Category Archives: Records, All

Jeb app bags NPCI award

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Jeb, a mobile app developed by Hyderabad’s VSoft Technologies to facilitate easy, instant transfer of money as an alternative to cash payment, emerged the winner at a hackathon organised by National Payments Corporation of India (MPCI).

The programme, in which 3,819 teams participated, was held to commemorate the launch of NPCI’s payments infrastructure platform – Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

For a host of daily as well as regular payments, be it to purchase groceries, vegetables, paying auto-rickshaw fare, school fees and utility bills or depositing money in another account, the app can perform multiple tasks for which cash is used, says VSoft Technologies COO Dronamraju Srinivas.

Jeb, he says, is not a mobile wallet but a payment channel. It enables users to send and receive money as well as banks to compete with the wallets. The money remains in the customers’ account, earning daily interest until used, unlike the wallets where it is transferred to a third party. Users can add any bank account while interactions can be driven by voice or in their preferred regional language.

VSoft is in talks with a few banks – public, private and in the cooperative fold. The NPCI is yet to finalise the user charges. They are expected to be less than that for NEFT and RTGS, he adds.

City’s VSoft Technologies, the app developer, in talks with a few banks

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by N. Ravi Kumar / Hyderabad – April 29th, 2016

A showcase of biodiversity of vegetation

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion
Steeped in history:The entrance of Gandhari Vanam in Adilabad district – Photos: S. Harpal Singh
Steeped in history:The entrance of Gandhari Vanam in Adilabad district – Photos: S. Harpal Singh

Gandhari Vanam in Mancherial town will soon have a museum showcasing millions of years of biodiversity of Adilabad.

Gandhari Vanam, a nature park near Mancherial town in Adilabad, is where you can go millions of years back in time. The 174-million-year-old tree fossils to be exhibited in a section of the soon to come up facility will help you visualise what the district must have looked like back then.

Steeped in history: Mancherial Divisional Forest Officer B. Prabhakar observing a Jurassic-era tree fossil at the nature park.– Photos: S. Harpal Singh
Steeped in history: Mancherial Divisional Forest Officer B. Prabhakar observing a Jurassic-era tree fossil at the nature park.– Photos: S. Harpal Singh

“That was the time when the giant dinosaurs roamed here, thriving on these coniferous trees. The Pranahita-Godavari valley of upper Gondwana is unique as it has preserved many of nature’s components from the era in its 3,000-metre thick sediments deposited over a period of 200 million years,” said Mancherial Divisional Forest Officer B. Prabhakar, pointing out the uniqueness of the nature park being developed by the Telangana Forest Department at a cost of Rs. 3.6 crore.

The park, located on the Mancherial-Mandamarri main road on the fringes of the coal town, is named Gandhari Vanam as the Gandhari fort is located close to it. It is a 350-acre facility divided into three parts.

“A 20-acre plot on the left side of the road (coming from Mancherial) has been developed as a picnic spot with ornamental plants, apart from a host of things. At least 500 visitors come here on weekends,” the DFO said.

The second 50-acre enclosure will become a good forest, and the department has plans to make it a deer park and an aviary in the near future. The third section, and the most important one, is the 280-acre facility on the other side of the road. It is like a repository and museum of the huge local biodiversity in terms of vegetation.

“Adilabad forests at one time had boasted of at least 500 types of trees, and we are planting many of these, which, for the sake of awareness and convenience, have been segregated into a few sections. For instance, we will have a medicinal plant section with 250 species, and others which will have trees linked with horoscope and nine planets,” Mr. Prabhakar disclosed.

For nature enthusiasts, Gandhari Vanam also has a walking track, while a boating facility and a couple of check dams are coming up. The authorities have also put up boards with information regarding the given sections, trees and fossils for the benefit of people. “We have designed the park to be educative too. People should know about nature, what it was and what it should be,” the DFO said.

