The Mangroves of Mumbai by Kavita Shivdasani 26/7/2014

The Grey Mangroves

Bound by Vashi Bridge, Eastern Express Highway, Ghatkopar and Bhandup lies the largest stretch of privately owned densely forested Mangrove swamps. The Godrej family purchased about 2000 acres of Mangrove land in 1940 at the princely sum of INR 45 per acre at an auction arranged by The Bombay High Court on behalf of the government of India.

Although the Godrej family set up their factory in the vicinity of the mangrove forests they have protected this stretch thus far. The protection of this coastal forest is vital to our ecosystem as they act like a buffer between the sea and the land and reduce erosion. The exposed roots act as a breeding ground for various marine creatures, a source of wood for fire and building houses. The extract from their bark and leaves are used as herbal remedies. They provide fodder for cattle in coastal regions. The list is of course endless.

Mangroves refer to trees of medium height and large shrubs which adapted to saline soil along the coastal regions in tropical and subtropical lands. At a time when the earth was densely covered with trees the lack of space forced certain varieties of trees and shrubs to adapt to saline coastal conditions, especially along the inter-tidal space. These plants did so by developing stilt roots to elevate the plant above the water and breathing roots that appear to look like “pegs” dotting the swampy soil at low tide. These root adaptations enabled the trees to breathe even when their lower roots were submerged. They also developed a mechanism in their leaves to pump out excess salt. Thus came into being the Mangroves and their associates like the “meswak”.

peg roots

On 26^th July 2014 we were treated to a vista of grey mangrove from the viewing tower and had an opportunity to take a look at the stilt roots of the red and orange mangroves. To round off the entire experience of hobnobbing with the mangroves we ventured onto the narrow walkway constructed on the swamp between thick mass of mangrove shrubs on either side only to have run out at top speed when we were engulfed by an equally thick cloud mosquitoes. The silver lining we were informed was that “these mosquitoes are not malarial”! Amen to that.

The Samudrabans (author Siddhant Mehta 11 years, 2011, Illustrator by Ishita Singh 9 years 2013)

Foreword

“It is said that all plants were created from the hair of Brahma” – Brahma’s Hair by Maneka Gandhi. The KYE children inspired by the mythology and legends on Trees in this book decided to create their own set of folklore.

The Sunderbans is the third of this series of KYE folklore.

Mkhut the ostrich wandered around the tall grass with his flock of brothers, sisters, mum, dad, cousins, aunts and uncles looking for berries, seeds and insects. 

He spied a juicy worm and blinked his thickly lashed eyes with pleasure. Mkhut edged towards it lowered his long straw-like neck but the creature wriggled away.

Mkhut lowered his neck again and ‘peck’ the poor worm was never ever seen again. Mkhut turned his head back towards his group, but they too were nowhere to be seen. He scanned the landscape anxiously twisting his long neck and tried calling out to the rest of his family but there was no reply.

 Mkhut was scared but there was no time to use his mandarin sized brain, because at that very moment an arrow whizzed past his head missing it by a few inches. He noticed a man his dark well oiled skin gleaming in the sunlight. Dressed in lion cloth with a quiver of arrows slung on his back the tribal hunter was deftly stringing another arrow into his bow.

Mkhut’s extra small brain was packed with only one thought “run”. He lifted his strong, two-toed humongous feet taking gigantic leaps to evade the hunter. Leaving the familiar grass lands behind Mkhut found himself on a vast stretch of mud flats in the delta region of the Bay of Bengal where the great rivers emptied themselves into the sea.

After regaining his breath Mkhut observed much to his delight his entire family near the river. He rushed up to them in joy. 

Mkhut’s long throat was parched so he bent down and drank in long gulps.

 Suddenly a loud gushing sound made him stand erect just in time to see a colossal wave heading their way.







He and his family realized that they could not run fast enough to escape this threat and so they huddled together and lay down low as if to avoid detection

Their heads and necks were difficult to spot against the sandy soil. It almost looked as if all of them had put their heads in the ground hoping for the best.So when the wave hit them they broke its force and shielded the land from flooding and being washed away.

Although Mkhut and his family saved the day, he and his flock were rooted to the spot as the mud turned thick and swampy upon contact with the water. The tangle of beaks and necks exposed above the water especially at low tide began to look like intertwined roots leading to the nickname “walking tree”.

As time went by they spread into a dense and beautiful sea forest or ‘Samudraban’ or the “Sunderbans” or beautiful forests of coastal West Bengal.