Celebrating #GreenSpacesDictionary with  Mumbai Magic. Today let’s…

C for Coconut Palms

If you have old footage of Republic Day parades in Mumbai, you will be struck by the number of coconut trees that lined the roads then. Those trees haven’t completely disappeared from the Southern part of Mumbai but other trees have grown and given it a lot more green cover than in those days. Unbelievably, the coconut tree,  a native species is a very economically important tree in Mumbai.  There is a small economy that is built around it and this is beyond the tender coconut sellers outside hospitals and offices. Let me share an example: 

The Municipal Colony next to the M Ward - East Office in Govandi-Deonar has a large number of coconut trees. For the lonely, senior citizens of the area it is a source of much-needed income. They convert the leaves into brooms that are used by the municipal safai karamcharis who use it to keep the city clean. This is in addition to the coconut itself that is used as food and the remaining parts of the leaves that become firewood. 

What we dismiss as a tree that drops nuts that break our car windshields has layers of life beneath it. The urban concrete jungle has a network of lives just like in the Western Ghats or the Amazon. 

In what looks like a treeless expanse of Dharavi is a dargah and cemetery with towering coconut trees. One step inside and you will forget that you are in the heart of Mumbai. 

Similarly, you will find pockets of coconut groves across the city but amidst the concrete. As a native species, they manage to hold ground as we rapidly cover every available surface with concrete.

Suggested activities

1) Go for a walk in your hood and see how many types of trees you can spot.
2) Do you have ideas for Mumbai that you think everyone should know? Make your voice heard at the Ministry of Mumbai's Magic.