Seeing the City through a Walk
2 March, 2024
Acknowledgements: Taking a Walk courtesy Wild Aesthetics of Urban Environments, a two-part workshop led by Kush Sethi. The walk was aimed at being a gateway into urban ecology through gardening. Thank you to the wonderful facilitators of the walk and the program curators who designed this event.
Below is a series of photos and documentation from an urban nature walk held one breezy nice March morning in Delhi when we got some respite form heat and a confused cold. Some of us collected in Max Muller Bhavan as part of their exhibition, Critical Zones. In Search of a Common Ground.
We went on a walk outside the institute and observed foliage growing. I recorded some of the plants, trees, bees, buildings, people and roads that we observed. After the walk, we returned to the Bhavan and observed some of the leaves under the microscope and tried to repot some of those plants taken from the roadside. No plants or animals were harmed in this.
Here is an attempt to recount that walk. For a better perspective, please scroll up from the end as I was only able to publish image LIFO style.
55. One of the walker's beautiful effort at designing their own small vessel for plants collected from the roadside of Delhi. I made a pot (can be seen in the next photo). When I carried it in the bus, the bus conductor asked the driver to be a little patient and advised me to be a little careful. Their shouty exchange was for kindness :) The conductor was surprised why I was carrying two pots of plant in the middle of a jam packed bus. His expression was that of irritation but his voice was that of confusion. He held on to one of the plant pots and told me not to worry. He added that he would be returning the pot to me when I get off. When I deboarded the bus at my bus stop, the fellow passengers passed the plant pot along to me. Good day!
54. We tried watching the pigmented leaves some of has had collected under a microscope. Here, Kush Sethi is setting things up. We watched some spores and fungi.
53. The group busy making their gardens or just giving the last touch.
52. After we came back to the Max Muller Bhavan, we had some sandwiches and cold coffee. Then we started sorting through our collections. The facilitators had brought lots of materials to design our own small gardens in pots, plates, etc.
51. Had to get this.
50. Almost completed the walk.
49. As you can see that the place is inhabited by its 'own' people and nonpeople. There are old trees, bees, birds, etc. All of them have been living here for a long time. I had so many questions about how people feel about this place and the nature growing amidst it. But these questions required time, empathy and patience, rather than a (harsh) curiosity of an outsider who other people are only viewing as some tourists visiting 'their' part of the city.
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48. During this whole walk we had been hearing about epiphytes as lot. When we finally came to this sight, everyone stopped and gazed at this sight for a long time. Some of us took pictures.
47. The last image of the red compound just before turning right and encountering another pack of dogs.
46. The path that we had been walking on in the red colony.
45. Some rubble from construction and destruction.
44. Some of the common trees of Delhi - Neem, Peepal, Jamun. I do not remember all now. Around these trees, all kinds of life and nonhumans were coming and going. I was a bit behind from my group and some dogs started running towards me. A few locals intervened and said, 'They went after you because they knew that you were new here'.
43. The way nature was working beside these buildings was a new thing for me. Contrary to the common terms used for these sights - nature taking over, rewilding, etc - I felt like there was comfort being offered by the buildings to the nature. A harsh winter was just passing by. A harsher summer was coming along where the temperatures would go soaring to 46-48 degree celsius. Rain will come with an unpredictable charm and our governments, our people, will continue selling nature. But in all this, such places can communicate with its residents, with all that past, present and future, more than we can understand.
42. Another old tree astride a beautiful compound. Rubbish was being collected on the cart on the side.
41. A beautiful staircase and brick red building
40. Some men outdoors in the compound sipping tea, making conversations, and reading newspapers.
39. Uff, this was the most wonderful sight I held on from that day! It is said that a there is huge part of the tree underground, which we aren't able to see. My favourite tree book, The Overstory, in fact has a quote which says, "Your kind never sees us whole. You miss the half of it, and more. There’s always as much belowground as above." This pattern, this building, this place in middle of Delhi seemed like a monument, giving a small, gentle, glimpse of what life of trees might be looking like underground, humbling us to pay more attention and listen.
