Mumbai; September 2026: Pink Trumpet Tree’s (Handroanthus impetiginosus) widely acclaimed as “Basant Rani” - are members of the tropical Bignonia family (Bignoniaceae). Trumpet trees are loved for their dazzling display of blossoms that burst forth ahead of their leaves in spring.
Pink trumpet tree is quite variable in blooming season, leaf shape, age to first bloom (three to twenty years from seed), mature tree size, and flower colour. This variability in cultivation may be due to multiple introductions from different parts of its extensive native range (from Mexico to Argentina). There has always been confusion and disagreement about which trees are actually Handroanthus impetiginosus; consequently, several cultivars, subspecies, at least ten synonymous scientific names, and over thirty common names are applied to this one species. Pink trumpet tree is also one of the numerous species whose wood is sold under the name ipe (pronounced ee-pay), a honey-colored, remarkably durable hardwood used for outdoor decking.
Doctor Aparna Govind, a renowned pathologist, ACSM Certified Sports Nutritionist, and Weight Management Specialist, is an ardent long distance runner who undergoes long distance running along the Eastern Expressway suddenly found today (Monday – 07th September 2026) in the early dawn that several such Pink Trumpet Trees has been uprooted all along the Eastern Expressway.
In an emphatic release issued to Maverick News 30, Dr. Aparna has narrated:
“What Do We Do Now? Just Watch Them Disappear?
It feels as if someone has just ripped my heart out.
I am hurting. I am angry. And the worst part is this overwhelming feeling that there is absolutely nothing I can do.
It is almost like being told, “We are taking your heart away, but don’t worry—we will give you an artificial one. It will be better.”
But what does “better” even mean when the heart you loved is already gone?
That is exactly how I feel today, looking at our beloved southbound service road on the Eastern Express Highway, where almost 10 trees have disappeared overnight.
We genuinely believed we had done our bit. We raised our voices. We wrote. We appealed. We came together. And we believed we were being heard. We were assured that these beautiful pink trumpet trees would remain untouched.
And then, while the city slept last night, the trees came down.
This morning, instead of the familiar trees that have quietly accompanied our runs and walks for years, we saw cut trunks, branches and leaves scattered along the path.
Soon, the road will be cleared. The remains will disappear. And perhaps to someone passing by, it will look as though nothing ever happened there.
Maybe tomorrow another 20 trees will be cut. Someone else will feel the same pain and write another emotional post.
But somewhere deep inside, there is this frightening thought: Has the decision already been taken? Do ordinary citizens really have any say at all?
Is this the price we must quietly pay for so-called “urbanisation”?
Development may be necessary. But does development always have to mean destroying something beautiful, living and irreplaceable?
What do we do now?
Do we continue raising our voices?
Do we approach the authorities again?
Is there still something legally or collectively that we can do?
Or are we simply expected to stand by and watch our pink beauties disappear, one tree at a time?
If anyone knows what can still be done, please guide us. We are not ready to give up on them yet”.
Team Maverick.
