Between The Leaves

A new book combines scientific rigour with anecdotes and nostalgia to highlight the significance of trees in urban life

- Divya J Shekhar

Ants are everywhere, but rarely noticed. Most people are indifferent to them marching along the walls of their homes, ignorant about the variety of species, and fail to credit them for the diversification of flowering plants. In urban Kerala, however, the presence of the yellow crazy ant indicates the pressures of rapid urbanisation. These ants, nesting in the leaf litter at the base of trees, are an invasive species whose presence in homes indicates a disturbed habitat. Groves of trees that are considered sacred by local communities of Kerala are home to more than 30 ant species, some of which are increasing in number as a result of rising human migration patterns and improper waste disposal.

Many such facts, data and anecdotes are part of the research conducted by Professor Harini Nagendra and Senior Lecturer Seema Mundoli at the Azim Premji University in Bengaluru. Their body of work has examined the relationship between people and nature in Indian cities. Balancing historical references with fresh scientific findings, the duo has studied how changing lifestyles have impacted the importance of nature in daily life, how the government’s focus on infrastructure at the expense of green cover has changed the ecology of the country’s streets, parks, lakes, home gardens, slums and sacred spaces, and what this means for our collective future.