Uprooted tree stands upright!

Uprooted tree stands upright!
By Dr George Karimalil

India is known as a land where wonders keep happening. But what has recently happened at Mupkal village in Nizamabad district, Andhra Pradesh, India seems to defy all logic. The trunk of a 100-year-old giant banyan tree spread over half an acre, which was uprooted in a gale five months ago, stands erect in its original place! The trunk had been left there itself by the villagers after cutting off the branches.

No sooner has the word gone around than people from near and far have started rushing in, turning the place into a pilgrim centre. They break coconuts and sprinkle kunkum (red powder) on the trunk, worshipping the tree as an incarnation of Muthyalamma, the village goddess. It is understandable as the size of the trunk is such that it is impossible even for 100 people to move it by an inch.

N Ramachander, a leading medical practitioner in Hyderabad, describes the phenomenon as ‘Osmosis effect’. Due to heavy rain in the area on the previous night, water must have seeped into the tissues causing the stem to stand upright in the pit. On the other hand forest officials, when contacted, have failed to come out with a convincing explanation.