The 280-acre facility is like a repository and museum of the biodiversity in terms of vegetation

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by S. Harpal Singh / Mancherial (Adilabad District) / April 25th, 2016

A tale of two cities

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All
Narendra Luther. Photo: K. Ramesh Babu
Narendra Luther. Photo: K. Ramesh Babu

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Narendra Luther talks about weaving in amusing legends and fact-filled anecdotes in his new book ‘Legendotes of Hyderabad’

‘Don’t google the meaning of ‘legendotes’ for there is no such word,’ historian Narendra Luther says in the introduction to his new book ‘Legendotes of Hyderabad’ (Niyogi Books; Rs. 995). A combination of legend and anecdotes, ‘legendotes’ is also an encapsulation of nuggets of history, backed by research, presented in the style of a coffee table book illustrated with photographs of people and buildings that provide a window to the past. “To my surprise, the publishers were eager to have more photographs,” he says with a smile, speaking to us ahead of the launch of his book on Thursday in the presence of historian Aloka Parasher Sen.

“During the course of my research on Hyderabad over the years, I came across both legends and anecdotes. Legends are generally considered gossips of history, but some of those are also stuff that makes up history. Former historians, I believe, walked on the highway of history whereas I feel many pieces of history lie scattered in the lanes and by lanes of the city. I collected a few of these and applied tests of historicity and veracity before documenting them,” explains Luther. Narendra Luther focuses both on stories that are now popular knowledge and lesser-known facts that give readers fresh insights into the history of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. “These are not mere ‘he said, she said’ facts put together,” he emphasises.

Luther also prefers to gather information from people than just documents from the archives: “I believe in interviewing people to know about history than merely going through archives; they have given me a wealth of information,” he says, referring to how he got the late Zahid Ali Kamil to share the story of Kazim Razvi, who led the Razakars movement. The author draws our attention to rocks of Hyderabad that are 2500 million years old and as he points out, ‘older than the Himalayas’ and traces the origin of Hyderabad, including the much-debated tale of romance that gave birth to Bhagnagar. “The historicity of Bhagmati has been established beyond doubt,” says Luther, and states his earlier research while penning a biography of Mohd. Quli Qutb Shah that led him to a document mentioning an old seal of ‘qazi of Bhagnagar’. “And in the court of Jehangir, there was a reference to the city of Bhagnagar in the South, established by Quli Qutb Shah in memory of his beloved,” he adds.

The book contains quirky stories of a dog made to sit on a throne by Sultan Tana Shah in recognition of it raising an alarm spotting an intruder, Aurangzeb’s visit to Bhagnagar and Stalin’s orders on the red revolt. There’s also a perceivable effort to make history relevant to the times we live in, in the chapters that detail how the King Kothi got its name, the story of Lal Bazaar in the then Lashkar that later came to be called Secunderabad. “I’ve given historical citations even for amusing stories,” smiles Luther, citing the story of seven kulchas and how the kulcha was represented on the Nizam’s flag. “This was contradicted by the man himself, the first Nizam, who said the ‘circle’ was a moon that denoted his name Kamaruddin (‘Kamar’ in Persian means moon). But later when the sixth Nizam was approving the design of the flag in 1899, issued a written mentioning the big white circle as a kulcha.” Like his previous works, this book too is an ode to Hyderabad.

Hyderabad connection to ‘Jai Hind!’

Did you know that it was a Hyderabadi who coined the slogan Jai Hind? Zain-ul Abideen Hasan was pursuing engineering in Germany at the time when Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose visited Germany and urged Indian students to join his movement to liberate India. Abid Hasan gave up his studies and became Netaji’s secretary and interpreter. ‘Legendotes of Hyderabad’ discloses why Abid came to be called ‘Safrani’ in later years and how he coined the term ‘Jai Hind’ as the greeting for his army and for independent India.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Sangeetha Devi Dundoo / Hyderabad – January 30th, 2014

The Deccan’s ‘precious nine’ shine on like the Kohinoor

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion
File photo of the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington. / Reuters
File photo of the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington.
/ Reuters

Legendary diamonds mined by the Qutub Shahis are on display in Washington, Paris and Moscow.

It is not just Kohinoor; nine other famous diamonds left the shores of India and these are now displayed in museums in Washington, Moscow, Paris and Istanbul, besides forming a part of the Iranian crown jewels.

