The Banyan Tree

The street that marked the end of solid concrete laid out road where began the earthly floor subtly, with the hustle bustle of fruit vendors, astrologers covered the floor with thatched mats, sitting under banyan trees, groundnut vendors with light on pupil flickering due to malfunctioning oil lamps. It all came to a halt with the glimpse of an old banyan tree with roots congregated by old men and women of the town for a weekly panchayat.

They say that the tree is older than the oldest men in our town and its stature has been evolved more than a normal tree. The tree has been said to take care of the well-being and prosperity of the town which is quite a ridiculous fiction if you’d ask me. Have been a rebel, always challenging ways in which this town has worked and continues to work, held together by many such superstitious and orthodox beliefs. Being the Sherlock that I have been entitled ever since I solved the missing money case in my school. Alas the night came when I decided to go near the banyan tree.

When the town was covered in embrace of hard earned sleep and dreams that were out of bound, I snuck out of my creaking wooden door crossing the open courtyard of my abode. The enchanting tree was shimmering. And lo and behold I heard a noise calling out my name. I instantly knew that the story sick Amma was telling was not fiction. The tree really could speak.

“Unclear mind, questions you ask. Unsatisfied thirst of knowledge you have, young blood. Perhaps you want to know my story”

The very bone marrow in my body shook and chills crawled up to my spine. “Fear not child, I am but just a banyan tree, and I long for ears to hear my story”, the voice blurred out. No one could hear the voice except myself. “Tell me then”, I spoke.

“I am Kalavati. And you are Meena.”, spoke the tree. My face in an aghast emotion unable to grasp the reality I stumbled upon the ground.

“Don’t worry child, I have seen it all, your birth, your father’s birth, your grandfather’s birth. His eyes are what you have meena.”

“I have lived with humans for a long time now. We are always marching forward together. It is vehemently sad although for my other counterparts who could not say the same as they do not exist anymore.

Co-existence is the word that is often undermined by humans. Their ancestors have treated us like God, we have been subject of artwork, and yet they fail to let us survive. I have co-existed with humans for centuries so why is it that I am chopped off for all the loyalty I have given to this humankind. ”

I came back to senses, to understand the compassion in which these statements were said.

It is very true that humans and nature have always co-existed together. If there wouldn’t be nature we wouldn’t be surviving today and wouldn’t have made the advances that we have made today which are the founding structures of mankind. Many philosophers have often based their most popular philosophy on the figment of nature’s beauty. What is the difference in todays and previous generations that we seem to have began adoring the beauty of silicon chips which are immortal and non-living than beauty of nature which is mortal and living .

What makes humans to destroy ecosystems for their well-being and not be responsible for it. There’s a simple law in nature that states that for every reaction there is an equal and opposite reaction and thus, as Indian philosophy states the concept of karma what we are doing and what we continue to do is not in our best interest and hence the results could be preposterous and would only lead to our end.

Nature is mighty and as mighty and powerful as she is so is she astoundingly beautiful. Glance around in your environment and look up a picture of mother nature, what would you find more soothing? The picture or the silicon chips?