Lonar- the Secret Lake Made by an Extra-terrestrial Object

Although it is the only lake in the world made by the collision of a meteorite hitting the lava basaltic rock , nobody seems to be interested in it but scientists and naturalists. We drove to this wonderful place  when I was in Aurangabad last month, as I had always wanted to see it. The crater was made 50,000 years ago in the Pleistocene Epoch when a blazing meteor weighing  over one million tons , travelling at an incredible speed of 90,000km/hour crashed into the basaltic rock .It gouged the earth and made a depression 1.8 kilometres wide and 150 metres deep.It erupted and spewed molten rock all over its rim, which has turned into a beautiful crest. Over the years, the jungle has taken over the crest.

 The Lonar lake supports a unique bio- diversity, not found in the flat land surrounding it. We had to walk through this jungle to reach the shores of the lake.

 The water in the lake is both saline and alkaline. One of our friends dipped his gold wedding ring in the water of the lake and wiped it. The ring shone like it had just been polished! During drought years, the water of the lake recedes, and the jungle makes a valiant effort to claim the land. When there is a good monsoon, the waters get back their lost territory, killing the jungle trees.The micro-organisms found in the lake are quite rare.

 As we walked in the jungle to reach the shore of the lake, we came across many ancient broken down temples to Shiva.

 The white circle in the water is an ancient man made well. Our guide told us that the water  taken from the eastern rim of the well is sweet, but the water from the western rim is salty. The well is named "Saas-Bahoo Well", (Mother-in-law and Daughter-in-law well).

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A Breath of Fresh Air : The Native Biodiversity Garden

 I met Katy Rustom through this blog, and took the first opportunity to visit the wonderful biodiversity garden her organization CERE has started at Tanveera near Alibaug in Maharashtra together with the Shapoorji Pallonji Group and the Raigad Zilla Parishad .Named Shapoorji Palonji Native Biodiversity Garden, this piece of greenery in a semi-urban situation is literally a breath of fresh air and a serene place full of beauty and information. The entrance gates have sculptures of local butterflies ,and when you enter, you are greeted by the tall Deepmala- a traditional welcome by lamps.

 The one acre garden has more than 700 varieties of plants collected from all over India. They are arranged in sections like sensory, medicinal, wetland, butterfly etc. There is a pond ecosystem comprising a beautiful lily pond.  Although it was not the season, many plants were in flower like the Holmskoldia below .

Holmskoldia

 I was surprised to see a ground cover of Melastoma , whose cuttings Katy graciously gave me.This is a flower of the Western Ghats.

 Katy showing a rare tree in the garden. The garden nurtures and propagates many endangered native plants.

 Large white flowers of the Vajradanti, which is used in Ayurveda for treatment of dental problems.

One of the most unusual trees I saw was Ficus benghalensis var. Krishnae, with the leaves forming pockets!

 School children thronged the touch screen to find out about the plants and animals in the garden.I was happy to see so many school children visiting the garden and evincing keen interest in biodiversity.

 Boys were more inerested in running through the mini maze hung with bells. Boys will be boys!

 After a wonderful walk through the garden, we sat in the shade of a Bauhinia tree and wondered at the amount of hard work which must have gone into making this beautiful place.I hope there will be many more gardens of this kind.

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