The precious nine, all categorised as legendary diamonds and mined by the Qutub Shahis of the Deccan, are the Hope Diamond, Hortensia, Darya-i-Noor, Noor-ul-Ain, Orlov (also called Orlof), Regent, Sancy, Shah Diamond and Spoonmaker’s, says V. Madhavan, who worked as a Professor of Geology in the Kakatiya University.

While the 45.5 carat Hope diamond is currently on display at the Smithsonian in Washington DC, the 190 carat Orlov diamond, a bluish-green gem, is now part of Moscow’s Diamond Treasury.

On the other hand, the 140.6 carat Regent, 55.2 carat Sancy and 20 carat Hortensia are now at the Louvre museum in Paris.

Two pink diamonds, the 182 carat Darya-i-Noor and 60 carat Noor-ul-Ain are part of the Iranian crown jewels while the 88.7 carat Shah Diamond and 86 carat Spoonmaker’s are housed in the Diamond Fund of the Kremlin and Topkapi Palace in Istanbul respectively.

Origins a mystery

Prof. Madhavan, who has studied diamond mining for nearly six decades, says that by all historical accounts, the Kohinoor was mined by the Kakatiyas when Rani Rudrama Devi headed the kingdom, its headquarters in present day Warangal.

Kohinoor’s exact vintage, right from its discovery, continues to be a mystery. However, “There is a general consensus among historians that it was found at Kolluru in the late 13th century in present day Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh,” he said adding that Kolluru was part of the Kakatiya kingdom.

Former Professor of History at the University of Hyderabad, V. Ramakrishna, said the Manual of “Kistna District in the Presidency of Madras”, written by Gordon Mackenzie and published in 1883, also indicated that the Kohinoor was found in Kolluru, then part of Krishna district.

Pages 244-247 refer to diamond mining in the district in general and the Kohinoor in particular. The manual however, says that the gem was mined by Qutub Shahis and not the Kakatiyas.

Another book, A Study of the History and Culture of Andhras, by noted historian K. Satyanarayana and published in 1982, also speaks of the Kohinoor being found in Kolluru.

According to Prof. Madhavan, India was the only producer of diamonds in the world till 1725 AD when they were mined in Brazil. Later in 1870, diamonds were explored in South Africa. Marco Polo, who visited India in the 13th century, talks in his travelogue of an inland kingdom ruled by a queen (Rudrama Devi)… “which produced all the diamonds in the world”.

At the time of its discovery, the Kohinoor was the largest diamond in the world. But no longer. In 1905, workmen at the Premier Mines in South Africa unearthed the 3106 carats (621 grams) Cullinan diamond, which remains the largest so far. It was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan, the founder of Premier Mines.

The original weight of Kohinoor was stated to be 793 carats (158.6 gm). In the 17th Century, emperor Aurangazeb wanted to reduce its size to add to its lustre.

He tasked Horenso Borgia, a Venetian lapidary with the job, but he cut the diamond down to just 186 carats and invited a heavy fine.

At present, the weight of Kohinoor, meaning mountain of light, is 105.6 carats.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / Prashanth Chintala / Hyderabad – April 23rd, 2016

Pioneering Cardiac Surgery Saves 80-year-old Man

Records, All, Science & Technology
Dr PC Rath of Apollo Hospitals with Yerra Veeraiah, who underwent a pioneering cardiac procedure, in Hyderabad on Thursday. | EXPRESS PhOTO
Dr PC Rath of Apollo Hospitals with Yerra Veeraiah, who underwent a pioneering cardiac procedure, in Hyderabad on Thursday. | EXPRESS PhOTO

Hyderabad :

A pioneering cardiac procedure, percutaneous transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), has been performed on an 80-year-old man with critical calcific aortic stenosis by a team of doctors led by Dr PC Rath at Apollo Hospitals in Jubilee Hills here.

The procedure was performed for the first time in this part of the country including Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

“TAVI was performed on the elderly patient in the cath lab from the groin region as in angioplasty. After the patient was administered short general anaesthesia, the valve was put to the heart through the femoral artery and was implanted accurately under the guidance of fluoroscopy and trans-esophageal echo. The valve implanted was the latest second-generation valve from Medtronic USA called Evolute-R. The procedure lasted about one and a half hours.

