Environment

Environment

August 2024

For the uninitiated, Tree Appreciation  Walks (TAW) was started by Dr Usha  Desai along with Renee Vyas in 2010 and  they have completed more than 100 Tree Walks  to date. Those of us who have attended these  walks in Mumbai are fortunate enough to have  been in the company of a wise, lively, mindful,  attentive, supportive, knowledgeable tree of  life. They have also been in touch with all that  is simple, pure, and kind in the world.  

Dr Usha Desai graduated in medicine from  Grant Medical College, Mumbai, in 1964, and  later did her post-graduation in Glasgow, UK.  Born into a middle-class family of eight siblings  in Africa, Dr Usha credits her progressive father  for being instrumental in giving her wings to  pursue her education and live alone in Bombay  in an age where daughters were married off at  an early age, with scant regard for their wishes  or their dreams to study and work. 

Dr Usha Desai is 84 today and is not only as  independent and passionate as she was then  but is even as soft-spoken and kind. She had a  fulfilling first innings as a medical practitioner  and a more enjoyable second innings as a  naturalist, which she began at the young age  of 58, culminating in the start of the Tree  Appreciation Walks when she was 71. When  we are talking in terms of tree age, 71 is indeed  young! 

The beginning of curiosity 

Dr Desai’s first work experience was in  Zimbabwe where she worked as a resident  doctor at the Mpilo General Hospital. When  she later went to Glasgow, UK, for her post 

graduation, she worked in paediatrics as well as  medicine. “My father always encouraged me to  study further and was a progressive man,” she  says. 

Dr Desai decided to come to India in 1969 with  the idea of working for the poor. “I was a research  officer at the Department of Neurology at KEM  Hospital and, later, the Worli ESIS hospital, as  a consultant physician. In 1971, I joined MGM  Hospital, Parel, where I continued till my  retirement in 1997.” 

Surrounded by trees at the hospital, Dr Desai  developed a natural curiosity and affinity for  them. “I would ask patients if they knew the  names of particular trees. I had always been  interested in nature and had a lot of books.  Seeing these, my neighbour told me to join the  Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).  

“At that time, there were no books except Bole’s  WWF-published book—a small book which  listed 100 trees meticulously with good detailed  drawing and identification. Dr Almeida,  who was the father of botany in India, would  conduct only two tree walks a year under the  to take us to outstation places too for there are  thousands of varieties of trees in India. The more you learn, the more there is to learn.” 

At the BNHS botany course, in which Dr  Desai obtained a certificate, she was the  oldest student! A group of them would visit  

various gardens on their own and try to pool  their learnings. She then did several other  courses to increase her knowledge and fuel her  

curiosity, among them an entomology course  “with the excellent Dr Shubalakshmi at the  BNHS” and a herpetology course “conducted  

by Varad, whose knowledge was phenomenal,”  following which she did a Leadership Course  

in Biodiversity Conservation. Post that, she did  her volunteer training, where they were taught  to lead a group of participants on guided tree walks. “Most of us who had done the courses under the aegis of the BNHS. At these walks, 70 to 80 people would turn up. I would be at the back,  and I would hardly be able to hear him. So, I  heard ‘Kailas Pati flower’ as ‘Kauravpandav’ !  

Whatever he said, I would copy word for word;  

there was no referencing, no Google, and it was  

hard work. Dr Latoo would also conduct a few  walks. So between the two of them, there were  only about four walks a year, and if you weren’t  in Mumbai, you missed them.  

“I had labelled all the trees in my hospital too.  The only way to learn was to go for Dr Almeida’s  walks or read Dr Bole’s book and study on your  own.” 

Google makes a difference 

Thus began Dr Desai’s second innings at the  age of 57, when she retired. “When Google came  on the scene, it was easier for us to identify and  learn about trees. We would request Dr Almeida  

“When Google came on the  scene, it was easier for us to  identify and learn about trees.  We would request Dr Almeida  to take us to outstation places  too for there are thousands of  varieties of trees in India. The  more you learn, the more there  is to learn. 

Tree Appreciation Walks connect people with nature on an intimate level 

were well settled, and money was not an issue. I  felt I was at a stage where I could give back—do  seva. So I requested BNHS to use people like  me as volunteers. At the end of the training,  you should be able to at least talk about 10  trees on a particular trail. They would give us  75 rupees per trail. We didn’t want any money  as we wanted to do it voluntarily, but they said  it was for conveyance and to have batata wada! 

“You should have honesty to learn. Many times,  we would point out each other’s mistakes and  accept our flaws. That is the way we learnt and  progressed in our study.” 

The Tree Appreciation Walks 

At this point, as they had built up a reservoir of  knowledge and experience, Dr Desai felt that  they should share this bounty with others. “I  suggested that we should do a tree walk every  Sunday, which ultimately transformed into a  once-a-month walk by Renee and me. Thus,  we started our Tree Appreciation Walks in  

2010. These are completely free of charge, for  my thinking was, What am I going to do with  that money? We basically wanted to spread and  share our love for trees. I was 71 at that time.” 

