Sacred Trees of India
Adornment and Adoration as an Alternative to the Commodification of Nature
By Louise Fowler-Smith
This beautifully illustrated book is about trees, most importantly their significance in the era of climate change and continued deforestation. How it differs from other ‘tree books’ is through its focus on the perception of trees as an agent of change in humanity. Sacred Trees of India: Adornment and Adoration as an Alternative to the Commodification of Nature seeks a renewed relationship with nature and argues that, if humanity perceives the natural world as separate and exploitable, rather than as connected, honoured, respected and even worshipped, the chasm that has developed over generations between humanity and the natural world will only widen.
Based on years of field research, the book includes 163 original photographs taken by the author, Louise Fowler-Smith. After witnessing the first example of tree veneration in a small tree grove in India, Fowler-Smith realised the importance of this practice to the preservation of those trees. In her quest to discover more about the contemporary practice of honouring trees, she travelled across seventeen states of India over a ten-year period. Fowler-Smith’s extensive field research is what makes this book unique. The reader is able to travel the length and breadth of India with the author, via the original photographs and the individual stories she collected, making this book distinctive.