How I learnt to love the baobab...

Slivers of hope brighten bleak times The same fortnight announcing 60 trees of Tata Garden sacrificed to the marauding coastal road along Breach Candy has gifted us a pretty park in Bandra honouring its remarkable son Darryl DrsquoMonte As architect PK Das said of the crusading ecologist who mentored two journalist generations this space will blossom in physical tribute to an extraordinary lifeIn a city of fast vanishing verdure the spirit vaults high with the pleasure of sighting certain green expanses With a bunch of personally significant Bombay trees I hug close why they mean what they doEight winters old when city lights dimmed I remember windows mandatorily made opaque shrouded in brown paper sheets during the 1971 IndoPak war Silhouetted in my mindrsquos eye despite the blackout hours a pair of pendulousbranched ashokas reassuringly whispered ldquoHush shushwhoosh woordquo in December winds lashing our Hill Road home ldquoBatti bandh karordquo cops shouted at the barest bulb flicker A couple of nights were spent tossing nervously thinking what might happen But I soon drifted to sleep lulled by the soft swish of delicately long leaves these trees bear The adults stayed huddled around our giant Bush radio for AIRrsquos newsonthehour extensions Darryl DrsquoMontersquos family with architect PK Das second from right plant a lagerstroemia in the BMC garden in Bandra honouring the veteran journalist and ecologist Pic courtesyDrsquoMonte FamilyMy brother and I were grateful to the tall ashokas for an added reason When sparrows chose to nest in the scoopbowl tops of cranking old ceiling fans our parents obviously forbade clearing those arranged twigs till twittering babies hatched Switching on fans was impossible We wilted through summers feebly cooled by ineffective puffs from pedestal models till it struck mother bird that barring the monsoon she could lay eggs in an ashokaI had a regular weekend tryst with an aromatic kadi patta bush at West View the neighbouring sandstone villa veiled by palms and paan vines My dadrsquos sister lived there and above her the Hormuzdi family They kept a bizarre brood of feathered and furry pets the parrot cussing ldquoM darvajo kholrdquo the two monkeys Tarabai and Sitaram and a leopard confusingly called Tiger Tagged to that merry menagerie my aunt Dollyrsquos dog downstairs was christened Tiger Before that copycat leopard she always hastened to clarifyThe West View villa garden in 1960s BandraSaturdays signalled prawn curry lunch Dropping in on Dolly I picked fresh leaves from the plantmdashour standard menu plenty more fragrant infused with my plucking I prayed Tiger wasnrsquot at his balcony If so he purrroared vaguely alarming When Shirinbai Hormuzdi yelled ldquoTigerrdquo both big cat and small canine growled in united response Panic hit when the former delayed his morning saunter on the estate Suppose the gate suddenly unbolted I decided to step out only after dialling Dolly for an allclear with the lazy leopard done perambulating Thanks to the Swiss Sister Mary Lawrence from the Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross a lesson was learnt on the St Josephrsquos Convent grounds Chatting with classmates in our short break I idly fidgeted with the fronds of a squat palm brushing my shoulder Noticing my hands parting strips in the already narrow foliage tips she pointed to my neat plait ends saying ldquoYou wouldnrsquot like it if someone tore strands of your hair I assumerdquo Too stern we muttered misjudging then Now any lowhanging palm brings a flashback of that episode her compassionate words unforgettable Naturalist Katie Bagli points to a star apple tree fronting the JB Vachha School in Dadar Parsi ColonyYou can find something endearing simply because of its underdog status in literature and common belief Thatrsquos how I came to love the baobab A sturdy deciduous specimen has stood on the Bandra post officeBhabha Hospital stretch for over an estimated five centuriesmdashsparseleafed baobabs survive several hundreds of years Though one of my favourite books The Little Prince brought this tree to my notice in a slightly unfortunate way with Antoine de SaintExupeacutery metaphorically declaring ldquobadrdquo baobab seeds symbolise obstacles on the planetIn complete contrast the dependable baobab on Waterfield Road extends humble traders the kindest nurturing Amid a grotty chaotic tangle of cable lines and perennial civic repairs street vendors hawk their wares in makeshift food and tea stalls trying hard to hold body and soul togetherPeepal boughs within touching distance of the writerrsquos windowAware the baobabrsquos swollen trunk stores massive quantities of water desert nomads in Africa the treersquos native continent from where the Portuguese brought it to Bombay sliced its spongy bark for sustenance Viewing the mass of humanity milling around its rotund base I admire how the tree stoically