In the rush of our crowded cities, it’s easy to miss what once made them feel like home — trees.

Not just a patch of green on the horizon, trees were at the heart of Indian towns. They offered shade on long afternoons, a place for stories to be shared, prayers to be whispered, and communities to come together. Long before air-conditioners and concrete roads, these trees kept our homes cooler and our lives slower.

Today, as cities grow hotter and more hurried, maybe it’s time to look back. The trees that once shaped our settlements might just hold the key to building healthier, more liveable spaces again.

Here’s how five native trees quietly planned our towns — and why they still matter today.

1. Palmyra (Borassus flabellifer)

How it was used:

A familiar sight in Tamil Nadu’s villages, the Palmyra once stood tall like sentinels, marking field boundaries and stopping winds from carrying away precious topsoil. Every part of the tree served a purpose — jaggery........

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