Sujata Agrawal

A mini forest in the concrete jungle? Tata Consultancy Services has been blessed with just that in suburban Mumbai

You could call it the greening of software development, not as in greenbacks but as an embrace of the code of nature. The latest software development centre spawned by Tata Consultancy Services sits in a bosom of green, surrounded by trees, birds and butterflies. Welcome to Banyan Park, where the sharpness and artificiality of glass and metal have made way for the profuseness of nature's bounty.

The location of this facility, at otherwise-crowded Andheri and a stone's throw away from heart of industrialised Mumbai, makes it all the more remarkable. Banyan Park takes the concrete out of concrete jungle in a way that can dazzle first-time visitors. As you step past the security guards at the wrought-iron gates, you enter a sylvan world unfamiliar to most Mumbaites. Here the old meets the new in a blend of serene comfort and convenient modernity.

The Banyan Park site, which now boasts 1,400 trees in its 22-acre spread, originally housed a chemical factory, set up by an entrepreneur named Willam Theodore Suren in 1940. The estate was taken over by Rallis, a Tata company, in 1958. TCS, which was looking for a workplace near the international airport, purchased the property in 2002.

Any tour of the Banyan Park facility has to begin with 'The Palms', an old-as-can-be tiled-roof bungalow. As you climb the steps to the main door, you have to be careful of centipedes (nature has right of way here). Once called the Mistry Lodge, The Palms used to be a laboratory. Today it houses the reception and the conference rooms of the facility.

Behind The Palms is Rosewood, a workspace, and Tamarind, one of the two cafeterias on the property (the other is called Ginger). There are nine big buildings in the Banyan Park estate and each has a name based on the nature theme. The training facility is called the Bodhi Centre and Tulsi accommodates the medical department.

A few steps from the Tamarind is the Peepul Place, a room built around the trunk of a huge peepul tree, and this is the designated space for contemplation. Standing guard next to it is a 60-year-old banyan tree, one of three on the site. There are approximately 52 species of trees here, most of them of the food or nesting variety. There are also some ornamental trees, among them casurina, gulmohar, champa and nilgiri.

Every tree in the campus has been mapped and numbered. They have been divided into five zones and subdivided into endemic (these cannot be disturbed) and exotic (these can be transplanted). Wooden signposts provide information on the richness of Banyan Park's biodiversity. Shortly after purchasing the property, TCS commissioned Anish Andheria from Sanctuary magazine to prepare a report on the estate's flora and fauna. Based on his findings, TCS has mapped a 'nature trail' that highlights the property splendours.

In the 'butterfly area' near the Ginger cafeteria visitors can catch glimpses of bright jewels fluttering around green lawns. The 51 species of butterflies that enjoy the floral diversity of the place include the tawny roster, the blue tiger, the metallic cerulean, the chocolate pansy, the common leopard and the crimson rose. The blue mormom, the second largest butterfly on the Indian peninsula, can be seen here between August and November.

Bats and birds can also be counted among Banyan Park's residents. The 'bat zone' is home to hundreds of bats that hang in clumps from trees. There are some 2,500 bats here in total, including a large colony of the Indian flying fox, a graceful and adroit artist of flight that has a wingspan of 4 feet.

The bird population of the estate is much more varied than the human species that works in or visits the place. There are 44 kinds of birds, which amounts to about 14 per cent of the bird species found in Mumbai. They range from the common tailorbird, the red-vented bulbul, the oriental magpie robin and the rose-ringed parakeet to rare breeds such as the blue-rock thrush, the Asian paradise flycatcher, the hoopoe and the shikra. The best time to see the birds, according to Dr Andheria, is early in the morning, a time when they are busy collecting food.

A less inviting spectacle is provided by the snakes on the campus. That these are mainly cobras does not mean that they represent any danger. When TCS moved into Banyan Park it invited Kedar Bhide, the well-known 'snake man', to educate employees about how to handle them. The snakes generally stay in the undeveloped areas of the estate. Those that are caught are sent to a new home at the nearby Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

The residential area in Banyan Park is at the end of the nature trail. It comprises two fine-looking colonial cottages set in verdant lawns with neatly trimmed hedges. Wooden railings run around the verandah and comfortable chairs cry out for visitors to park themselves and enjoy the tranquil atmosphere. Originally called Old Redlands and New Redlands, they were built as residential bungalows in the 1950s. Now known as The Orchid and The Lotus, they have been transformed into luxurious accommodation for visitors.

When TCS bought the property it was more than conscious of the need to preserve its pristine character. The company's brief to its architects was clear: create a world-class infotech facility without destroying anything. There was no new construction, only restoration and renovation. "What's unique about this campus is the way in which these old villas have been converted into high-tech software centres," says Sabu Mathew, senior manager (administration), TCS.

Banyan Park plays host to a rose garden and a small nursery that supplies flowers to TCS's other offices in Mumbai. The oldest building on the property, the Gundavia Villa, built in 1909, is being redesigned as an executive briefing centre. All nine buildings on the campus have retained their natural facade while their insides have been modernised to reflect TCS's global credentials and its cosmopolitan workforce.

TCS has made every effort to preserve the original beauty of Banyan Park, its buildings as much as its environs. For the 350 employees who work at the campus, an inviting world of wooded wonder is just a few strides away from their workstations.

Uploaded in March 2005