Often, there is reluctance to engage with dendrology because of its vast extent. Cities and Canopies makes incursions into the lives of trees while not being overwhelming or tedious. And for city-dwellers like myselfslightly disconnected from nature, and with a half-baked understanding of treesperhaps incursions are the best way to engage.
Unlike Pradeep Kishen’s Trees of Delhi, the book is not a field guide. It is not a historical tome or an encyclopaedia. By oscillating between descriptions of specific trees and the broader ideas within which they are situated, the very structure of the book relates trees to the lives of people, making it very readable. The inclusion of fables, myths and parables might suggest frivolity, but the 30 pages of referencesincluding contemporary social scientists such as Bin Jiangpoint to a thoroughly well-researched socio-cultural account of the significance of trees in an Indian context.
Harini Nagendra and Seema Mundoli manage to intertwine a wide range of fieldsanthropology to literature to sociology to botany to mythologyquite like the roots of the big Banyan, into a treasure trove of tree trivia. Stunning illustrations by Alisha Dutt Islam intersperse the pages.
There is a tendency to take all things ubiquitous for granted. Such a comprehensive account of the significance of trees in our lives, quite literally, reminds us of our roots. The discovery of the Frangipani being an introduced species reminds me of a time at Geoffrey Bawa’s garden in Dedduwa in Sri Lanka, perhaps underlining the fact that immigrants aren’t undesirable. The Scarlet Silk Cotton reminds me of a romance, the pollination process of which suggests that love can overcome violence and, most significantly, the discussion on TreeDeficit Disorder’ reminds me of the eccentricities of an old friend from Bengaluru, whose borderline unhealthy obsession with trees is compulsively contagious.
Hopefully, the book will help sensitise urban dwellers to our natural environments. But, for now, as I step out into my verandah for a cigarette in the sweltering heat of Delhi summer, I can’t help but notice the Amaltas in full bloom.
read the full story about How green is my verandah| Leisure
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