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मैं पलाश हूं
मैं पलाश हूँ , सदियों से परिंदों के सुकून की तलाश हूँ, मौसमों की पहली पुकार हूँ, और अब, शायद… तुम्हारी याद में खोती जा रही एक आवाज़। में हूं एक पुराना, सीधा-सादा पेड़ — ना ज़्यादा ऊँचा, ना बहुत घना ,पर जब वसंत आता है, तो पूरा जंगल मेरी ओर देखने लगता है। मुझसे कोई...
Flame of the Forest: Sparking passions
The African Tulip Tree (Spathodea campanulata), nicknamed the “Flame of the Forest”, sparked a fire of curiosity in me during the pandemic. Living in an apartment and being surrounded by concrete on all sides is a hallmark of our big, bustling metropolitan Indian...
The Seasonality of Trees: Rooted in Silence, Speaking in Seasons
Trees are majestic beings that stand tall, their roots piercing deep into the earth while their branches stretching towards the sky. Through their seasons, they teach us about growth, adaptation, and to find beauty in every phase of life. They sway with the wind,...
The pod that saved my life
In most Indian households, a pre-festive ritual of removing dust from all nooks and corners is performed once a year. This cleaning is done by shifting old storage boxes, deciding what to keep and what to discard, bidding farewell to some unwanted vintage...
A Room with a (Tree) View
Once there was a tree that I enjoyed watching every day, until the day it was no more… I have always felt at home in the company of trees. So, when we moved house, I was comforted knowing that there were many trees in the new neighbourhood, especially a mighty...
Lady Sheesham Then and Now
Back in 2021, when I was taking my first tentative steps towards living a life more rooted in the Yamuna floodplains, I undertook a plantation on the land I had recently come to steward. This first plantation consisted mainly of pioneer trees on the then barren...
Musings from Pongam Tree
For me, home is where the birding begins. It is not merely a place of shelter, but an environment filled with love, learning, and the roots of who we become. From an early age, I loved discovering the natural world, which strengthened my relationship with nature....
Roots of Resilience
There is an emptiness outside my house – not just on the earth where the Arjuna tree once stood but in my life, in my thoughts. I didn’t think I would miss it this much. But I still find myself glancing that way every day, especially in the afternoons, expecting to...
Monsoon Chronicles: One Tree, Two Insects, and a Few Unanswered Questions
Every year, as the first monsoon showers sweep across Mumbai, something quietly stirs in the landscape around me. The streets grow darker, the air gets heavy with petrichor, and familiar trees start to put on their seasonal show. One such tree is Kaim (Mitragyna...
A memory-laden Tree
The tree can very easily be missed. It is common-looking. A tough, rough trunk and leaves shaped very typically, just like leaves from a child’s drawing. But when this tree flowers, the tiny white dainties with an even smaller orange stalk take centre stage,...
Why I Might Have Written ‘The Trees Told Me So’
People often ask me why I wrote The Trees Told Me So (2017). I wish I had a grand, romantic story to tell — something with butterflies in the stomach or a dramatic turning point. But I don't. What I do have are smaller, quieter truths. As a child, I remember...
Nature’s Magic
Banyan tree A magic machine, a friend, hope, and faith As if a green canopy with the sun, moon, and twinkling stars. As if it were a dream where a bird was peeking and pecking on the branches, Sliding and hiding. Leaping and falling from the blue as if stitching...