Immediately after the procedure, the patient was extubated, he became conscious and was shifted to ICU. He was monitored in the ICU for two days, for three more days in the ward and was then discharged,” Dr PC Rath explained.

Dr Rath was assisted by Dr Manoj Agarwal, Dr B.Dikshit and Dr Sundar.

Dr Rath said TAVI is being routinely performed in Europe and of late in the USA for patients who are at high risk for an open heart surgery.

“The procedure got FDA approval in 2015 and since then has been being routinely performed in the USA.

In India the procedure is not yet approved by DCGI and needs permission on case-to-case basis and then the device is imported. Very few cases have been performed in India and the ones performed were mostly in Delhi and Bangalore,” he said.

Though the device is expensive, the procedure is a boon for such patients to be able to save their lives and continue to live through a relatively safe non-surgical procedure. “Now we can offer this life-saving procedure to many of our sick patients with calcified aortic stenosis,” Dr Rath added.

Aortic Stenosis

Narrowing of the aortic valve of the heart is called aortic stenosis. Such blockage in the valve leads to gradual petering of blood flow and consequently an increased effort from the heart is required to pump blood. This condition can lead to heart failure. In normal circumstances, an open heart surgery is performed on such patients to replace the valve. However, in the case of this patient, due to his advanced age and renal failure, an open heart surgery was considered to be a high risk and, therefore, the minimally-invasive TAVI was preferred.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service / April 22nd, 2016

Bhagavatar Harishankara Sastry passes away

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, Records, All

Noted Harikatha Bhagavatar, Velidhe Harishankara Sastry passed away at his residence at Rangasipet in Warangal early on Thursday. He was 86.

He authored many mythological and social Harikathas and rendered them on Deccan Radio in the 1930 and 1940s.

He toured extensively and was honoured with gold anklets and titles.

Mr Sastry was honoured with Ugadhi Puraskaram by late Chief Minister N T Rama Rao in recognition of his services and scholarship.

Journalists V L Narasimha Rao and Dasari Krishna Reddy, senior advocate V Harihar Rao, Lok Satta leader Parcha Kodandarama Raoand condoled his death.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by Special Correspondent / Warangal – April 22nd, 2016

Reviving authentic Telugu dishes (Foodie Trail-Hyderabad)

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All

Hyderabad (IANS) :

Here is a restaurant with a mission to bring back authentic Telugu dishes becoming extinct, to connect people to their roots and relieve the magic of their ancestral homes.

After an extensive research, Karampodi is serving about 200 authentic dishes from the rich Telugu cuisine to reignite the taste buds.

Drawn from traditional Telugu kitchens, these recipes are catering to the common, yet varied, tastes of people who come from different regions of the Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

The speciality dishes from Telangana, Andhra and Rayalaseema have all been documented by the restaurant after an elaborate exercise, including help from experts and inputs from grandmothers.

Located in Filmnagar, the hub of the Telugu film industry, in the upmarket Jubliee Hills here, the restaurant embarked on the unique initiative after realising that many dishes are becoming extinct due to changing lifestyles.
The name of the restaurant itself evokes curiosity as karampodi is an inseparable part of Telugu culture – a powder made of red chillis along with other ingredients.

People mix garlic, tamarind, pulses, bitter gourd or other items to make the powder, usually taken with plain rice. Made in different combinations to suit one’s taste, it is a must on the menu in Telugu homes.

“People may have started making karampodi when the luxury of vegetables or the facility to store them was not available,” Shyam Jampala, one of Karampodi’s four partners, told IANS.

“We prepare six of these popular combinations and serve four of them on every table. Two other combinations are used in the dishes to give them a distinct taste,” added Jampala, a techie and a traditional food specialist.

On the menu is karampodi kodi, a chicken dish. The pieces of chicken are marinated with karampodi to give it a unique taste.

One of the dishes served here is keema muttilu as it is known in Telangana. Made of minced meat, it is known by other names in Andhra and Rayalaseema but is not served by any restaurant.

Bommadiyalu bulusu is another speciality dish. The curry is made of a small fish known as bommadiyalu in Telangana.
“It’s prepared with the entire fish as one can eat it with bones. Sourcing this fish is itself a problem and preparing it in the special manner is another challenge,” said Ajay Kumar Ramidi, another partner.

