I departed for Bangalore on Halloween and arrived the first of November. Travelling coincided with a new moon and a new month. Waking up the same day as arriving, I could not overcome my amazement at the trees. Palms near the airport parking lot looked fake with their smooth trunks and bunches of fruit hanging under the fronds. Our district, Koramangala, is heavily wooded with enormous flowering trees shading the roads and sidewalks. It’s like they built a city on the set of Jurassic Park. It should be clear that I have never before been this close to the Equator, which explains my wonder at all the vibrant tropical plant life. It’s strange to see species that you recognize as your dad’s house plants (rubber trees, fiddle-leaf fig, and ficus) growing big and wild in a residential neighborhood in a South Asian country. (Radiohead’s Fake Plastic Trees plays softly in the background.)