Trees

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…

I took this picture from the top of Nandi Hill. Well, OK, technically, it's not Bangalore...yet. But remember the times when Whitefield, Sarjapura and Yelahanka were not Bangalore, either? The point I want to make is that a new layout has been created...and for all those homes, there is just one young tree, and perhaps some very small plants that one can see. What happened to our culture of planting trees on every road, so that we had shady avenues instead of bare streets? Why do we now have those in authority claiming that "Trees belong only in parks"? I…

I took this picture from the top of Nandi Hill. Well, OK, technically, it's not Bangalore...yet. But remember the times when Whitefield, Sarjapura and Yelahanka were not Bangalore, either? The point I want to make is that a new layout has been created...and for all those homes, there is just one young tree, and perhaps some very small plants that one can see. What happened to our culture of planting trees on every road, so that we had shady avenues instead of bare streets? Why do we now have those in authority claiming that "Trees belong only in parks"? I…

Email to the bngbirds egroup: It was very pleasant to be able to go to Kaikondrahalli Kere after a long time and find that, apart from the dumping and levelling going on down one side of it, the lake is generally still well-maintained. An ambling walk of a couple of hours was very productive from the birding point of view, and we watched the nesting behaviour of the Great Cormorants, and the fishing by almost all of the waterfowl. Several juvenile Brahminy Kites, swooping at the surface of the water now and then, provided the raptor touch. The flock of…

Email to the bngbirds egroup: It was very pleasant to be able to go to Kaikondrahalli Kere after a long time and find that, apart from the dumping and levelling going on down one side of it, the lake is generally still well-maintained. An ambling walk of a couple of hours was very productive from the birding point of view, and we watched the nesting behaviour of the Great Cormorants, and the fishing by almost all of the waterfowl. Several juvenile Brahminy Kites, swooping at the surface of the water now and then, provided the raptor touch. The flock of…

One evening I heard a buzzing sound near my glass door overlooking the garden. I did not pay much attention as I did not expect anything unusual. After a while I noticed two bees in my living room. One of them was lying on its back and was desperately trying to come back to its normal position. It took some time and started flying all around the house. I was scared of its sting—it took me a lot of courage to not swat it with a newspaper. After a long bee hunt, it was finally set free outside. These bees had started to build its…

One evening I heard a buzzing sound near my glass door overlooking the garden. I did not pay much attention as I did not expect anything unusual. After a while I noticed two bees in my living room. One of them was lying on its back and was desperately trying to come back to its normal position. It took some time and started flying all around the house. I was scared of its sting—it took me a lot of courage to not swat it with a newspaper. After a long bee hunt, it was finally set free outside. These bees had started to build its…

PNLIT is committed to promoting awareness of the environment among the residents around the Puttenahalli Lake. We are happy to tie up with Artyplantz to achieve this end. Like PNLIT, ArtyPlantz loves nature and takes real pleasure especially in plant life.  ArtyPlantz and PNLIT are organizing two specially designed programmes on Sunday, 16th November at Puttenahalli Lake, JP Nagar 7th Phase, Bangalore.   Session 1 - for adults and children above 15 years - to sensitize and help them connect with nature. This event will be held 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fee Rs. 350/participant. Seats limited to 20.   Session 2 - for children between…

PNLIT is committed to promoting awareness of the environment among the residents around the Puttenahalli Lake. We are happy to tie up with Artyplantz to achieve this end. Like PNLIT, ArtyPlantz loves nature and takes real pleasure especially in plant life.  ArtyPlantz and PNLIT are organizing two specially designed programmes on Sunday, 16th November at Puttenahalli Lake, JP Nagar 7th Phase, Bangalore.   Session 1 - for adults and children above 15 years - to sensitize and help them connect with nature. This event will be held 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fee Rs. 350/participant. Seats limited to 20.   Session 2 - for children between…

In the past few months, I've been looking at how people continue to worship trees in Bangalore and how this can generate community space for a neighbourhood. I have been specifically looking at the Peepul tree and its ability to create places of memory and cultural value. The Peepul tree, also known as the Ashvattha in Sanskrit literature is a type of Fig tree (Ficus Religiosa) and the platform around it is locally called ashwath katte. While my research focus has been on how the practice of tree worship contributes to the territorial production of urban space, I have also been…