gives Ben and I a few common names of plants, and we can recognize a few ourselves. Most of the understory is made up of lantana thickets. I have never seen so much lantana! A few other things catch our eye – flame of the forest, porterweed, and large bamboo stands that tower over everything else.
On Thursday, we are off to Mudumalai National Park, maybe about an hour drive from Bandipur.

A ceremonial precession infront of the Grand Palace in Mysore