Trees

One of the trees that flowers profusely right now is "akasha mallige" or the Indian Cork Tree. I collect a few flowers each morning while on my morning walk, and put them in a small bowl or glass of water... the sweet, heady scent fills the home and keeps me in touch with the outdoors even when I am not outside! Here is the Wiki entry about the Indian Cork Tree. 

There seem to be no rules governing how we use our valuable resources... our avenue trees. When the city is becoming increasingly wireless, why don't we follow suit with our trees, too, instead of subjecting them to this?  Wires wound up around a gorgeous tree Pic: Deepa Mohan

There seem to be no rules governing how we use our valuable resources... our avenue trees. When the city is becoming increasingly wireless, why don't we follow suit with our trees, too, instead of subjecting them to this?  Wires wound up around a gorgeous tree Pic: Deepa Mohan

Plant a tree on Friday, help clean up on Saturday and cycle on Sunday - all by the side of Bangalore lakes! The SayTrees Environmental Trust,in association with TESCO, is planting 350 saplings at Sheelavanthakere Lake, Whitefield on Friday, 12th June 2015, 8:00 a.m. onwards. Join hands with other nature lovers to pave the way for a home for thousands of birds at this lake. Those intending to attend are requested to please fill the form: http://bit.ly/1AZJA0v. For more details, contact Durgesh [9008659007], visit the SayTrees website and Facebook page. The Save Horamavu Lakes team is having a massive Cleaning Drive at the Horamavu Agara Lake on Saturday,…

Plant a tree on Friday, help clean up on Saturday and cycle on Sunday - all by the side of Bangalore lakes! The SayTrees Environmental Trust,in association with TESCO, is planting 350 saplings at Sheelavanthakere Lake, Whitefield on Friday, 12th June 2015, 8:00 a.m. onwards. Join hands with other nature lovers to pave the way for a home for thousands of birds at this lake. Those intending to attend are requested to please fill the form: http://bit.ly/1AZJA0v. For more details, contact Durgesh [9008659007], visit the SayTrees website and Facebook page. The Save Horamavu Lakes team is having a massive Cleaning Drive at the Horamavu Agara Lake on Saturday,…

The focus at Neralu this year was on Trees & Public spaces - including ashwath kattes, neighbourhood parks and streets. Alongside that, MapUnity developed an online platform where people could upload the location of their neighbourhood kattes, with photographs and a story. Please do log on to: Mapping the Ashwath katte if you have something to share about your own neighbourhood katte or one you’ve seen elsewhere. We hope that as we all share our stories about the Ashwath kattes we have seen and help to map them, we may uncover yet another story about the city of Bangalore - a story about its trees, its culture and…

The focus at Neralu this year was on Trees & Public spaces - including ashwath kattes, neighbourhood parks and streets. Alongside that, MapUnity developed an online platform where people could upload the location of their neighbourhood kattes, with photographs and a story. Please do log on to: Mapping the Ashwath katte if you have something to share about your own neighbourhood katte or one you’ve seen elsewhere. We hope that as we all share our stories about the Ashwath kattes we have seen and help to map them, we may uncover yet another story about the city of Bangalore - a story about its trees, its culture and…

Guiana chestnut | Pachira aquatica Now that's a sight worth spending a morning for, isn't it? This is how it came about. Nidhi Chawla and Reshmi Chakraborty, who founded an online magazine for seniors, asked me to conduct a nature/birding walk in Lalbagh, and I readily agreed. I've taken many mixed groups, but this would be the first time it would be an only-seniors group. I carefully thought out a trail that would touch on the iconic sights in this wonderful city garden, and yet would not tire our older friends. We started at the iconic tower of Kempegowda, and…

Guiana chestnut | Pachira aquatica Now that's a sight worth spending a morning for, isn't it? This is how it came about. Nidhi Chawla and Reshmi Chakraborty, who founded an online magazine for seniors, asked me to conduct a nature/birding walk in Lalbagh, and I readily agreed. I've taken many mixed groups, but this would be the first time it would be an only-seniors group. I carefully thought out a trail that would touch on the iconic sights in this wonderful city garden, and yet would not tire our older friends. We started at the iconic tower of Kempegowda, and…

At the Neralu 2014, a discussion on the cultural meaning attached to some of the older, shade-giving trees in the city led to the awareness that people continue to worship the Peepul tree AND informally generate community spaces within their neighbourhoods. This led me to research this idea further and to look at how the peepul tree (Ficus religiosa) shrine with its serpent stones and the raised platform around it, locally called the Ashwath katte, contributes to the making of urban space in the city of Bangalore. The origin of the ashwath katte lies in the rural areas of India. In…