Growing Up With Trees
By Anitha.S
19 September, 2013
Countercurrents.org
I am a 7 year old girl living in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala state, India, with my brother older by 3 years and parents. I went to a pre-school that did not teach much but allowed us to play and sleep, sing and dance and also showed us pictures. There were lots of trees in that school – squirrels came into the big hall which was our classroom and mynahs waited outside as we finished lunch to get the leftovers. Now I am in a bigger school that does not have much play space or trees.
I like being outdoors the most, to climb trees and collect seeds and flowers. I also like to read and draw. I do it with my left hand which attracts the attention of many .But I work faster like that. Since a year, my whole family goes for this program being conducted in various parts of the city called the Tree Walk. I like the name very much as I like to walk.
Tree Walks take place early morning and lasts for an hour or more. One walk was in search of a tree called Pappadamaram which I liked very much because I like Pappadam and the tree too as it has pink flowers. Sometimes after the walk when we are really hungry we eat from a restaurant. Some times we are joined by other friends in the group. We listen to a lot of stories then, of trees being cut, of trees in flower and so on. A few weeks back, we the children in the M.B.S Children’s Choir saw the pictures of 100 trees in Trivandrum through a photo exhibition organized by Tree Walk. We were amazed that there are so many trees that we have not noticed with names that are very strange and intresting. For example I did not know that the tree with old bark growing outside my kindergarden with white flowers and yellow interior is called the Pagoda tree or Frangipani. I like its soft petals and fragrance too. We all insisted that we go for a real proper walk singing songs. We had learnt the song Aamaram Eemaram( This tree, That tree) by noted Malayalam poet P.Bhaskaran and tuned by M.Jayachandran. We were so happy that we could see the pictures of some of the trees we sang about – Thambakam, Thanni, Poomaruthu and so on. What was just a mere list of names became trees when we started relating to the pictures we saw. And then we saw the trees in real, growing in the Museum, it was so much like meeting a friend.
The Tree Walk Sing Along with Wonder Dozen Trees in the Museum compound became a reality last Sunday when we all went together with our parents and Tree Walk volunteers. The walk was flagged off by none other than M.Jayachandran himself. The Wonder Dozen Trees walk started with the Ivory tree and Candle tree, but I was more attracted to the white tubular flowers of the Maramalli also called the Tree Jasmine with its sweet smell. We can make garlands out of it. My friend in the Choir, Ahalya makes nice garlands. She had joined us for the Tree Walk – From Neer Kadambu to Chandana Vembu which are 2 rare trees in the city. During this walk too we saw the Maramalli in bloom in a crowded part of the city. We picked the flowers from the ground wet with rains and made a bouquet. The Museum Walk was enjoyable and informative. We never get enough of the brilliant flowers of the Rose of Venezuela, the tender hanging blossoms of the Shimshipa and the huge Buddha’s coconut tree. The dark canopy of the Ebony and its darker wood made someone sing Ebony and Ivory, a song which my mother later said was made famous by a blind singer. The Mickey Mouse Plant with its yellow petals and black seeds is also a likeable plant especially after we heard many birds come to eat it. A Tree Walker said that in her house there is a bird bath, a shallow mud pan with water where birds take a dip and then rest in the branches of the Mickey mouse plant- I laughed a lot when she said you can secretly watch the “bathing scenes” of many birds.
During one Tree Walk called Growing up with Trees, we visited the campuses of 5 different schools and colleges to see the huge trees there. Navaneeth was so happy just to touch trees and pluck flowers.I sat on the grass and felt the coolness of the ground. On another walk Parks Not just Parking Spaces, Chaitanya was found to swing from the roots hanging down from the Ficus trees. Sometimes, the young Adityan would show us snails and centipedes hidden in the ground or some small flower- he loves small things much more than big trees.
A few days back, some of us Tree Walkers had a strange and a bit scary experience. That day the walk was in the evening and it was called AM I A SAFE TREE? We knew that many trees in that road were to be cut and the Tree walk had decided to do a survey to know if they were really unsafe. But that morning itself 3 trees were cut there which we could not stop.We heard that it was done with the support of higher authorities and police too. It was decided that we walk to the site of cutting with a banner “ Farewell, Trees, Let us Plant for the ones cut” and lay a wreath on the remains of the trees. We were only 20 of us that rainy evening. I and my brother held the banner and we walked in silence to the site of cutting.As we laid the wreath, some people from that area also joined saying that the cutting was unnecessary and so on. Suddenly we heard some loud shouting and 2- 3 men rushed towards us shaking their hands. Some one held me close as they tried to tear the banner away. My mother said they are drunk .The man in white who pointed fingers and shouted the most was the Councilor of that ward and the rest were his friends. The Tree Walkers did not shout back but tried to talk, but the gang was very angry. We slowly moved away. I was so sad that I started crying especially when they returned the wreath to us. I was scared that they will come behind us again and shout. My brother kept asking what sort of leader this man in white is when he cannot talk to us quietly and explain. He was asking Mother how such people come into power who are drinking and are not mature. He said he has studied the roles and responsibilities of elected representatives and so on. I will never forget the incident as we walked over the fallen branches of the small Aal maram, the tender leaves of the Badam and when the two boys from the area kept saying “We are with you. We do not want the trees to be cut. But we are helpless when they come with Police and such bad words”. As this is being written, more trees have been cut.My parents and other friends went to meet the Collector with the detailed Survey Report that showed that none of the trees in that road are going to cause problems in the near future. But there has been no positive response.
So it is also bad and unpleasant incidents when we walk with the Trees. At times we need to Walk for the Trees too. The Tree walk has had Signature Tree campaigns at the base of trees which are under threat for many reasons like Road development, Road safety and so on. I like campaigns too though we stand in one point and talk. Sometimes I hold the pens that we give people to sign. Sometimes my brother collects the signatures and hands over the notices to the people passing by. I do like this For the Trees work too. We will soon have a program in the city called Free the Trees in which Tree guards, flex boards and waste that are harming trees will be removed. So it is not always looking at flowers and leaves, at the beauty of trees alone .It is also walking for the Trees. Sometimes we talk to cobblers, ground nut sellers and tea shop keepers along with auto and taxi stand drivers for whom the trees mean shade and protection. They tell us how they will also be lost without the space trees give them. One grandmother told us that she has been selling small items below the trees marked to be cut for the past 40 years. Once 2 traffic Policemen came and signed saying that when they have to stand regulating the traffic for hours in the crowded main roads, it is the trees that give some relief. So it is also about human lives connected to trees.
I am so happy that we are part of this For the Trees, Walking with the trees . That is what Tree Walk is all about.
Anitha.S in conversation with Arunima, Adityan, Chaitanya, Ahalya, Navaneeth on many Tree Walk days.For details of Tree Walk visit Face book Tree Walk- Thiruvananthapuram or mail [email protected]
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