100 years of landscaping & still ticking

100 years of landscaping & still ticking
New Indian Express

If Lalbagh has centuries of history, so do some of its green residents. What even the most discerning tend to overlook are the names — Kadrappa or Obalappa — carved on some of the oldest trees. These are the hands that tended the trees in this lung space for over a century, and Obalappa and Bros are still going strong very much involved in Bangalore’s landscaping.

Vasuki Visweswaran belongs to the fourth generation of the Obalappa family and he is well into the family business.

‘‘My great grandfather, Kadarappa and his brother Obalappa set up the nursery in 1885 as a part of Ashok Vana or what is now known as Lalbagh. This was later acquired by the British raj. The business was later handed down to my grandfather and then my father, and now me,’’ he says and adds, ‘‘My great grandfather was actually involved in the liquor business. But he gave it up and entered the nursery sector.’’

The Obalappas have been around since the time of Tipu Sultan and their clientele has consisted of people like the Maharaja of Mysore, the royal family of Travancore and Sir M Visweswaraiya. They are now into landscaping and maintaining gardens for many corporates in Bangalore, mainly builders like Gopal Enterprises, H M Constructions and R M Z Corporations. Also, they do landscaping for major corporate houses like TVS, Calema and Escorts and other landmark locations.

Vasuki has completed his engineering and specialised in tissue culture. ‘‘I grew up among plants and have always been interested in plants. Even as a kid, I would accompany my father to the plantations to learn how to nurture plants. So my foray into this field came about naturally,’’ he says.

From sourcing rare plants, landscaping, maintaining gardens, contract farming to providing plant lovers and consultancy services with ornamental plants, Obalappa and Bros are involved with almost everything to do with making the city green. They are also into exporting various kinds of plants. ‘‘Some ornamental varieties like the axon plants and avenue trees like palm trees are in great demand internationally, and generate a lot of revenue,’’ says Vasuki.

He had also ventured into floriculture but closed down the business in the 90s owing to high export duty. ‘‘We are thinking of getting back into that business now,’’ he says.

Since there are very few nurseries operating in the city, this family has remained unrivaled and is treading on a smooth patch. ‘‘We work on an exchange basis with other nurseries and exchange plants as per need with each other,’’ he says. Depending on the variety and size of the plant, prices can vary ranging from Rs 50 for a sapling to even Rs 50,000 for some rare ones.

Speaking about the Garden City, Vasuki says that the city is experiencing massive development. Even their own farms have been shifted to Ulsoor Road due to the constant mushrooming of new buildings. He is now thinking of establishing a nursery in Mysore. ‘‘With lots of companies being established in Mysore, I think a huge market will emerge soon. Moreover, with the Bangalore-Mysore highway, transporting plants to Bangalore takes just a couple of hours now.’’

The changing landscape of Bangalore has however come at a price. ‘‘One thing I have observed about the changing Bangalore with its depleting green areas is that apartments have replaced individual houses. The sad thing is that most associations that manage apartment blocks don’t give enough importance to maintaining gardens as they consider it a waste of space. Instead, they utilise it as extra parking facility,’’ he says.

Vasuki, however, is not worried that Bangalore would lose its green cover.

‘‘There is rapid expansion taking place but in recent times, the government is giving importance to green cover too,’’ he says. ‘‘And of course, we will always have our Lalbagh,’’ he says as an after-thought.

So after 100 years, what makes Obalappa and Bros tick? His answer is as simple as he is: ‘‘Honesty and dedication.’’.