Mangalore: Visual Feast, Once-in-a-lifetime Experience

Report and pic by Antony M Lobo
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Oct 19: Rather than the development process that has gripped Mangalore city at a faster pace of late, it is the nature's bounty that holds Mangaloreans spell-bound.  We have an opportunity at hand,  to witness a life time phenomenon – flowering of a talipot palm (Kan-Shirtale, Kon-Shirthal, and Tulu-panoli). This tree is located in the centre of the city. There are some other trees which flower annually, but this talipot palm tree flowers only once in its lifetime. It provides its large fan shaped leaves to make the capes that are covered over their heads by the farm workers to protect themselves from rains during the monsoon months.

Fr Leo D’souza S J, a scientist, opines, “today these trees have become very rare, because of the plastic capes instead of these leaves being used by people as rain wear. I noticed this tree last time, about 10 years back in Konaje”.

A local citizen, who lives in the vicinity of this tree since the last 40 years, explains, “we came here when the tree was very young. Now it must have crossed 75 years of existence and hence, has flowered. After three months from now, it will die before the flowers ripen”.

This tree was first found out by Fr Leo D’souza S J. It took four days for him to make out its species. It is found just behind the city sub-jail. People can reach to the tree, by following the road between Canara College and SDM Law College Campus and turning left, in front of Lalith Kala Arts.