Know Your City: Bengaluru’s rendezvous with the colour pink

In fact, pink tabebuias start blooming in November, followed by yellow tabebuias (January) and then jacaranda flowers that are purple. Chandra also mentioned that the pink spell is predominantly found in Cubbon Park, near the State Central Library; however, one can also catch the glimpse of these flowers in Lalbagh, and local parks in north and south Bengaluru like Sadashivanagar and Koramangala. “Driving through these neighbourhoods, one can easily spot these tabebuias blooming in November. These flowers are native to Mexico, Venezuela, and tropical America. The seeds were brought in from these countries and were planted here,” said Chandra.

Sharma also added that these plants were imported via Kew Gardens, in London, where horticulturists commissioned for work during Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar’s (Maharaja of Mysore) rule were trained. (Express photo by Jithendra M)

According to experts, pioneering botanists such as John Cameron and Gustav Hermann Krumbiegel planted the first seeds of these trees in the then-Kingdom of Mysore during their stint in Lalbagh. Yashaswini Sharma, a Bengaluru-based urban historian, said: “The botanists selected particular trees such as the tabebuia, rain trees, and gulmohar aimed at seasonal blooming. Bengaluru was actually a shrub jungle and the rulers wanted to introduce trees for seasonal flowering… These trees were strategically planted along avenues, and parks, among other places.”

Sharma also added that these plants were imported via Kew Gardens, in London, where horticulturists commissioned for work during Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar’s (Maharaja of Mysore) rule were trained. “Bengaluru was deliberately shaped into a garden city by introducing these exotic flowers,” added Sharma.

Not just tabebuia, but the Karnataka capital is also home to other exotic trees planted by SG Neginhal – the man credited for bringing the Garden City tag to Bengaluru. While Bengaluru already had Cubbon Park and Lalbagh owing to the British, the streets were bare in the 1960s, Harini Nagendra, an ecologist and researcher, recounts in her book Nature in the City: Bengaluru in the Past, Present and Future. In the chapter on street trees, she narrates Bengaluru’s fascinating ecological history and has particular praise for Neginhal who planted over 1.5 million saplings of 150 different species across the city, including rain trees, akash mallige, tabebuia, bougainvillea, mango, avocado, and jamun.