Whenever Mr O P Sharma Vidhyarthi speaks about rare plant species, the Biodiversity Act 2002 comes to my mind. When this dendrophile explains things during his tree talks, it is all biodiversity work which remains unfulfilled by authorities at the helm. It seems this man is doing the work which the Government of J&K was supposed to do. Tree Talk campaign which was initiated by OP Sharma ji, a 1987 batch Indian Forest Service- Officer, in 2010 completed its 15 years recently. He continued with his tree talk campaign even after his retirement in March 2020 and I had written a detailed article on Mr Sharma’s work in this esteemed newspaper titled “An Institution of Forestry”. I believe the tree talk work has gained more momentum after his retirement and that is highly appreciated. In Govt service an officer has everything at his disposal but continuing the work with meagre resources and support is a challenging task. I remember April this year, soon after Pahalgam terror attack, Sharma ji visited Srinagar in connection with 1617th tree talk at Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine -IIIM Srinagar.
Event held at Jammu
When such a passionate tree lover and reputed forester invites you for an annual event you cannot say no to him. I, along with my friend Ajaz Sofi, went to Jammu in advance to attend the event for completion of 15 years of tree talk campaign. On Dec 19th 2025 first event was held at Botanical Garden University of Jammu, followed by another event at Raika Park Sidhra Bypass. The event at University of Jammu was presided by Prof Neelu Rohmetra the acting Vice Chancellor. Former DGPs Dr Ashok Bhan, Dilbagh Singh and Dr S P Vaid were also present on the occasion and appreciated work done by O P Sharma. Former PCCF S D Swatantra, HoD Department of Botany Prof Susheel Verma, Prof Yashpal Sharma also addressed the gathering of civil society members, environmental activists, college and school teachers and a large number of school students. My friend and environmental crusader Lokesh Sharma who is fighting for restoration of the Poonch River came all the way from Poonch. Another friend Muzaffar Rather, a noted trekker and naturalist came all the way from Warwan valley in Kishtwar via Anantnag on his motorcycle. Muzaffar had brought lots of herbs with him and served sea buckthorn tea to guests. He also brought Trumba grains and we made kahwa from it as well. After the Jammu university event we went to attend another event at Raika Park which was presided over by Mr Brij Mohan Sharma the Principal Secretary to Govt Department of Culture. As we reached a bit late, Mr Sharma had left the event. Regional Passport Officer Jammu Rajesh Kumar, N S Jamwal Special Secretary in Chief Secretary’s office was also present on the occasion along with a large number of forest officers. Verinder Singh Bhou, Principal District & Sessions Judge Udhampur who is a great admirer of OP Sharma Vidhyarthi attended both the functions at University of Jammu and Raika park as well.
Changole Tea
Every time I meet Sharma ji he tells some unique story about plants. When we reached Jammu on Dec 14th 2025, we visited him the very next day at his house in Channi Himmat. Mr Sharma offered us a special tea made from a rare tree species known as Changole in Rajouri – Pooch areas. This tree is called Chakoon in Kathua Malhar forest area. Even Sharma ji wasn’t aware of this tree and he only came to know about it through a local wildlife officer of Rajouri Mr Ifthikar Khan. Chakoon or Changole tree leaves look like Brimji or Dhamman tree leaves but fruit is different and tastes like dry resins (Kishmish).
According to Sharma Ji, Mr Ifthikar Khan found the tree in Gambhir Muglan village of Rajouri but was unable to identify this tree. It was only after Mr Khan sent its dried fruits and branches to Sharma ji he could identify the tree as Himalayan resin tree (Hovenia Acerva). As the name suggests the branches connected with its small fruit are soggy and soft and resemble resins. The tea made from these small branches was amazing. During the tree talk event at Jammu university and Raika park Sharma ji discussed this tree in detail and suggested Mr Ifthikar Khan who came all the way from Rajouri to go for its plantation around more and more villages.
My passion for Kashmiri veg food
I have always loved cooking. But in the summer of 2015, my love for food got a different twist. I started doing value addition to our food and I became an admirer of our forest and vegetarian food. During our visit to Basantwodder village near Doohpathri Budgam in May 2025, I suggested Sharma ji to organise a forest food festival. By October we were able to hold this event in Srinagar Institute of Hotel Management -IHM.
Before that we held several brainstorming sessions with Chef Yaseen , faculty at IHM Srinagar, Nusrat Jahan Ara, a passionate naturalist and food enthusiast, late Ramzan Khan sahib from Gurez and others. The then Principal of IHM Srinagar Nisheeth Srivastava gave us his full support to hold that first ever forest food festival in J&K.
After that I never looked back and I continued to write on these issues and participate in food festivals across India. During the last 3 years I have participated in several food events in Gujarat and promoted our rich traditional vegetarian food. In fact I am again visiting Anand and Bhuj in January mid to showcase our rich food and beverages. The use of Mawal-cocks comb, a natural food colouring agent has reached Jammu through O P Sharma ji. Mr Sharma’s wife Dr Kiran Sharma used this in the halwa which was served to guests at Raika Park. The colour of halwa was red and it looked so lovely. This is another innovation Dr Kiran did and earlier we had prepared Mawal cookies during 2015 forest food festival at IHM Srinagar.
A prolific writer and scholar
He calls himself Vidyarthi, the student, but his work spans over fifty books in Dogri, Hindi, and English, blending environmental science with cultural heritage. His “Tree Talk” initiative has reached thousands, from remote villages in Ladakh to Chicago US. Anyone who sits under a tree with him learns to see, hear, and smell biodiversity. He revived local names for plants, animals, and mushrooms, compiling bilingual and trilingual illustrated dictionaries, and teaching children taxonomy alongside tradition.
O P Sharma Vidhyarthi mentors university teachers, young researchers. He has been a great support for Botany Department University of Jammu and Cluster University Jammu. He connects indigenous knowledge systems and practices with modern science. He discovered plant species previously unrecorded in J&K: Solanum sisymbriifolium, Chionanthus ramiflorus, Daphniphyllum himalense. His experiments with herbal teas and snacks, like Chiu Pakoda, Taju Chai, Tinbru snacks, Butrub Paratha, carry centuries of knowledge in every bite.
Conclusion
Dr Ashok Bhan former DGP J&K Police who himself holds PhD in botany during his speech at University of Jammu called O P Sharma Vidhyarthi, William Roxburgh of Jammu & Kashmir for his exemplary work in the field of forestry and taxonomy. Pertinently William Roxburgh (1751-1815) was a Scottish surgeon and botanist who worked extensively in India. Mr Sharma has indeed done similar work in J&K. He is not only a botanist, naturalist and taxonomist but a great Dogri poet as well. I wish him all the best for his future endeavours.
Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat is an Acumen Fellow and Chairman J&K RTI Movement