Another traditional dish is pachi pulusu. Women in Telangana used to prepare this simple dish, which requires no cooking: all one needs to do is mix tamarind, chilli powder and pieces of onion in water.

Karampodi, however, offers the more popular Rayalaseema variant of this dish, where peanut powder and some other ingredients are used to give it a unique taste.

Taramati chicken is yet another speciality dish. Chicken pieces, after special marination, are fried and served with potato wafers arranged in a stick. “It’s a Nizami dish, which Malaysia inherited from our cuisine and they named it chicken satay,” Jampala explained.

Another uniqueness of the restaurant is the non-vegetarian breakfast. It’s common for many in south India to have idli, wada, dosa and puri for breakfast but Karampodi serves dosa and idli with mutton kheema, chicken curry and other non-vegetarian dishes.

Jampala pointed out that these special dishes are common in Rayalaseema and parts of Telangana, where people prefer heavy breakfasts.

These breakfast dishes are served even for lunch till 3.30 p.m. and they are in great demand, he said.
A signature dish of Karampodi is the ‘golden’ dosa. Made of 23.5 karat edible gold leaves, it adds gold on your platter, say the promoters.
Though prepared like any other dosa, the chefs stick five edible gold leaf foils on it to give it a glittering look and serve it piping hot. Priced at Rs.670, this dosa also attracted attention because of its name.

“Since we are located in Filmnagar, we wanted to give a filmi name,” said Jampala, explaining the reason behind naming it ‘Srimanthudu dosa’.

‘Srimanthudu’ is a Telugu blockbuster starring Mahesh Babu.

Since preparation of authentic Telugu dishes requires special efforts and methods, the restaurant has taken care of every minute detail – from making its own spices to the way the cooking is done.

Konda (kandi) biryani, for instance, is cooked in earthen pots kept on burning coal.

“We don’t use gas stoves because we don’t get the same flavour and the authenticity will be missing,” Jampala explained.

Another interesting feature is that the restaurant discourages the use of plates, spoons and forks for eating. “We encourage people to use their hands for eating so that they can relish the taste and flavour of our dishes,” he added.

The rice and other dishes are preferably served on banana leaves, an integral part of south Indian culture.
“Most of these dishes are not made in restaurants. Our generation may be last to know of them. We identified 400 of these dishes which are both popular and extinct dishes. We prepared a menu of 199,” said Jampala, who along with his other partners, belong to the hospitality industry.

Claiming that food is a passion for them rather than mere business, they plan to add more dishes to their menu.
Buoyed by the response, the partners are now planning to open two more such restaurants in Hyderabad. They also have drawn plans to expand it to Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru.

They are also eyeing some cities in the US with a sizeable Telugu diaspora.

“We will have our own restaurants in Connecticut and Dallas while those in Los Angeles and New York will be our franchises,” Jampala said.

The partners also propose to open one restaurant in Sydney to cater to Telugus living there.

Where: Anand Film Sqaure,, Rd Number 82, Film Nagar, Hyderabad.
Timing: 7.30 am to 11.30 pm
Veg breakfast for two Rs.250
Non-veg breakfast Rs.500
Lunch for two (one starter and one main course) Rs.600

(Mohammed Shafeeq can be contacted at m.shafeeq@ians.in)

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Hyderabad / IANS / April 20th, 2016

Megalithic site holds link to a hoary past

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel
Historic find:Kendra Sirak, a researcher from United States, keenly watching a dolmen at the megalithic site near Kachanapalli.— Photo: By Arrangement
Historic find:Kendra Sirak, a researcher from United States, keenly watching a dolmen at the megalithic site near Kachanapalli.— Photo: By Arrangement

Kachanapalli continues to attract history enthusiasts and research scholars from far-off places

The vast megalithic site at Kachanapalli, known for its rich archaeological heritage and hoary past, nestled in bushy forests of Gundala mandal in Kothagudem division continues to attract history enthusiasts and research scholars from far off places.

The site has shot into limelight after its chance discovery by a team of undergraduate, PG and Ph. D students in history from University of Hyderabad and Khammam-based SR&BGNR Government Degree and PG College during a field trip to Kachanapalli in 2012.

