India, June 6 -- On a lovely nature walk in the Binsar National Park one morning, I learnt a lot about the old oak tree. My knowledgeable naturalist friend, Deepak Joshi, showed me fallen acorns and then baby oak shoots along the path. He pointed out the moist moss that covers the tree's bark and helps it store huge amounts of water, as he regaled me with tales of how the women of Uttarakhand also took part in the Chipko movement of 1973 and saved the region's trees from indiscriminate logging. He said that they also understood the importance of preserving the oak trees rather than planting pine forests, which were deemed more commercially lucrative. Joshi even helped me collect the drops from the roots of an oak to sip on to understand w...