This book is your perfect guide to the fascinating tree diversity of Bengaluru

Dr. K. Sankara Rao shares a picture from the hunter-turned-naturalist and writer Jim Corbett’s final book, Tree Tops, a slim tome detailing the visit of the then-Princess Elizabeth to the Treetops hotel in Aberdare National Park in Kenya in 1952, a little before she learnt of the death of her father George VI and her own ascent to the throne of England. “I would want to celebrate trees in my own way.” Work of three decades Rao, a distinguished fellow at IISc’s Centre for Ecological Sciences, the author of many books and the lead researcher and mentor for several online plant databases, the most recent being India Flora Online, has spent his life celebrating trees. The book is a perfect guide to “the fascinating tree diversity in the beautiful city of Bangalore,” says Rao, who thinks that it will significantly benefit anyone passionate about trees, sustainability and urban ecology. “That this has happened is a tribute to the nature-loving citizens of this city,” says Rao, quoting Jonas Brunschwig, the Consul General of Switzerland, who once remarked, “The balance of nature and innovation is a rare and cherished aspect of Bangalore.” Early experiences Rao spent his childhood in the East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh, clambering up many a tree, often “jumping from one branch to another, as many of their primates do,” he admits with a chuckle at the talk. Rao also dwells upon the city’s pre- and post-independence botanical history and offers insights on some of the city’s iconic trees, including the slender Roseodendron donnell-smithii at the Raman Research Institute, at whose base the ashes of Sir CV Raman are buried, a Magnolia grandiflora planted by Queen Elizabeth II when she visited IISc in 1961 and a Ficusreligiosa tree, also on the IISc campus, which is believed to be a direct descendent of the Bodhi tree at Bodhgaya.