The Tree Appreciation Walks in Mumbai  have reached legendary status among tree and  nature lovers. As soon as a TAW is announced,  the spots get filled in record time. To date, the  TAW has completed 122 editions and counting!  “Renee would do an initial recce and shortlist  the gardens. Then we would go and choose the  trees for the walk. If a participant asks about a  tree, and we don’t know, we say we don’t know.  

After all, there are more than 2000 species of  trees, and we can always try to find out together.  We always encourage inputs from participants;  that enhances our learning too. But no cheating  or bluffing. Otherwise, it becomes a habit,” Dr  Desai emphasises. 

The centenary TAW in 2019 was a surprise celebration by the regular participants. “So  many people turned up. Even those who  hadn’t registered came through others who  had registered. It was a surprising and joyous  occasion.  

Dr Desai says of her long and lovely association  with her partner: “What kept Renee and me  going for more than 100 walks over 10 years is  that our passions matched. Passion and curiosity  to know for ourselves and then to share it with  others. 

“The main aim was to instil a love for trees in  people and, thereby, care for them. If you tell  people “Save the trees,” no one is going to listen  to these mottos, but if you love trees, you will  hug the tree before you let anyone harm it.  When you have observed the tree for so many  years, it becomes like your friend.”  

Through the TAW, they have been able to change  the way people look at trees, “and that itself is  very gratifying and rewarding.”  

Tree walks change lives 

What does Dr Desai value most in the tree walks?  “The joy I see on the faces of the participants.  Being in the company of trees makes me feel  alive. Even if there are four or five people, I  don’t mind. But now in the eighth decade of my  life, I cannot handle more than 20 people.  

“One young woman wrote to me that the walk  completely changed her life: As she was going  home, she could recognise some of the trees;  she could appreciate that there are so many  different types of trees. Her life would not be  the same again, and she was determined to learn  more. Another student wished that her botany  teacher had taught her how to look at the trees.  She said that the way she looked at them after  the walk made her feel she could have opted for  botany as her main subject. 

“The joy that you give to people cannot be  measured in money, and it’s by God’s grace  that I feel I can give this joy to people.”  Simple joys shared make life worthwhile and  beautiful. 

“My theory is that if you love something, do  it till the end. If you can’t, don’t feel sad. But  if you can do it, and people want you to do it,  then you do it. Someone has to hold my hand  these days during the walk. I don’t feel shy or  embarrassed about it,” says the octogenarian,  twinkle-eyed.  

Love is all we need 

“I have tried to follow Buddha’s philosophy.  In the end, these things matter most: How  well did you love? How fully did you live?  How deeply did you learn to let go? 

“The poet Kalidas says: ‘Yesterday is already  a dream and tomorrow is only a vision, but  today, well-lived, makes every yesterday a  dream of happiness and every tomorrow a  vision of hope. 

’ 

“Become love. Give love to every living being.  When you understand the other, you start  loving the other; you develop compassion, be  it insect, snail, or human being.” 

Learning to let go has been the hardest for  me, but I am not doing too badly. Earlier,  when I couldn’t let go or forgive, I would be  hard on myself. Now I light my lamp (diya)  and talk to God and say, “This is me; I can’t  let go, accept me as I am,’ and calm settles  over me.” 

Dr Desai concludes with the guiding  philosophy of her life: “In the end, we are all  humans, so we do slip on our principles. But  if we are aware of it, half the battle is won.” 

Renee Vyas, the other half of TAW, on Dr Usha 

“Some people inspire you for life, and one such person for me is Dr Usha. I met her during a field  botany course at the BNHS in 2008, about 15 years ago. What stood out in her was her enthusiasm  to learn and understand new things and her eagerness to share her knowledge with others. 

I admire her for her mindfulness and courage to live and enjoy the present moment. Our passion for  learning about trees and our collective goal to create awareness and inculcate a love for trees among  people formed a beautiful and joyous bond between Dr Usha and me.” 

Dr Usha Desai often pens poems as paeans  to plants. Here is one on the Parijat. Parijat Parijat, when I pass by you in the  morning, 

I am enchanted by your carpet of delicate  white and orange flowers with a mild but  heady fragrance. You are a legend of so many  stories.  

The one I love is your romance with Sun God.  You were a princess and fell in love with Sun  God. He too was in love with you.  

After a few days, he got bored and rejected  you. The pain of rejection was severe. 

You pined for him, you grieved for him and you  passed away and resurrected yourself in a new  avatar as a tree! You told Sun God “I don’t want  to see your face. I shall bloom before you rise  and shall fall down before you rise!” 

One young boy, Mangirish, who attended my  walk said, “No ma’am, I don’t want to see you.  For now, I am in love with Moon God and I want  to bloom only for him.”  

The story has been told since ancient times.  Even Carl Linnaeus, the father of taxonomy,  used it to name you Nyctanthes arbor-tristis  (night-blooming sad tree). 

Sharmila Bhosale is a writer with deep interest in photography, travel,  music,nature, psychology and spirituality. She is also the former editor  of Life Positive Jr.