continues to ldquoserverdquo Dubbed the Fat Lady of Bandra and locally called gorakh chinch this landmark has witnessed the vicinityrsquos sad extinctions including Irani eateries and New Talkies Cinema turned Globus Mall Every tree stands silent sentinel to tenderness The confidences between friends the murmured nothings of lovers Each is a robust repository of shared emotionmdasheven in a oneoff encounter Many moons ago our giggles matched my toddler daughterrsquos and mine under the canopy of a mango tree on the Sir JJ School of Art campus I was reading her this quirkily rhymed passagemdashldquoIn the sea O my Best Beloved there was a Whale He ate the starfish and the garfish the crab and the dab the plaice and the dace the skate and his mate the mackerel and the pickerel and the really truly twirlywhirly eelrdquoShopping at Crawford Market we had found ourselves facing the campus She clutched underarm an authorillustrated pocket edition of Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling I knew an 1860s childhood bungalow graced his birthplace the JJ School where his sculptor father John Lockwood Kipling taught and was appointed the first principal Savouring apt moment and mood surrendering to serendipity we settled to the fun of sitting sheltered by this evergreen on those very grounds to enjoy nonsensenuanced KiplingNot far on Kala Ghodarsquos treelined Rampart Row once the site of the historic Bombay Fort ramparts is probably the cityrsquos oldest mahogany Fronting Ador House it is one of a majestic pair planted by none other than the missionary explorer Dr David Livingstone Sailing into town on the Lady Nyassa in 1865 he seeded the pinnateleafed sapling here with its twin bordering Hornbill House the Bombay Natural History Society headquartersThe mahoganies sprouted at Governor Bartle Frerersquos behest From Chou En Lai to Tito and Khrushchev visiting dignitaries were encouraged to sow trees An ennobling idea a lasting gift to a city whose planners today consider uprooting the norm Scented creamcoloured blooms resembling tiny ear studs sweep off this mahogany to picturesquely sheathe the broad pavements flanking K Dubash Marg With parents from Mancherji Joshi Colony in Dadar the Rustom Faramna Agiary has also proved part of my growing up Manicured gardens around its structural sprawl render it imposing The fire temple is named after the philanthropic Agra hotelier who was surprised the largest colony housing his community lacked a place of worshipOutside the agiary an erect Trincomali with heartcontoured leaves distracted me in younger years Quickly finishing prayers I would gaze dreamily in its direction With a nomenclature matching its charming appearancemdashcloaked in pale pinkish buds and copper red fruitsmdashthe species is Cordifolia from ldquocordisrdquo or ldquoheartrdquo and ldquofoliardquo leaves In her book Trees of Dadar Parsi Colony naturalist Katie Bagli explains that its wood is tough yet flexible Popular with carpenters this durable wood is ldquoThiruknamalirdquo in Tamil anglicised to ldquoTrincomalirdquo Like all good colony girls my mother attended JB Vachha High School built in the 1920s when she was born Forty years later she took me to where she had formed lifelong friendships and been tutored by brilliant teachers An everengaging raconteur she could regale listeners with an ondemand string of school escapades excitingly naughty to boringly nice We looked forward to the treat afternoons of reliving her evocative narrations at the Neoclassical designed institution itself Beneath an upright Star Apple tree was our preferred spot The happy horticulturist in her described how the tree earned its moniker A starshaped core awaits discovery on halving the round purplywhite fruit The goldish underside of dark green leaves throws light on its generic name Chrysophyllum derived from the Greek ldquochrysosrdquo or gold and ldquophylumrdquo leaf Finally to the comfort of a modestsized Peepal that shimmers and sways almost within touch of my childrenrsquos room window We love window seats enough to have three of them Curling up to read reflect snooze snuggle on this cushioned ledge especially unfurls a swirl of milestonesand memoriesArching stooping bending as if about to break but straightening strong again in the stormiest gale this tree exudes marvellous malleability It has sympathised with me droop by midevening exhausted as a new mum It has supreme pepping power with the chirruping mini orchestra of koels mynahs parrots bulbuls and barbets the boughs attractThis tree is a faithful family retainer Watching over the kids at their vulnerable worst it must have guessed teen secrets echoed their sighs danced to their songs Soothing by just being present and constantBuddha attained enlightenment below a peepal The poetry and peace of this one might well nudge me extra inches towards nirvanaAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiamiddaycomwwwmeher marfatiacom