Much before the COVID-19 induced lockdowns had created havoc with lifestyles, I recall having had to attend a birthday party where brands of the world were brandished — the young child seemed to be submerged in the who’s who and what’s what of the fashion and accessories world. I recall having not thought much about it then as it seemed to the norm of the day.
Not many moons later, my assignment led to me to ‘stumble’ across a book — “a tree” — a book that mesmerized me not because of the words but rather the lack of them; it seemed to enthral solely based on the depth of its beautiful illustrations, and minimalism. As I browsed through it, I unknowingly compared the incident above with one I had experienced a couple of decades ago — a birthday of mine, where hand-painted cards and handcrafted souvenirs meant everything. This birthday saw a bougainvillea as a gift; ‘she’ stayed with me for nearly two decades till destiny summoned her for another life, in another form. The comparison drew a parallel that was hard to fathom — had the world, indeed, changed so much? Or had just its people that inhabited it changed?
This World Environment Day, the world talked, yet again, about Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, and it made more sense now than it ever did, especially in COVID-19 times. However, “the tree” remains till date with me — how can we cut something that is alive, and that hosts so many living beings too? It brings to mind the recent cruelty exercised on an expecting mother elephant. What has happened to us humans in the course of evolution or has evolution become an excuse for everything we do — the good, the bad and the ugly?
I remember a poem of mine –
“It was but a long time ago … I was born …
Then in the middle of nowhere … now just dust and fumes …
How old am I, don’t know … nor care … for I bask in my magnificent beauty …
Not many bother to know more about me … they just take what they need … to quench their unsatisfying hunger and thirst … that’s my job, I tell myself … why even think about love …
The storms came, the droughts came and so did whatever had to … I stood my ground … unflinching and proud … and then came HE …
He rested his tired body against mine … his handsome face shadowed by my embrace … I enjoyed watching every inch of his being and was mesmerised by his touch … never had I felt anything like that … days passed, months perhaps, who knows … who cares … who even keeps track of time when you are in love …
Love, that elusive word I now understood … this is love …
An illustration from “the tree”
I ached to talk with him … introduce myself … but just couldn’t … I wanted him to get to know me for what I truly am … and not for what the world saw me as … I was stuck in my being … I was stuck in my form … how I wished I could free myself … be like him … with him …
Then one day, as I had barely woken up, amidst all the chaos, I felt my being tom apart … uprooted and cast away like a non-entity … my beauty, my existence, my very meaning all discarded carelessly … I cried in pain, in humiliation and defeat … but who cared … they just had to build another structure …
Where was he? Please just let me see him one more time … please …
And then I realized, my wish had but finally come true … release …
All I now prayed for — Almighty make me a human in my next birth and not a tree
… ”If all trees would be granted this wish, what would happen? Would, we, humans, be able to sustain? To survive? “
Each World Environment Day, that comes and goes, as religiously as the sun rises and sets, we promise to be kinder and more respectful towards Mother Nature…perhaps, we try to, but perhaps that is not enough, but, perhaps, it is a beginning, albeit a small one in the right direction…hopefully, not too little, too late…
