The summer sun in Delhi is already so powerful that it makes you forget that winter was just here. The bright yellow rays bounce off buildings and people, and make everything boil and roast. A few minutes outside sends me running to the ice-cream man who stands, mercifully, under a big, beautiful, overwhelmingly large banyan tree.
As I lean against the trunk, waiting for him to dig out a chocolate bar from his treasure chest, I notice that it’s suddenly not so bad. From under the tree, everything looks beautiful. It’s a little like when you sit inside the train and stare at the world outside, which might be dusty and hot and smoggy, but looks magical from your cosy, air-conditioned coupé. I take my ice cream and drop down on the soft grassy ground, leaning against the surprisingly cool bark. It’s perfect. This tree, with its thick roots playing hide-and-seek in the ground and its dense crown hiding squirrels and birds and insects, is perfect. Thankfully, here, in Delhi’s Lodhi Garden, there are countless such perfect trees. Some of them already have asylum seekers like me resting under them, and others are still waiting for their people to arrive.
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We often forget about trees, don’t we? There’s so much to do and so many people to meet and so much homework to tackle into submission; the trees are just there, silent.
Of course they are pretty, and we all know that trees are good for us and for the planet. But there is such little time to really remember that, or to appreciate it.
But it is summer now, and perhaps we can take a little break; spend some time with friends we forget we have.
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While not every part of Delhi is tree-friendly, a lot of it is, and those parts are breathtakingly beautiful. They’d make wonderful additions to any summer to-do list!
Let’s begin with my banyan tree (oh yes, one ice-cream bar later, I already feel like we are friends). It stands in the beautiful, vast space in Central Delhi, called the Lodhi Garden. Home to beautiful historical monuments like Mohammed Shah’s Tomb, Sheesh Gumbad and Bara Gumbad, the garden is immensely popular, and even on a really hot, uncomfortable summer afternoon, chances are that it won’t be completely deserted. It is spread over approximately 90 acres, and as per the New Delhi Municipal Corporation’s Horticulture Department, has about 154 species of trees. The entire park has 5400 trees. A walk through the park will find you in front of trees like Neem, Jamun, Semal, Amaltas, Gulmohar, Sheesham, Ashok and Bistendu.
Lodhi Garden is a particularly nice home for its trees, each one neatly labelled so that you know their scientific names as well as their common ones. Did you know that the banyan tree, under which I so peacefully relax, is called a Ficus Benghalensis ? In fact, a small notebook and pencil can make for excellent companions on a walk through the garden, just in case you want an impressive collection of difficult-to-spell names and bark scratching as keepsakes!
After a single day at Lodhi Garden, it’s impossible to not awaken a fresh appreciation for the trees we are constantly surrounded by. And so, it’ll be a good idea to perhaps visit another tree haven soon after — Nehru Park. Located in Delhi’s bureaucratic locality of Chanakyapuri, Nehru Park stands in an already impressively green area. It is spread over 75 acres and popular with early morning joggers looking for a fresh green start to their day. About 110 species of over 3,700 trees populate the park, lining the paved walks and standing helter-skelter on the lush, green grass. It’s imperative for a newly minted tree-lover to visit Nehru Park!
Apart from Lodhi garden and Nehru Park, Delhi boasts of a number of green hotspots, lush, green places lined with trees and full of possibilities. You could perhaps take a trip to the Delhi Ridge, a 35 km-long ridge with a forest cover that acts a bit like Delhi’s green lung, making a dent in the otherwise thickly polluted air of the city. The ridge is home to many native and new species of trees, including Neem, Babul, Amaltash and Ber. It also has a few native species not found anywhere else in the city, like Khair, Kumttha, Dhak, Phulai and Kareel. Divided into four administrative zones, the ridge has suffered and parts of it have disappeared under new constructions. A walk that takes you through forests, like Sanjay Van, are a reminder of its importance and the need to protect it.
Luckily, this is not all. These are important places, and their trees are worth a visit. But we can’t forget the equally beautiful, and important trees that grow near us — in our gardens and backyards and neighbourhood parks. Next time you cross them on your way, maybe you can stop and say hello. Who knows what wonderful things these trees, standing so silent and tall, will teach you!
Word list
Overwhelminglly: Overpowering in effect or strength
Smoggy: Cloudy/foggy
Asylum seeker: A person who has fled from his/her country because of danger but is not yet accepted as a refugee. In this story, the word refers to people escaping the hot sun to take refuge in the shade of the tree.
Breathtakingly: Remarkably beautiful
Buraucratic: Relating to a system of government
Helter-skelter: In disorderly haste or confusion
Imperative: Very important
Administrative: Relating to the running of a business, organisation