Bengalureans express their love for trees at the Neralu Tree Festival

by February 11, 2015 Environment
The city was witness to its second edition of Neralu, the urban tree festival on February 7th and 8th. Here's what Bengalurians had to say about their experience.

Padme Float at the mirror pool at NGMA

The first phase of Neralu, the three-day Urban Tree Festival, concluded at NGMA (National Gallery of Modern Art) Bengaluru, on Sunday Fenruary 8th. Citizens of all ages participated enthusiastically in tree walks, listened to talks by naturalists and artists, and appreciated the movies, performances and street plays.

At Neralu, children experienced the world of trees through animated storytelling sessions, tree journaling, and sketching workshops. The tree walk conducted for young adults from Samarthanam Trust for The Disabled emphasised the different ways in which trees can be perceived.

Other highlights of the Tree Festival included a riveting dance performance, Padme and Float by Anita Ratnam’s troupe. Artist Malavika Sarukkai also gave a talk followed by a performance.

$(document).ready(function(){ $(‘.carousel .carousel-inner .item’).first().attr(‘class’, ‘active item’);});

Dr S Subramanya, Professor of Entomology at University of Agricultural Sciences, Gandhi Krishi Vidya Kendra, who seeded the idea of NERALU and helped shape the festival, said, “Neralu is an amazing initiative. I would like to see it happening every year with an even greater spread of activities and experiences through the city.”

“Anywhere, a social movement can become stronger and successful only when it reaches the younger generation and the general public.  Bengaluru has number of varieties of trees. They are not just biological structures but have historical significance too. Neralu is doing a yeoman service in making Bengalurians realise the importance of preserving these trees for posterity,” said  Suresh Moona, Founder Director of AARAMBH.

“Like with great minds and huge old trees, the wisdom available for free in public festivals like Neralu is immense. So happy to be part of this festival. Thanks Neralu team!”, said Mala Kumar, Editor at Pratham Books.

Noted naturalist Gururaja said, “As a scientist, Neralu provided me a platform to interact with citizens. It was a great to connect with trees and people using the Android app. I look forward to educating citizens about the connection between trees and frogs next year.”

KG Kumar, Director, NGMA, said “The effort of Neralu to remember, honour and celebrate the trees of our city, bringing man and nature together, is commendable, and will go a long way in furthering harmonious co-existence. NGMA, Bengaluru is proud to collaborate with the citizens of Neralu, to celebrate this festival for the trees of the city.”

Visit www.neralu.in for more details.

Related Articles

Bal Bhavan to play host to grand closure of Neralu on February 14th
Painting the town red, green, yellow and every other colour
Shade the city green at the Neralu Tree Festival

Sections:

About Poornima Kannan

Poornima is an avid blogger with keen interest in urban wildlife.She is also a freelance communication consultant with special interest in organisations that work towards a social cause.
Read more by Poornima Kannan

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Similar Story

Notes from the field: Why Begur Lake is losing its waterbirds

by , , , , and October 8, 2026 Environment
71% of waterbirds at Begur Lake are declining. A visit to one of Bengaluru’s rapidly deteriorating lakes shows what's causing the collapse.

During the Open City biodiversity datajam held in December 2025, our group examined the ecological trends around Bengaluru’s lakes. Our analysis suggests a majority of waterbirds are declining across the city's lakes. Earlier, we addressed crucial questions on how migrant and resident waterbirds are surviving across 14 of Bengaluru’s lakes, how the shape of the lakes influence microhabitats, and how a scoring system can be used to record the decline in lake quality and bird populations. The last of our four-part series turns its attention to an individual site. As part of this study of waterbirds in 14 city lakes,…

Continue reading

Similar Story

Bengaluru lakes are changing, and birds are paying the price

by , , , , and October 7, 2026 Environment
From disappearing reedbeds to altered shores, here is why some of the city's lakes are thriving while others face ecological collapse.

While bird detection trends over the years clearly point to the decline of Bengaluru’s shoreline and vegetated-edge habitats, numbers alone tell only part of the story. In Part 3 of this four-part series on the state of the city's waterbirds, we have used a scoring system to understand how stressed the lakes and the microhabitats within the lake are, based on the bird diversity they support. We explore how lake shape, permanent inundation and shifts in citizen-led management might explain why some lakes may thrive as wetlands while others collapse.  For instance, at Kasavanahalli, the Pied Kingfisher and the Coot…

Continue reading