550-yr-old ‘Hathiyan-ka-Jhaad’ star attraction in Hyderabad

‘Hathiyan-ka-Jhaad’ at Golf Course in Naya Quilla, Golconda, is attracting vloggers from across the country

Hyderabad: It’s almost 550 years old and still going strong. The Baobab tree popularly known as the ‘Hathiyan-ka-Jhaad’ located at the Golf Course in Naya Quilla, Golconda, continues to remain a centre of attraction for visitors from all walks of life.

The tree’s gigantic form literally acts like a magnet for vloggers, who are drawn to it from across the country. The tree well known for its hollow structure, huge enough to accommodate more than three dozen people at a time, is the star attraction for YouTubers.

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According to officials from Archaeological Survey of India, the Baobab tree measuring a massive circumference of 25 metres is native to Madagascar and was brought to Hyderabad by fakirs centuries ago.

“On any day we can find people coming in groups and shooting videos of the tree. We came to known that the gigantic form of the tree is drawing huge response on social media platforms,” points out a watchman at the Naya Quilla.

Fahad Bavazeer, a vlogger from old city, recently shot a short video of the place and it went viral across social media platforms. “Younger generations are keen to know about Hyderabad’s past and more through social media than history books,” he says.

According to the legends, during the Qutb Shahi period, a group of 40 robbers hid inside the tree during the day and committed offences in the night. The hideout become public after some people noticed it and the word reached the rulers. Soon a contingent of soldiers was sent and the robbers were caught.

The ASI authorities had put up a grill enclosure around the tree to prevent public from going close to it. There is also another story that the bark of the tree is of great medicinal value.

Historian Mohd Safiullah says Horticulture Department can experiment on regenerating more such trees through dwarfing technique.

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