Ahead of the International Day of Forests, we speak to people who have found relief in the healing properties of the wilderness

Over the past couple of years, Gurugram-based filmmaker Nitin Das had been shuttling from the forests of Shillong and Shimla, to Puducherry and Kerala, capturing the stories of people who live alongside them. The result, a 51-minute documentary: India’s Healing Forests, commissioned by Public Service Broadcasting Trust, in partnership with Doordarshan. The film that is currently doing the rounds of film festivals, will be released on YouTube in June.

“I read up studies by researchers from Japan and articles from National Geographic, and have used their voice over shots of people who are deeply connected with forests; their stories build the narrative of science,” says the 42-year-old.

That forests heal is something we know intuitively, he believes. Backing this, is a good amount of research done over the years, most from Asian countries. While South Korea has established dozens of ‘healing forests’, Japan has long had the concept of Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing or immersing yourself in forests).

A 2016 study from Japan, ‘Physiological Effects of Nature Therapy’, reviewed existing research to find the therapeutic effect of Nature therapy on activities of the central nervous system, autonomic nervous system, endocrine and immune systems. Parameters like blood pressure, cortisol levels, heart and pulse rate were taken into account, to measure relaxation.

A 2018 meta-analysis published in Environmental Research, concluded that being around forests resulted in a reduction in diastolic blood pressure, salivary cortisol and heart rate. The environment boosts immunity, decreasing incidences of diabetes and cardiovascular problems.

Nitin hopes to make forest therapy a household term. In 2016, he founded a global collective, the Healing Forest, with fellow Nature enthusiasts. “We organise regular forest walks that are not information-driven, but emotion-driven. We teach people how to heighten their sense by slowing down. A forest walk is not an injection to happiness,” he reminds us. “Like exercise, it has to become a way of life.”

Krishnan Paramasivam | Photo Credit: By arrangement

For the fresh air

It has been 20 years since my friendship with forests began. Whether I feel stressed, happy or excited, I like to walk deep inside forests. Sometimes, I have stayed in forests for three days, just to cut myself off from the outside world.

I used to play cricket for Madurai Kamaraj University but an injury on my right leg ruptured my anterior cruciate ligament. Still, I regularly trek to the Sathuragiri Hills, 80 kilometres from Madurai. I have sinusitis and when I have a nasal block, I trek and the pure air gives me relief.

I have been to 30 forests until now and each time I have come back fulfilled. Unlike all my friends, I have never carried a camera on any trek. I recently bought a camera but gifted it to my son. I’d rather experience a forest without a screen.

Krishnan Paramasivam, businessman, Madurai

Upendra Maurya | Photo Credit: By arrangement

Time to rejuvenate

Being a research student, I like to deep-dive into every topic. The first time I read about Shinrin-yoku, the healing way of forest bathing, I was curious and walked into Jim Corbett National Park. The experience was energising, and ever since, I have gone alone and with friends to cycle and trek in forests. The slight temperature dip calms me. Living in a city, we lose ourselves in crowded places. These breaks rejuvenate me and increase my productivity.

Recently, I went to a Nature camp at Pakhal Lake and Wildlife Sanctuary in Warangal, with a group of 75 students. We were exhausted after cycling for 70 kilometres, but once amidst Nature, we forgot all our aches.

Upendra Maurya, research scholar, National Institute of Technology, Warangal

Heighten your senses

I just returned from the Banni grasslands in Kutch. Despite being an arid region, it was just as therapeutic: no dust, and filled with endemic diversity of flora and fauna, from larks to desert cats. A forest can be dense, and still be polluted. So when I go for walks, I look for places that are undisturbed.

I have been to the Himalayas — Valley of Flowers — many times, and I noticed that my sense of smell gets heightened. I can smell flowers, leaves, wood, and even some insects that have certain secretions. Whereas back home, you only focus on hearing and seeing.

Being in forests shouldn’t be a continuation of your city life in a different setting. I have realised that we can only extract the goodness of forests when we stay silent.

R Bhanumathi, Butterfly expert and naturalist, Chennai

Rajiv Mathew | Photo Credit: By arrangement

Experiencing spaces alone

I was 11 when my father took me to the hills beyond Udhagamandalam and both of us sat on the rocks to watch the sunset. Imagine being a kid in a forest with tigers, elephants and leopards. It was a new experience. As a kid, I would also go out with rubber tappers in Kerala. I learnt a lot from them; you never feel bored because the forest is alive around you.

I like how forests look and even smell different in every season. The hills in South India during December/January smell beautiful. In central India, the time to experience Nature is during March/April.

You can truly enjoy the experience of a forest when you are alone and not in a group. I love going to the Nizam Sagar forest. There, I once recorded the sounds of 36 species of birds on one tree.

Rajiv Mathew, wildlife consultant, Hyderabad