There is a cut off on the Bengaluru to Mysuru highway, to a village nearby. The big banyan tree as it is actually called, is located here, barely within an hour's drive out from Bengaluru. Its quite 'big', and spread out over nearly 2 acres of land, I think. The main trunk is in the centre of the plot that is protected, beautified and managed, by strangely, the Bank of Maharashtra. Way down south, in Karnataka, no other bank or corporate entity or institution thought it appropriate to protect this natural wealth, except for the Bank of Maharashtra. Its certainly a paradox given the numerous events that take place up in north Karnataka.
The tree is quite beautiful and well protected. The various roots are protected with small guards and are weighted down at places to ensure that it takes root properly. Thankfully, the garden fencing is clean, and the visiting tourists are not scattering plastic bags or other garbage around. There are some scratches of "I love you" etc on some trunks and roots, but other than that, there does not seem to be any other visible vandalism.
There are macaques, at least 2 troops, and plenty of birds. Mynas, parakeets, barbets, crows at the fence, and babblers. I could not spot more in my short visit. Children were moving about, and the vendors outside were only selling tender coconuts and boiled groundnuts. So, that was quite safe. There is a small decent and very polite board that explains that the project is protected and managed by the Bank of Maharashtra. I felt very proud of that, coming from Pune. Strangely, there were very few tourists, compared to the huge numbers moving between Bengaluru and Mysuru.
