Last week, as my Trivandrum trip was nearing its end, I decided to wrap it up with a visit to the Napier Museum, a must-see on my Trivandrum bucket list.
Did you know there’s a 148-year-old rubber tree on the Napier museum’s campus?
A couple of years ago, through the book Ivory Throne by Manu S. Pillai (one of my favorite historians), I learned about Maharaja Visakham Thirunal Rama Varma of Travancore. He was a botanist and visionary ruler who introduced rubber trees and tapioca cultivation to Kerala in the late 1800s, which later became significant for the whole of India.
Recently, while researching places to visit in Trivandrum, I discovered that a rubber tree planted by the king in 1876 is still thriving on the Napier Museum campus. As the first and oldest living rubber tree in Kerala, planted by the very person who introduced it, it naturally became a must-visit on my bucket list.
Despite severe back pain from my visit to the Poovar Islands the previous day, I couldn’t miss the chance to see this magnificent great-grand tree. Although I wasn’t able to explore the museum itself, I managed to say hello to this living piece of history.
While Visakham Thirunal introduced two major commercial crops; Tapioca and the rubber tree, this blog will focus mainly on the rubber tree and its journey from Brazil’s Amazon Basin to Kerala. Also about the king himself who introduced the Tree to us.
About H.H. Maharaja Visakham Thirunal Rama Varma;
King Visakham Thirunal, the grandson of Maharani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi and nephew of Maharaja Swathi Thirunal, was a remarkable ruler with a wide range of talents. As a young prince, he received his early education from his father, Rama Varma. He was well-versed in Sanskrit and was also a skilled literary composer in Malayalam.
At the age of nine, he began learning English under Thanjavur Subha Rao (who also tutored his uncle, King Swathi Thirunal), who later became the Dewan of Trivandrum. The young prince showed a natural talent for writing, and his first work, Horrors of War and Benefits of Peace, received much praise. Some of his writings were published in well-known publications such as Madras Athenaeum, The Statesman,and The Calcutta Review.
In 1861, during a visit to Madras, the prince met Sir William Denison, the Governor of Madras. Impressed by his intelligence, the Governor commented:
“He is by far the most intelligent native I have seen; and if his brother (Ayilyam Thirunaal) is like him, the prospects of Trivandrum are very favorable.”
This meeting led to the prince being appointed as a Governor of the University of Madras, an exceptional honor for an Indian at that time.
About H.H. Visakham Thirunal’s Agricultural Contributions;
Prince Visakham Thirunal had an interest in many disciplines, and botany was one of them. This led him to play an instrumental role in introducing two commercial crops to the country, one of which is the rubber tree. Let’s explore some interesting facts about this tree and its smuggled story from Brazil to England.
About the Rubber Tree;
The rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis), also called the Pará rubber tree, comes from the Amazon Basin in Brazil. Back in the day, its latex used to make rubber had a massive influence on industries worldwide.
In Kerala, the rubber trees we usually see on ancestral properties are smaller and thinner because they are tapped for latex. This naturally slows down the tree’s growth. Also in plantations, rubber trees are typically cut down after 25–30 years when latex production declines. In the past, old trees were burned, but now the wood is used for furniture, adding more value. So, the size we commonly see is not the tree’s natural size.
In India, to see the true size of a rubber tree, one should visit the Napier Museum in Trivandrum, Kerala. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to witness it in all its glory. Untapped for over 150 years the Rubber tree at the museum looks remarkably healthy.
As a result, it has grown very tall, with a massive trunk and giant branches starting low on the trunk. For a moment, I thought it was the trunk of an Indian Siris tree (Vaagai). I regret not measuring the height of that giant rubber tree while I was there. However, I’m trying to find ways to find its height. 🤞🏼
Journey of the Rubber Tree;
The journey of rubber trees begins in the Amazon rainforest, where they were an important resource for local tribes like the Olmecs. These tribes used the tree’s latex to make things like balls for their traditional games. Rubber became even more useful after the invention of vulcanization in 1839 by Charles Goodyear. This process made rubber stronger and more durable, causing demand to rise so quickly. Soon, rubber cultivation spread beyond the Amazon.
The British played a major role in this. Early attempts to cultivate rubber trees outside their native amazonian habitat failed. In 1873, seeds of Rubber trees were sent to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England and 12 seedlings were successfully germinated and were transported to India for cultivation but they all died.
In 1876, there was a second attempt when Henry Wickham smuggled 70,000 rubber seeds from Brazil and sent to Kew Gardens. This time 2,700 seeds were successfully germinated from ‘Henry’s batch’ and those seedlings were sent to different British colonies with suitable climates like Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Singapore, and Malaysia.
I assume King Visakham Thirunal must have been fascinated by these stories in the 1870s and would have had the curiosity to bring this amazing crop to his homeland. So, from the rubber saplings sent to Ceylon, a planter brought 28 saplings to Nilambur in the then Madras Presidency. Using his influence, King Visakham Thirunal acquired two rubber saplings and planted them on the Napier Museum campus in 1876.
So, that is the fascinating journey of this historic rubber tree, a story of resilience, exploration and innovation.
Personal connection with the tree;
We often get excited about the little things in life. For people like me, it’s often tied to nostalgia. It could be something as simple as a good sambar, like the one I had for breakfast, that takes me back to the tiffin box that I exchanged with my friend in school. For me, almost anything can spark a memory.
This time, it was this historical tree. It reminded me of my summer vacations in Attapadi, Palakad district at my uncle’s place, where we had a rubber estate. Every morning, my uncle and his friends would head out to tap the trees. I can still picture the process: peeling off the dried latex from the previous day, collecting fresh latex from the coconut shells, and making finger marks on the freshly coagulated wet rubber blocks. With the help of our cousins, our task was to carry them to the pressing shed, where we watched with satisfaction as they were pressed into sheets. The room where the sheets were hung to dry had its own distinct, unforgettable smell 🙈.
These vivid memories flooded back when I read about the historical rubber tree at Napier Museum. What made it even more special was realizing that this tree is the great-great-grandmother of all the rubber trees that were ever tapped on this land.
And here I am, standing beneath its majestic canopy, 148 years later, witnessing history rooted in nature. Standing beneath this majestic tree, I felt transported back in time. Its massive trunk, untouched for over a century, felt like a quiet witness to history.
Additional Information on the Process of Making Natural Rubber (White Gold) from Start to Finish:
