I am wandering through the lanes of my place of birth, Dadar, getting nostalgic about the days gone by. Hindu colony and my school, IES… Nearby are the iconic colleges, Ruia and Poddar.

The main road in Hindu colony, running parallel to the now defunct railway line, was once lined with huge rain trees… Alas! These trees died off due to some life consuming meallybugs, some 15-20 years back, around 2005-2015.

During my school days and upto 2005, these trees were the cause of envy of my friends, who were not lucky enough to stay in Hindu colony. So many birds species, from the common crow to the pretty parrots, had their home in these very trees. Lots of squirrels bounded along from one branch to another and from one tree to another, chirruping along with gay abondon. During my childhood, I remember a few monkeys too, in these very…