Located about 75 km from Khammam, the sprawling site encompasses close to hundred megaliths comprising one female anthropomorphic statue in the vicinity of Batannanagar near Kachanapalli. One of the striking features of the site is the rock engraving of a person holding a baby right in front of a dolmen. A three-member team comprising experts in human skeletal biology and ancient DNA study had visited the megalithic site at Kachanapalli over a week ago.

The team included Assistant Professor Dr. Veena Mushrif Tripathy, Human Skeletal Biologist, Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute, Pune, Niraj Rai, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, and Kendra Sirak, Ph.D candidate in anthropology at Emory University, Atlanta, United States. Assistant Professor of History at SR&BGNR College Lt. K John Milton also accompanied them.

The team also visited the megalithic site on the campus of SR&BGNR College in Khammam. The college Principal Dr U Veerabhadraiah apprised them of the various types of pottery and iron implements unearthed from the megalithic site on the college campus a few years ago.

When contacted over phone, Dr Veena told The Hindu that the dolmens found at the site at Kachanapalli were very important from both archaeological and anthropological aspects. These megalithic monuments should be conserved for posterity. They will shed light on megalithic culture which was around 1000 BCE, their architecture, its development, mortuary practices and their beliefs about dead and their emotional behaviour, she noted.

The physical anthropological analysis will be helpful in understanding the adaptations, their morphology, pathology (ancient diseases) and their way of life, she said, adding that the megalithic monuments of Khammam will play a vital role in understanding local history.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / P. Sridhar / Khammam – April 20th, 2016

Photos on Hyderabad invited for a book

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All

Hyderabad Metro Rail MD N.V.S. Reddy and investment banker Kali Kondury are working on a book ‘Hyderabad: Growing Global’, primarily addressed to Indian and global investors, CEOs of MNCs, captains of Indian industry and other decision makers towards furthering Hyderabad’s brand equity globally.

It will have three parts – Historic Hyderabad, Happening Hyderabad and Global Hyderabad – with high quality content, rich photography detailing the history, cosmopolitan culture, geographical and linguistic advantage, vibrancy and economic dynamism, fast growing infrastructure, world class educational facilities etc., of the city. The authors have appealed to those having high resolution photographs depicting the splendour and vibrancy of Hyderabad.

Those interested may contact Vijay Mandapaka at 7032703736/dgmcc.hmr@gmail.com. Selected photographs will be suitably acknowledged.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – April 19th, 2016

Dual delight intrigues botanists

Agriculture, Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, Travel
Bi-coloured wonder:A mahua tree with dual coloured foliage.–Photo: S. Harpal Singh
Bi-coloured wonder:A mahua tree with dual coloured foliage.–Photo: S. Harpal Singh

The mahua or ippa tree can be seen on the Utnoor-Asifabad road in Adilabad

Many miss this natural wonder while zooming past on the Utnoor-Asifabad road in Adilabad, but those who do spot the colourful tree, stop to marvel at its beauty. A majestic mahua or ippa tree, located about 500 metres from Heerapur village in Utnoor mandal, towards Jainoor, is a visual delight and scientific curiosity — half the tree has red-brown leaves while the other half has green leaves.

The tree retains this dual foliage from the end of March for about a month, soon after it sheds its flowers.

Adilabad has an estimated five lakh mahua trees, mostly in the tribal belt. The mahua flowers have medicinal value and form a major non-timber forest produce for the forest dwelling Gond and Kolam tribal communities.

The tree bears two differently coloured leaves at the same time apparently because it has a dual leaf development stage. “This could be because of two different seeds joining at the time of germination but retaining individual characteristics of growth on maturity,” said a forest department official of the rare phenomenon.

The tree is about 40 years old, according to villagers. “It was a young tree when I was a child,” recalled Atram Shankar, a 40-year-old Gond farmer from Hasnapur village, about 2 km from the bi-coloured beauty.

The Forest department has taken note of the tree with the rare foliage and Forest Range Officer of Utnoor, P. Ramesh Rao and others have visited the place to document the occurrence.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Telangana / by S. Harpal Singh / Adilabad – April 18th, 2016