38. A tree was rising from/ on this house.
37. We continued entering a new compound (a quad) made up of old red brick buildings - not too high, not too low.
36. The road was strewn with yellow leaves and the musty rainy breeze from the morning was hanging in the weather. The sun was shaded by the clouds.
35. I was trying to look for bougainvillea as I wanted to grow it back at home. So that I see it climbing along side my house one day.
34. Pick plants to grow in our containers after the workshop.
33. We were now encountering some of the plants that we had come across initially.
32. Madhumalti and Bougainvillea blooming
31. Curtain Creeper
30. Now entering an old lane of New Delhi. Here we saw Ashoka, Bougainvillea, etc.
29. Noticed some more saplings on the side of the road.
28. This is a Champa tree
27. We were talking about Pilkhan here.
26. Looking at the bark and the soil underneath
25. We noticed the bark here. I remember something important was being discussed either about the tree or the bees.
24. Kush Sethi here was showing us some bees. He made a very memorable remark about how "if you want to know about tree, look at the ground; If you want to know about the birds, look above in the sky; If you want to know about bees, look mid air." This is where is becomes difficult.
23. Look at how the fence is changing due to the tree. This is a Peepal Tree. Another Epiphyte.
22. So many other plants coming out of the walls from a house where a few people live.
21. Banyan tree coming out of the walls. Another epiphyte. I wonder why my first instinct was to call it a tree, rather than a plant.
21. Another plant g(r)o(w)ing in the rubble of the compound.
20. Sharing some flowers
19. Collecting some dried flowers.
18. We collected few more leaves, fruits, berries, weeds, fallen, dried stick. There were many on the ground since it rained last night.
17. A compound coming out of a tree or a tree coming coming out of a compound. Look at how the fencing has been done for the tree to traverse its own route in the air. Sometimes you can catch glimpses how people are trying to read the trees, to understand nature. This complexity where they want to coexist with nature while making it bend to its own will is something (use it for its own ulterior motives) that is not lost.
16. Some more trees in the March weather. This is the season when most trees in Delhi loosen their leaves. It kind of becomes our fall season. The skyline shows different hues. Leaves show up so differently below the trees and above them as many of them are covered with that new, fresh green leaves.
15. The road next to a compound where we saw what rain the night before can bring
14. The compound
13. More plants/weeds on the side
12. Someone mentioned that an insect was responsible for this discolouration, possibly due to laying of eggs and a larvae feeding on the leaf.
11. Delhi is a place where you will see abandoned sects often. Here some other nonhuman life will show up. This was one such small patch in a compound near a government office. It was dumped with construction work. It had rained the last night so a nice cool breeze was blowing and some oxalis weed could be seen here. We used google lens most of the times to identify. So don't believe all names are correct!
10. I liked how the foliage comes up here behind these cars. Did you notice how the light is changing in these photos? Can you feel the heat or coolness through these?
9. Same tree as below.
8. We observed many trees along the way. I do not remember a lot. But like I said the name will be in my diary. That diary is not with me as I am writing and updating this blog. If you can identify this or any of the plants in these blogs, please comment. I will be really grateful!
7. More plants of what grows on side pavements in New Delhi's well manicured and taken care of roads.
6. We tried to collect some too. So as to then grow on our own later on after the walk got over.
5. We talked about many such side plants, trees and weeds in the urban landscape.
4. The Hanging Curtain
3. Was trying to capture other neighbours of the Monstera Plant.
2. We noticed the Monstera Plant
1. Began the walk from the Goethe Institute after going through these books. As we were exiting the gate, Kush Sethi (our walk's leader) pointed us to a Giloy plant and how tiny buds were coming out. The flowers were coming out first and then the leaves will come out. It covers many houses in Delhi as it provides lush shade and creates a microclimate by keeping temperature under its shade a bit cooler.
PSA: I think a walk makes you see a lot of things that would have earlier remained invisible. Don't forget to undertake a walk next time! It can be as local as your neighbourhood walk among the scooters and cars or your city walk.