Magnificent Megaflora

BIG, SILENT, shade-giving, comforting, and providers of shelter, fruit, wood, leaves and life, trees have been part of the natural landscape for aeons. So much so, that especially in countries like India they have been more or less taken for granted and all too often, needlessly (and greedily) taken down. In this book, S Natesh in collusion with Sagar Bhowmick has given us the lowdown on 75 iconic trees (belonging to 47 species) that stand scattered all over the country—each with its USP.

The award-winning author taught botany at the University of Delhi before joining the Department of Biotechnology, and is currently with the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment. His illustrator accomplice is an award-winning artist, whose watercolours in this book capture the character of his subjects perfectly.

In this book you will meet some of the biggest, oldest, tallest, loneliest and strangest trees in India—from every point of the compass. The amount of legwork involved—especially to hard-to-access out-of-the-way places is impressive. What strikes one immediately is that most of these iconic trees have deep connections with us—be it culturally, religiously, historically or through legends. Stories, beliefs and superstitions have thrived and swirled around them; many have witnessed centuries of history. Some have inspired sages and saints, others made part of grisly executions. Many have been protected just for their connections with religious beliefs—you get the feeling that nearly every place of worship in India—regardless of the religion concerned—has its own guardian tree, and is often considered as a shrine in its own right. Sacred groves have been protected down the ages. Peepal and banyan trees, as we all know, have been revered for centuries.

Vital statistics regarding height, width, probable age—both scientific and guesstimates—and a physical description of leaves, bark and general appearance are provided, as well as the precise location of the tree. Many exist in villages, and rural areas, some in national parks and forests, and others in large cities like Kolkata, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Some have been recognised by governmental authorities and forest departments as landmark or heritage trees, and are protected, others have been ignored or remain ‘undiscovered’. What comes as a bit of a surprise is the number of non-native trees—like the giant African baobabs—that have not only made India their home but have attained iconic status here!

This book should inspire anyone remotely interested in trees to look around their own neck of the woods—or even cluttered urban neighbourhoods—for their own ‘iconic’ residents, which need to be protected. The book would more than serve its purpose if it could make school and college children ‘adopt’ any such trees in the vicinity of their campuses and research their past and ensure their future well-being. There are sure to be thousands of such deserving iconic trees all over the country.

Some of the iconic trees and groves that find mention include Shah Jahan’s famous Chinars of Naseem Bagh, Mahatma Gandhi’s Peepal Tree, Guru Nanak’s Ber Tree, the Rosewood of Topslip, Peshwa Bajirao’s Mango Trees and the Weeping Cypress of Dubdi Monastery.

It’s the done thing these days for VIPs to plant trees at samadhis (such as at Rajghat), and other special locations. How many of these trees survive is anyone’s guess (follow-up has always been our weakness)—as for any of them attaining iconic status—well one would have to wait several hundred years for that. But the 75 iconic trees in this book show it can be done, and should be well worth it. All you need to do is to visit one of them and see for yourself.

booksChinarsecologyIconic Trees of IndiaNatureSagar Bhowmick