Fifty Trees Series on Twitter and its after effects.
Humans are individuals but connected to networks like the roots of trees in a forest and woods are connected by living things that make them one large entity. Internet is the most important connector of our times.
Like everything else, it is how you use the internet that makes the difference. There is too much of information floating around like stars in the sky to be picked up by your telescope and for you to zoom in. When it comes to twitter, it provides direct access to the minds of people and like everything else it is social.
On the internet, a seed and its dispersal
Sometime in August 2018, Siddharth Agarwal started this thread and it grew into something called #FiftyTrees Project. It captured the imagination of tree watchers and flower spotters from across India who started posting 50 trees each.
Many of them, like me are still posting images. I have reached no 42.
Trees that kiss the sea
The ornamental decoration on the Gateway of India is a leaf.
Surprisingly (for me), Peepal trees are found in places where fishermen work in and around Mumbai. Especially in and around the jetty or docks or concrete or stone structures. Colaba's Sassoon Dock is no exception. This is a peepal tree under which the fishermen mend their nets. So it is not really surprising that the choice for decorating the Apollo Bunder, a hop for a crow from Sassoon Dock is a leaf of a familiar tree.
Mukesh Mills that is next to the Sassoon Dock and its 'rocky' salt blasted surface is also home to these trees that are seeded by the birds.
It's not just Peepal that is kissing the tree. Look at this Gulmohar that is kissing the sea too and it is at a spot where the winds can get nasty during the monsoon and suffer the heat, for the rest of the year.
Trees adapting to the city
It is interesting to see how trees adapt to us and our constructions. Ranjeet Kandalgaonkar is an artist from Mumbai who has one of the most unique and under rated method or methods of seeing the city. In addition to his excellent art that is now being finally recognised, he has this instagram handle called Root Cause that will offer you great insights into how seeds germinate in a city without space. Bruce Lee can talk about water and its power, this handle talks about trees, their roots and how they feel their way through the hard shaped we create for our needs.
Follow the roots of Mumbai here.
Immersive Reading:
Ranjit Kandalgaonkar's City Influx : An amazing way to see the city in my opinion.
Conversations of practice by Ranjit Kandalgaonkar: For all of you out there trying to find your voice.
Siddharth Agarwals Veditum : River stories and more.
