Uprooted Tree ... The Pain of being Uprooted ....

"Uprooted Tree ... The Pain of being Uprooted" ... 

** As I drove through the outskirts of Mumbai my mind bounced back on suppressed matters. I always wonder why is life made so difficult by some for others, why not just live and let live as the saying goes, after all there is lots of place for all in this beautiful world. Where has all the love, care, friendship that we so vouched for have gone?? Are they gone with the wind ??? My mind full on thoughts, I reach the point where the ride is a upward hill full of lush, I shut off the cool AC breeze, slide down the glass to breathe in natures gift of cool breeze as is my usual practice. It tosses my hair here and there but the feeling is total bliss. I gulp in as much fresh air as I can, to compensate the loss living in concrete city as the air is clean and loaded with oxygen, the need of the day.

** Suddenly a dog unnecessarily decides to cross the road, sigh! they are so habituated to crossing roads all the time, giving a damn to drivers agony. But the brakes always get applied in time, to save it from mishap and us from guilt. Many a times I do feel like pulling over and giving it a good hearing on road rules. This thought always makes me giggle, brightens my mood while my mind thinks out aloud. Why would a dog listen to me??? when humans driving across themselves lacked discipline, drive or overtake from any side as they wished not to mention speeding or drunk driving. Ahhaa!!! no use cribbing, those days are gone by. It's the season of playing the blame game now. 

** That's it, enough is enough, I apply brakes to my thoughts, collect myself,  straighten my position to ride further. As I glance to sides of the road lined with trees that stood tall, I happen to notice them filled over with a layer of dust courtesy travelers like all of us, making me wonder how much the trees must be waiting for the rains to give them a few months of seasonal wash all over. They would then look fresh, beautiful, full of life once again producing more oxygen, a natural gift to mankind. I drive further down the slope of reaching the now concreted roads, the work of which is still going on at various ends making it difficult at places while giving smoother rides at some distances. The window panes once again slide up and the AC brought back to life begins humming.

** Slowly I observe the distance between trees get scattered giving way to buildings. I have been driving on same route for over 2 decades now and it's now turned into happening city with companies, malls and buildings scattered everywhere. Almost everything has changed, on my right side I see large acres of land cleared and razed to even level, something I had missed to notice on my recent trips. A large board with a beautiful outlay of upcoming township is shown with nonstop work on progress. In a few years, I am sure to see buzzing activities in building as I cross over the place. Oh no, once again, I apply the brakes and come to a complete halt, what a mess, its traffic jam ahead, I am sure a good 20 minutes or so will be lost waiting for clearance. Well that's life, I always feel that 50% of our life is wasted in lining up in ques or waiting at every given opportunity. Nothing much to do, once again I am drawn towards the construction of buildings.

** I see a huge heap of uprooted trees lying on the site all ready to be disposed. My heart sinks looking at some of the branches that are still living with a little bit of green leaf here and there. Slowly but surely it would meet its end and nobody cared. It would be gathered into a heap and burned to ashes, ending its story.  I remembered having read somewhere that "what is well planted could not be uprooted" and I felt that man had just gone ahead and falsed that saying umpteen times.  A new township, complex, schools would rise, there would soon be life in them, furnished homes, families, smoking kitchen, playing children, chatting neighbors, zooming vehicles, Diwali lighting, some homes would place guddi on their balcony on beginning of each new year, there would be joy, celebrations all round year and somewhere the uprooted tree would sigh, wishing it too could live close by to witness all these glories, but the uprooted tree had lost to modernization.

** On further straining to look, I happen to glance at lots of saplings neatly sown thoughtfully on a row along with loads of flowering plants and bushes, marking on the boundary. The trees would soon grow and stand tall in time, I also observed that most of the uprooted trees were being replanted elsewhere, this brought some solace to my heart. I did feel sorry for those that would meet the fate of being burnt, but I guess nothing much could be done there, while for many uprooted trees the journey would continue elsewhere. I guess a little relief is breathed in by those uprooted trees looking at the saplings. I am sure they realized they would meet their fate, but their saplings would live on rooted elsewhere, beginning a new journey with lots of happy moments to cherish.

** The new city would buzz on full of activity, vehicles would move in and out, children would play round the trees, swing on through ropes tangled on lower branches. There would be seating arrangement for the elderly under its shade, a few other playing equipment like slider, merry go round etc. would be added on, life would move on while the newly grown trees would stand by witnessing all. That's life in a nut shell for all, the story of every living being be it humans, animals or nature, we all have to leave something behind and move on without expectations without glancing back, the ticking of time clock never stopped for anybody nor will it ever do so. Maybe in a few decades this same place would get once again razed, a new complex would once again come up, the fast space of life keep changing and so does our priorities, its sort of here today, gone tomorrow. 

**  The loud honking sounds brings me back to reality with a jolt, the road ahead had cleared, I automatically change gears to move ahead but not before giving a glance at the uprooted tree, new saplings, construction going on and every little activity filled with life. Traffic jam break had taught me  some precious lessons on life that we take so much for granted. I learnt that, when alive, one should stand firm and tall in full faith, dignity and glory, give shelter to needy, have patience to bloom, share fruits of labor, wait eagerly in peace for good things to happen, just like the tree that waits for changing seasons, shed off unnecessary thoughts like it does with worn out leaves. Even the falling of their twigs/ branches are useful, using them as fuel for cooking their food, or spreading warmth. Just imagine if not for trees, where would the birds build their nest, take rest as they travel, get their food etc. Many trees are also useful as they have medicinal values that treat mankind, Oh! yes, we definitely need to learn from nature, to respect all things God given. 

** I found something close to nature of human beings here too, we often get uprooted many times, a bride as she gets married, sometimes migrating to other place in search of job, at times even relationship wise etc. these are all part and parcel of life process. There are also times when all we can do is be mute spectators just like the uprooted trees and notice with a heavy heart when things in and around us begin to change and in process changing ones life too, change is the rule of life that does not seek permission. There is so much to learn from nature, they too live just like human beings, they too get hurt just like us, unfortunately unlike us they cannot speak. They always give and hardly take anything in return from us, I am sure life is not easy for them too just like as is not for us.  We too just like that uprooted tree, need to look at the saplings for continuity of lifespan. 

** Disclaimer : These are Just my own Thoughts I pen down from time to time and not extracted from anywhere. Not meant to offend/ hurt anybody's sentiments, do excuse if done, as it is not intentional. The picture has been chosen from Google and the credit goes to whosoever it belongs to. Having written My Thoughts and Notes, I still conclude that LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL and there is more to it than meets the eye. I would just like to also mention here that when at times it is necessary to clear some part of nature for development, avoid doing so when not needed or out of greed. We need to protect nature, without them our survival too will soon come to an end as we need each other. So think about it and protect nature. Always be Positive, have Faith In God, he knows the best for us, and does so at the appropriate time … Stay Safe- Blessed and have a lovely year 2023.