
Do you see this tree we are sitting under? What do you see in this?’, asked a Kurumba tribal leader as we sat to discuss about their livelihoods in the forest dwelling in the Nilgiris under a very large tree. The Kurumbas are one of the smaller tribal groups that are restricted in their habitation to the Nilgiris alone. The Forest Rights Act (FRA) has given communities dwelling in the forests like the Kurumba rights over farming and collecting forest produce in their land. It was in studying the impact of FRA that I was visiting their land and sitting in a dialogue with the leader. ‘You see this is a rosewood tree, I grew up with this tree, we relate to each other like a family, and the trees are part of our life. When people from outside come, they only look at the value of the timber and not the tree. Often, we have visiting traders and even officers eyeing the tree and talking about how amazing the timber can be. We don’t see it that way, for us the tree is part of our life. Otherwise, don’t you think we would have better doors for our houses than these?’, he said pointing to the dwellings built under government scheme, having cement sheets as a doors. Among the poor and ordinary people of this land seems
to reverberate the ancient wisdom that all things in nature are connected.
World over there is an increasing recognition of the healing nature of trees. Forest bathing has emerged as a therapeutic practice. Such forest bathing is prescribed for people in Japan. Scientists the world over have discovered that spending time in the forest and among trees is not merely good for stress but also building immunity in the human body. It has also been found that plants too like being touched and studies indicate that the plants develop better resistance to pests if they are touched and cared for with love.


When Jadav Payang and Salamaradhu Thimmakka were awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2015 and 2019 respectively, it was a recognition of the immense capacity of the ordinary person to conserve nature by planting trees and in the process even creating a forest. While the 64 year old Jadev is credited with single-handedly creating 550 hectares of forest in his native state of Assam, the 110 year old Thimmakka has planted nearly 400 banyan trees. Their humble and even poverty struck existence has not in any way diminished their conviction nor the impact of their work today in society.
Modern theories suggest that people get involved in social activity as a way of gaining recognition after their basic needs are met. Indians as a civilisation seems to have always proven this theory wrong. Today it is not uncommon to see small saplings of trees being gifted during functions and even during weddings. With increasing awareness, some of the domestic products are sent with a gift of a small bag of seeds encouraging people to start planting and conserving. While the modern environmental movement has emerged as a possible response to largescale destruction of the forests in the Western countries, in India it has and will remain always as a way of re-emphasizing and establishing the ancient wisdom that we are one with the trees and forests.