Tree fest for the city, by the city
Second edition of the crowd-funded Neralu promises plenty of events from February 7 till V-Day
At a time when we complain abouttrees vanishing overnight, here comes one reason to celebrate the ones that are still standing. Neralu (means shade in Kannada), the city’s own urban tree festival , will be back on its second outing with plenty of events for tree lovers.
This unique crowd-funded tree festival’s theme for 2015 is Tree in Public Spaces. “This year, we celebrate trees in different localities and public spaces, from the traditional tree platforms or kattes, to our neighbourhoodparks and streets that are a part of our lives,” Poornima Kannan, blogger/writer and one of the core members of the Neralu group says.
But are our trees really a part of our lives? This question has to be asked of every person who passes by the trees without really looking at them. Ajit Amplakad, software professional and natural history enthusiast, will be organisingtree walks keeping that question in mind. “We look up and admire the trees only when they bloom, but otherwise not a glance is spared.” If one examines the trees, “even a dead tree stump”, one will notice the dazzling array of biodiversity that a single tree provides. Also, Amplakad insists that there are interesting nuggets of history that can be gleaned from the trees around us. “Look at the Junglee Jalebi or Seeme Hunase (in Kannada) aka the Spanish Tamarind tree,” he points out. From Spain, the tree first came to Manila through the Spanish galleon which would stop over there en route as the merchant ships went on long trade voyages. From there, the tree spread across Asia and today, the ‘Seeme Hunase’ is common to our roads. “It is rather ugly looking but has health benefits,” he remarks.
Ganesh Babu, senior research officer at the FLRHT (Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions), says that medicinal trees hold the key to good health. “Not only are there curative properties, many of them prevent ill health.” People are not aware, that’s all, he says. For instance, he asks, do you know that chewing one leaf of the ‘Indian sweet killer’ aka Madhunashani will make the sweet taste buds inert for at least two hours? He laughs and says, “No more sugar rush!” The plant has proven to be beneficial for diabetes control. With over 1,500 varieties of trees, shrubs, climbers, herbs, medicinal orchids and ferns, he promises an enlightening ‘tree walk’ at the campus of FLHT.
While these experts delve into the various aspects of trees, Dr T V Ramachandra sounds the clarion call. Bengaluru, according to him, has just 17 trees for every 100 people. “That is alarming,” he says. The ideal number is 32 trees for one person. Even one of the greenest pockets of the city does not have enough trees. The 400-acre-campus the Indian Institute of Science has 22,000 trees and with 4,000-5,000 people on the campus, there are about 5 trees per person. “There is a higher incidence of divorces and infertility due to the lack of a proper environment that has enough trees,” he says. “People get aggressive.”
All experts associated with Neralu agree that awareness about trees should be heightened. “We are not in an activist mode,” Kannan sums up the essence of Neralu. “All we are saying is that existing trees should be celebrated.” This is the refrain of every concerned citizen.
WHERE & WHEN
Neralu is being held on Feb 7, 8 and 14
»All activities will be held at two main locations – National Gallery of Modern Art and Bal Bhavan (Cubbon Park).
»Neralu, a not-for-profit event, is held in February when Bengaluru’s trees burst into spectacular blooms.
»This year’s edition will see 200 volunteers including naturalists, ecologists, artists, technologists, storytellers, homemakers, photogra-phers, students and other tree-loving citizens from all walks of life.
»149 donors have so far donated Rs 1,74,352 for the festival. For more information, visit neralu.in
HIGHLIGHTS OF NERALU 2015
HUG A TREE CAMPAIGN: Hug a tree. Take a picture. Upload it on the Neralu website (neralu.in/ neralu-photo-project). You will have publicly declared your love to a deserving tree. Lasting till Valentine’s Day, this campaign has already taken off in a mega way.
TREE WALKS: The Neralu branches out to 12 locations across the city with its tree walks. These walks will be conducted by naturalist S Karthikeyan, T S Srinivas and others at Lalbagh, Indian Institute of Science, Krishnarao Park, Indiranagar, Frazer Town, Whitefield, Jayanagar, Rest House Road and other areas.
KATTE PARICHAY: Architect Kiran Keswani will conduct a Katte Parichay on Feb 7 at the Mariamma Devasthanam Katte at Dodda Mavalli, which is about 200 years old. The festival event will also comprise activities that will introduce participants to the katte and the community that thrives around Doddamavalli. The local community will be roped in with a storytelling session for the school children of the Mavalli neighbourhood and informal discussions with the residents. Other events include film screenings, ‘photo walk’ around V V Puram area; workshops on tree journalling, design, mapping, identification and taxonomy; talks by experts like Dr TV Ramachandra, Vijay Thiruvady, Nagesh Hegde, and Suresh Moona as well as fun activities for school kids from over 50 schools who are in sync with the spirit of the festival.
At a time when we complain about
This unique crowd-funded tree festival’s theme for 2015 is Tree in Public Spaces. “This year, we celebrate trees in different localities and public spaces, from the traditional tree platforms or kattes, to our neighbourhood
But are our trees really a part of our lives? This question has to be asked of every person who passes by the trees without really looking at them. Ajit Amplakad, software professional and natural history enthusiast, will be organising
Ganesh Babu, senior research officer at the FLRHT (Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions), says that medicinal trees hold the key to good health. “Not only are there curative properties, many of them prevent ill health.” People are not aware, that’s all, he says. For instance, he asks, do you know that chewing one leaf of the ‘Indian sweet killer’ aka Madhunashani will make the sweet taste buds inert for at least two hours? He laughs and says, “No more sugar rush!” The plant has proven to be beneficial for diabetes control. With over 1,500 varieties of trees, shrubs, climbers, herbs, medicinal orchids and ferns, he promises an enlightening ‘tree walk’ at the campus of FLHT.
While these experts delve into the various aspects of trees, Dr T V Ramachandra sounds the clarion call. Bengaluru, according to him, has just 17 trees for every 100 people. “That is alarming,” he says. The ideal number is 32 trees for one person. Even one of the greenest pockets of the city does not have enough trees. The 400-acre-campus the Indian Institute of Science has 22,000 trees and with 4,000-5,000 people on the campus, there are about 5 trees per person. “There is a higher incidence of divorces and infertility due to the lack of a proper environment that has enough trees,” he says. “People get aggressive.”
All experts associated with Neralu agree that awareness about trees should be heightened. “We are not in an activist mode,” Kannan sums up the essence of Neralu. “All we are saying is that existing trees should be celebrated.” This is the refrain of every concerned citizen.
WHERE & WHEN
Neralu is being held on Feb 7, 8 and 14
»All activities will be held at two main locations – National Gallery of Modern Art and Bal Bhavan (Cubbon Park).
»Neralu, a not-for-profit event, is held in February when Bengaluru’s trees burst into spectacular blooms.
»This year’s edition will see 200 volunteers including naturalists, ecologists, artists, technologists, storytellers, homemakers, photogra-phers, students and other tree-loving citizens from all walks of life.
»149 donors have so far donated Rs 1,74,352 for the festival. For more information, visit neralu.in
HIGHLIGHTS OF NERALU 2015
HUG A TREE CAMPAIGN: Hug a tree. Take a picture. Upload it on the Neralu website (neralu.in/ neralu-photo-project). You will have publicly declared your love to a deserving tree. Lasting till Valentine’s Day, this campaign has already taken off in a mega way.
TREE WALKS: The Neralu branches out to 12 locations across the city with its tree walks. These walks will be conducted by naturalist S Karthikeyan, T S Srinivas and others at Lalbagh, Indian Institute of Science, Krishnarao Park, Indiranagar, Frazer Town, Whitefield, Jayanagar, Rest House Road and other areas.
KATTE PARICHAY: Architect Kiran Keswani will conduct a Katte Parichay on Feb 7 at the Mariamma Devasthanam Katte at Dodda Mavalli, which is about 200 years old. The festival event will also comprise activities that will introduce participants to the katte and the community that thrives around Doddamavalli. The local community will be roped in with a storytelling session for the school children of the Mavalli neighbourhood and informal discussions with the residents. Other events include film screenings, ‘photo walk’ around V V Puram area; workshops on tree journalling, design, mapping, identification and taxonomy; talks by experts like Dr TV Ramachandra, Vijay Thiruvady, Nagesh Hegde, and Suresh Moona as well as fun activities for school kids from over 50 schools who are in sync with the spirit of the festival.
