Tucked away in coastal West Bengal, the riverine port of Haldia lies on the confluence of rivers Haldi and Hooghly. Strong winds blow ceaselessly from the Bay of Bengal. On one windy day, as I walked across a field balancing my little daughter in one arm and an umbrella in the other, I saw it — a little banyan tree, peering from a crevice in a wall. I tugged it out gently and it came out without its main root! I carried it home and lovingly planted it in a tiny pot. It stood forlorn and dejected with its leaves drooping. “Cut off from your roots and feeling sad? You’ll survive,” I said. Soon, I saw a tiny leaf peeping at the apex. It did try to grow to its majestic height but I carefully pruned away the buds on its little branches.
The tree grew with me, enjoying the moist soothing caress of the monsoon winds in the lower Gangetic plain and also bearing the brunt of the Loo in the hot dusty north. Years rolled by, and one day I saw with amazement, a prop root on its little round gnarled trunk. My little banyan tree had grown into a bonsai. However, it was not alone. A peepal and a jolly bougainvillea permanently in bloom made a happy trio in my small verandah.
In the course of my transfers, I found myself at Barauni in Bihar, where a flower show was being held at an environment awareness programme. Having decided to participate, I painted the pot, collected soft velvety moss and carefully stuck it on the soil around my little banyan tree. The dark green of its leaves was in sharp contrast to the lighter green of the moss. To make it look prettier, I smeared coconut oil on its leaves for a gloss and it stood with its shining foliage supported on its prop roots and trunk.
At the Flower Show exhibition ground I stared at the competitors — tall palms, ferns, colourful crotons and coleus. With a thumping heart, I placed my little banyan tree on a raised platform and waited nervously at the gates for the exhibition to be declared open. I rushed in and there it stood proudly with a golden card beside it that said “SPECIAL PRIZE”. Tears of joy blinded my eyes. The tree had been with us for 18 years.
My ecstasy turned into panic in two days. The bright green leaves developed spots of yellow all over. The yellow spots turned to brown and the leaves began to fall. I grew anxious, as all cures failed. Bereft of leaves, the tree stood, a mere skeleton of its original self .With a sinking heart, I looked for signs of life.
My happiness knew no bounds when after a few days I saw tiny specks of green. It was no less than a miracle. My little banyan tree had come back to life.
The oil that I smeared had blocked the leaf pores and the tree was unable to breathe. Therefore, it had rejected and shed all the leaves.
Then it struck me – the profound message that the tree conveyed. Nature in itself is beautiful. It rejects artificiality. For human beings also, it is the innate goodness that shines.