Article review: a tapestry of brown and green
Article Review
A tapestry of browns and greens
Tu K Ly
Devry University
The article “A Tapestry Of Browns And Greens” was written by Nalini Nadkarni, a pioneering canopy ecologist and professor at The Evergreen State College. This article describes a rich tapestry of personal stories, information, and illustrations, from science to symbol, culture, and religion. Nalini used the metaphor of a tapestry that composed of different colored threads to reflect on her life, as she also came from the vividly mixed ethnic background of her Indian/Hindu and Brooklyn/Jewish parents. She then described how her particular tapestry weaves threads of religion, art, and social justice with her work as a canopy biologist. It started with a question from a childhood friend that makes Nalini come to realize that she was somehow different from others. Being born by her Indian father and Jewish mother, Nalini was the third child in the family with an Indian face and darkest skin out of the five. Unlike other immigrant families who seem to assimilate into western culture as quickly as possible, Nalini’s parents raised the children upon their traditional culture. They ate Indian foods, slept on mattresses on the floor, celebrated Jewish holidays instead of Christmas, and practiced both Hinduism and Judaism in the house. However, the deep cultural differences her family embodied did not create a conflict. It set the way for Nalini to view nature, not as consisting of monochrome but many colors and textures. Nalini’s childhood experiences describe nature as protected and protector. When she saw her father in the backyard carefully transplanted young saplings from one part of the yard to another, his benevolent attitude toward nature gave her a strong ethic of protecting nature. She also learned that nature protected her, through the elm tree outside of her house that kept her company on scary windy nights. Nalini loved tree climbing,
A tapestry of browns and greens
Tu K Ly
Devry University
The article “A Tapestry Of Browns And Greens” was written by Nalini Nadkarni, a pioneering canopy ecologist and professor at The Evergreen State College. This article describes a rich tapestry of personal stories, information, and illustrations, from science to symbol, culture, and religion. Nalini used the metaphor of a tapestry that composed of different colored threads to reflect on her life, as she also came from the vividly mixed ethnic background of her Indian/Hindu and Brooklyn/Jewish parents. She then described how her particular tapestry weaves threads of religion, art, and social justice with her work as a canopy biologist. It started with a question from a childhood friend that makes Nalini come to realize that she was somehow different from others. Being born by her Indian father and Jewish mother, Nalini was the third child in the family with an Indian face and darkest skin out of the five. Unlike other immigrant families who seem to assimilate into western culture as quickly as possible, Nalini’s parents raised the children upon their traditional culture. They ate Indian foods, slept on mattresses on the floor, celebrated Jewish holidays instead of Christmas, and practiced both Hinduism and Judaism in the house. However, the deep cultural differences her family embodied did not create a conflict. It set the way for Nalini to view nature, not as consisting of monochrome but many colors and textures. Nalini’s childhood experiences describe nature as protected and protector. When she saw her father in the backyard carefully transplanted young saplings from one part of the yard to another, his benevolent attitude toward nature gave her a strong ethic of protecting nature. She also learned that nature protected her, through the elm tree outside of her house that kept her company on scary windy nights. Nalini loved tree climbing,
References: Nadkarni, N. (2011). A TAPESTRY OF BROWNS AND GREENS. In The colors of nature: Culture, identity, and the natural world (Revised/Expanded ed.). Minneapolis, Minn.: Milkweed Editions. Dr. Nalini Nadkarni - nalininadkarni.com. (n.d.). Retrieved August 14, 2014.