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Spotlight on the trees of Delhi

BEYOND THE BANYAN: There is plenty for even the avid naturalist

It is all about green. And this time the green does not refer to money, but element that are much more needed in Delhi -- trees. While Delhiites might complain about the lack of leaves in the city, filmmaker-turned-naturalist Pradip Kishen has walked the length and the breadth of the city to picture them and document them all in his book, "Trees of Delhi -- A Field Guide''.

A colossal task that took him quite a few years, Kishen has managed to give all those who don't know about many trees beyond the banyan plenty of new words to grapple with. From the bright flowered amaltas that adds colour to untended areas of Jawaharlal Nehru University to the common variety of neem that dots many areas, it opens up a whole new world for most "non tree-illiterate" people.

"I have been walking on the Ridge near Sadar Patel Marg for nearly 40 years now. For most of this time I knew very little about trees and shrubs that I saw there. The neem was probably the only tree that I could recognise at a glance. I learnt to tell the flame of the forest in bloom, but would have struggled to recognise it outside the flowering season. To my untrained eye, the Ridge was just a wild-looking place in the middle of the city with lots of thorny trees and bushes. Then something happened. It was late winter in 1995 -- 16 February,'' he says in the book's preface.

Compressing the whole wealth of trees into a tiny book, there is plenty for even the avid naturalist. There are some rare trees that can be found in bizarre places.

Standing tall and quite alone, one such tree is the Canary Island date palm. The only one of its kind in Delhi, this ornamental tree is found in formal avenues in Mediterranean towns like Cannes.

A native of Canary Islands, the tree can be seen on the Indian Women Press Corps lawns at 5 Windsor Place.

Then there are the crinkly petals of jarul found in the traffic roundabouts and Jorbagh. The book has been published by Penguin and supported by Delhi Tourism and INTACH. -- Mandira Nayar

-- Mandira Nayar

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