Opium, Chai and East India Co.
Sun, 16 Aug
|Lal Bagh
Story of East India Company’s opium trade devastation in India and China told through trees.
Time & Location
16 Aug 2026, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Lal Bagh, Mavalli, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560004, India
About the event
An entangled story of opium, chai, teak wood, ships how they changed our bodies; told through relevant trees in Lalbagh. This botanical walk is about tea, opium, and teak that helped establish trade dominance for East India Company in South Asia. This walk will introduce the tree species inside Lal Bagh that have been used to build ships before and after British.
As humans we can't swim across oceans. Neither can trees. Together we are able to collaborate and cross the seven seas.
Under the lure of trees, humans have built ships to carry them across continents. Though unable to walk, through ships some tree species have gained global mobility in geography and human society.
These walks are one of many designed to erase tree blindness and introduce Lal Bagh’s tree diversity.
ABOUT ME
My name is Abhishek Khan. I am a research based artist, designer, and storyteller under the pen name: Hand Jobs Inc. As a designer I have designed the brand identity for General Items
I started Lalbagh.info website as a free public archive of Lal Bagh flowers. The website now hosts Flower Finder, and self-guided Fragrance Walk.
You can also subscribe to my Flower Calendar via Google Calendar here.
This is my botanical storytelling project and has been featured in
I have conducted walks in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Vancouver. I have researched, written and performed scripts like
Lores of Haunted Trees
Botany of Opium Ships
Botany of Indian Literature
Botany of Alcohol
Botany of Psychedelics
Botany of Lovemaking
Mafia of House Plants
INSTRUCTIONS
- Please arrive by 3:55 pm
- Garden has no parking owing to flower show. HOPCOMS near East Gate might have some vacant spots for parking. Please account for 15 mins to walk to starting point.
Suggested Carry Materials
- Refillable Water Bottle (no single use plastic)
- Sun hat
- Sunglasses
- Handkerchief
- Small Basket to collect flowers/ botanicals (optional)
- Snack (optional)
- If you happen to be late, WhatsApp me for live location. No calls, as I would be amidst a very dramatic tale.
NOT ALLOWED
As per Horticulture Dept.
- DSLR cameras
- Single use plastic bottle
REFUND POLICY
No refunds. Unused tickets can be use for any future walks or transferred to a friend. Transfer to enemies is not allowed.