climbing these trees and using contaminated trimming tools can spread infection in mumbai while i have noticed initiatives of citizens to paint dead rain trees it is a fact that no art can ever replace a single living valuable tree or give it a new lease on life the only saving grace i can see is a timely monsoon and the washing away of mealybugs by driving rain while the onslaught of this pest could be temporary it has the power to change street scapes permanently should such a calamity occur in mumbai i personally feel that one must bank on the bmc for support as huge amounts of time and efforts have already been spent on protecting these giantswhere goa is concerned there are an estimated 7080 trees between the miramar circle and the panaji ferry point these range from decadesold trees to young ones there are around 150 more in and around panaji city that have been adorning our blue skies over the yearsrain trees originated in central america and brazil they were later introduced in a number of areas including the indian subcontinent and can attain a height of as much as 40 to 90 feet with an incomparable umbrellashaped canopy let us hope and pray that they continue to fold their leaves at night and at the onset of the rains just like they have been doing for decadesthe writer is a landscape designer and bonsai artist