chennai trees seldom form the centre of our everyday life in fact we barely take time off to look up from our smart phones to appreciate the tall trees in our neighbourhood but for a handful of communities they are an integral part of daily activities this rare bond shared with them is brought to light by bhil artist gangu bai in a childrens book which was conceptualised by citybased tara books tree matters has stories and anecdotes that sees a tree as its protagonist according to bai trees are symbols of great beauty they make the forest a home a place of protection and a place of inspiration each tree has a special meaning for instance during weddings the couple is made to sit beneath a mango tree as it is considered auspicious but not neem tree as its bitter leaves makes it inauspicious bai said her short and simple stories on food childbirth and weddings gives readers a glimpse into tribal life even the most popular tattoo designs among the bhils are of the ryan tree her stories make us realise that we dont have a relationship with nature like they do their connection is more organic than romanticised tara books editorial director v geeta said who wrote the text for the book along with founder gita wolf what makes this short read even more interesting are bais colourful illustrations painted in vibrant hues of orange green yellow and red the dotted drawings which embody the authentic art of the tribe bring to life her tales on the tribal gods like badadev and kasumer the evil devil who resides in old trees and the celebration of holi traditionally called mittichitra mud painting bai said earlier we used to make colours from the scratch we burnt coal to get black and for white we mixed water with white sand we tied cloth to the ends of neem twigs to use as brushes but now paintings are made on canvas and paper and acrylic paints are used she said recollecting how she made her drawings during her twoweek stay in the city unfortunately the change didnt stop with painting techniques the awardwinning artist makes subtle mentions of how life of this central indian tribe has changed over the years the forest once seen as a source of food and a place to gather firewood is now not easily accessible since there are rules about who may or may not go into a forest and what can be taken out of it she said tribals have a different way of looking at life and the idea of progress and we need to listen to their views they shouldnt always be seen as victims of displacement and urbanization says geeta adding that books are a wonderful way for children in urban cities to learn about such communities our culture shouldnt die with us future generations must know about our customs and practices the book hopes to keep our history alive says bai