New Delhi, Aug. 18 -- I've struck another item off my bucket list: planting a tree on a Himalayan hillside. Well, not so much planted as patted the soil encouragingly while more resourceful people procured the saplings, surveyed the mountain for a spot and ploughed the soil. But even this slightest of contributions towards nature conservation is making me feel positively pastoral. It's also an occasion to look back on my chequered career as a plant enthusiast with all the nurturing skills of a chick-abandoning cuckoo....