Relax, read and rejuvenate in the company of trees!

 

It took another travel for me to get back to blogging again! It was a quick getaway for us this summer………a short and sweet retreat amidst a coffee plantation at Rossetta Sakleshpur wherein we let time stand still for a couple of days. Nestled in middle of a 100 acres coffee plantation, this resort offers its guests urban luxury in a green lush  vegetation of  coffee, pepper and cardamom plantation with silver oaks eucalyptus, teak, palm, coconut and many such trees standing tall all around the beautifully landscaped property. We immersed ourselves in every element of what Rossetta had to offer, strolling around its aesthetically planned landscape, hitting the pristine pool overlooking the expansive greenery, spending lazy afternoons reading at the “out of in the woods” balcony of its quaint tucked away cottages, relishing the elaborate all-you-can-eat buffets with numerous live counters at mealtime,  availing the relaxing therapies at the spa, and trying our hand at the well equipped sports centre, and going on the guided nature walks amidst the Rossetta “treeverse” and  reliving our older one’s childhood memories of Robert McCloskey’s "Make way for the ducklings" …. All thanks to the diverse experiences at Rossetta!

 

We could not ask for a better environment than this to read Roopa Pai’s “Lets talk about trees”, which felt like a live demonstration of what we were reading!

“Let’s Talk about trees” is a wonderful ‘tree’tise on trees of the India. Narrated in characteristic Roopa Pai narrative style – full of questions for the reader to ponder over, fun facts about treeverse that we never knew to be true, interactive “fill in the blanks” style exercises, recipes and activities that is sure to turn any reader into a tree explorer!  Starting with the most basic and yet profound question, “Have you ever looked at a tree?” Roopa Pai delves deep into the “lovely poem of a tree”, goads the reader to “look listen and love” the various facets of a tree, be a discerning observer of various kinds of trees in one’s surroundings, be aware of the well-known trees of India, and be mindful of how integral trees have been and will be to a rich and healthy environment.  Enhanced by the striking illustrations by Barkha Lohia,  that beautifully capture the sentiment of the book, and not only enlighten the reader about the specific trees, leaves and the flowers featured, but literally transport the reader into being under the banyan tree, or swinging from the branches of a neem tree, or imagine being on a holiday in the hills amidst the deodars! Do enjoy this magnificent tree-at this summer!