India’s oldest and greatest: A new book weaves history and culture with India’s iconic trees

About two decades ago, naturalist Pradip Krishen wrote a book which aroused the interest of young nature lovers about important trees in the capital. In his book Trees of Delhi: A Field Guide, Krishen wrote about more than 250 trees and some of their subspecies, encouraging environment lovers and researchers to fan across Delhi to find these otherwise forgotten examples of our flora. 

Nearly 20 years later, Krishen’s fellow naturalist and botanist, S Natesh, has written a new book that takes readers on a similar journey across India. Natesh’s Iconic Trees of India was formally released early this month in Delhi’s Sunder Nursery. About 250 pages long, the book first introduces the reader to the context of India’s iconic trees. Natesh then picks 75 “natural wonders” spread across more than 20 states and union territories – from Jammu and Kashmir in the north to Kerala in the south, from Gujarat in the west to Assam and Nagaland in the east.

Now, why did Natesh write this book? There’s already so much literature available on plants and their subspecies, catering to researchers and readers interested in flora and biodiversity. 

For instance, A Naturalist’s Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of India by Pradeep Sachdeva and Vidya Tongbram, and The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohllben were both published in the middle of the last decade. Both are lucid and different in their content and design; the first is a naturalist’s guide and the second, quite unusually, is about how trees and plants feel and communicate.

Another in this genre is Krishen’s Jungle Trees of Central India, first published a decade ago in 2014. A serious, scientific work on plant taxonomy is Herbaceous Flora of Dehradun by CR Babu which, unfortunately, is out of print and only available in some libraries. Similarly, Indian Trees by Dietrich Brandis and The Book of Indian Trees by KC Sahani describe the scientific features of trees and are widely popular among students of forestry. 

Yet Iconic Trees of India stands out for two reasons.

First, it rides on interesting facts, anecdotes and exclusive honours associated with a particular tree. At the outset, Natesh writes that “neither plant scientists nor historians pay particular attention to exceptional trees. Botanists generally focus on species as a whole and seldom note individual remarkable trees.”

Also, he notes that people are “always fascinated by the superlative trees…”

So, he introduces the reader to India’s oldest and largest tree, India’s loneliest tree, the world’s tallest rhododendron. Natesh is aware that superlative honours are always subjective and can be challenged with new knowledge. He knows that “qualifying the age of a tree is very challenging in India” and that local people often make “highly exaggerated claims” about any tree, especially when it’s a “sacred one”.

At one point, he writes: 

“[A]n African baobad tree in Kintoor, Barabanki district near Lucknow is revered as ‘parijata’ and it age is claimed to be 5,000 years. However, radiocarbon dating has shown it to be around 800 years old.”

But the book is not limited to longevity or exceptional physical traits of trees. It presents a blend of culture and history while narrating the tales of icons. Perhaps no other book in this genre has ever laced folklore, community knowledge and culture, and sociopolitical commentary with the existence of age-old trees in this manner.

For instance, while Natesh provides a list of India’s “oldest known living trees” with their names and locations, he also tells the story of a sacred tree, protected by both Hindus and Muslims, in Jammu and Kashmir. He writes of the Mahatma’s peepal tree – planted by Mahatma Gandhi – in Dehradun, of a mango tree planted almost 200 years ago in Pune by Peshwa Bajirao, the thirteenth and last peshwa. He also writes of the speaking fig tree in the Port Blair’s Cellular Jail, which witnessed many chilling stories of execution and torture by the British. He writes of a tree used to hang thugs, a tree that hosts millions of bees, a tree of enlightenment. 

In the process, Natesh presents vivid details of every tree, including scientific names, family and location. While it does not have photographs, it contains illustrations by visual artist Sagar Bhowmick. During the book release in Delhi, environmentalist Faiyaz Ahmad Khudsar, who was once Natesh’s student, asked why he chose not to use original photographs of the trees. 

“I will provide you with all the pictures,” Natesh smiled in reply, “and you happily make a nice website of them.”

It must be said that the illustrations are elaborate and evocative, even as the book comes at a time when India and the world are facing gravest threats to the environment. Our forests, from the Himalayas to the coastal areas, are under attack. Scientists have recorded the eight hottest years in human history in the last 10 years. Climate change indicators reached a record level last year. While our old heritage of jungles is vanishing, governments are pushing ideas like transplantation to promote and justify the cutting of trees. Their loss endangers the homes and habitats of avian species, healthy soil, and innumerable worms and moths. Our once rich biosphere is dying. 

Natesh himself writes feelingly that in “any development project, trees are the first casualties”. He reminds readers that “one million animal and plant species are estimated to be threatened with extinction” on our planet. We need to worry about our age-old forests and our healthy biodiverse ecosystems being replaced by monoculture plantations. 

And that’s why Natesh’s book presents a treasure of culture heritage, underscoring the importance of ecology and rich biodiversity at a time when we need reminding of it the most. 

Complaining about the media is easy. Why not do something to make it better? Click here to subscribe to Newslaundry and The News Minute, and support journalism in public interest.