![Volunteers lead a tree walk at Chitlapakkam lakeside, located about seven kilometres from the Chennai airport [Photo courtesy of Shobha Menon]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2020/7/15/ea8aea57cdc846cb9004554d09be4313_18.jpg)
On a cool Sunday morning, a month before the coronavirus lockdown, I join a group of about two dozen people gathered at the entrance to a small lane, as we embark on a tree walk.
The three-kilometre stretch, which runs through a neighbourhood of bungalows, is an urban oasis. Around it, two main roads are lined with apartment buildings…