The Miracle Neem Tree Mount Abu

Neem Trees Arna Village
Saurabh's house Neem trees

Plummy from Arna Village

The Golden Horn from Tiger path

Common Shrike

Precarious water situation in Abu

The Legendary Neem tree can be found in nearly all parts of India, it grows at the foot hills of Abu but not in Abu. Abu is blessed with a cocktail of diverse trees, evergreen, deciduous and desert varieties, but not the Miracle tree, the Neem. Many have tried to grow this tree over time but not a single tree could be found in this heaven of ours, my quest for locating a single tree almost came to end and I was ready to believe that this tree could not be grown in Abu, when out of the blue I was told that there were Neem trees growing in Abu.
I had gone to order a cake for my lady love on Valentine’s Day from Saurabh of Swastik Hotel, (by the way his chef makes wonderful cakes) and in the course of our conversation we hit upon the topic of the wonders of the Neem tree and how this tree did not grow in Abu. Saurabh who has a house in Arna Village, just below Monkey Temple told me he had four Neem trees growing on his property, at first I thought he was pulling my leg, but he was dead serious, he told me he had brought them from Himatnager in Gujarat. I told him I would drop in when I could find the time to confirm his claim.
Today was a hay day for me I had driven down to the Arna Village to see the extent of damage the forest fire had caused there. Not only did I get to see the Neem trees but got to hear the Legendary Golden Oriel melodious tunes. The Oriel was a common bird in the sixties, today if one gets to see or hear one, one can consider himself lucky. I did manage to get some lovely shots of the Neem and of some birds and of the horn. I have posted them above. Probably the Neem trees have survived at Arna Village due to a small variation in temperatures, Neem trees cannot survive in temperatures below 4 degree C.