Shylaja had returned from the Europe to her mother's home , a humble but comfortable haven for a satisfied middle class family of the Vinod household. Her son , Ravi was a bubbly catch , aged around 9 years old who was given a whole lecture of how to conduct himself in his grand mommy's home. It was his responsibility to take out the kitchen waste everyday before he went out to play. For some strange reason, Ravi emptied the kitchen trash onto a lay of soil beside the parking lot everyday in contrast to his mom's understanding that he was putting them all into the trash can. It was monsoon season and nature was juggling the weather switch between casual showers and conscious sunshine. Weeks passed when one day he saw something strange happening in the place of his dump - a long bitter guard vine with cute yellow flowers. It somehow caught his interest and he began to observe it everyday. The shrewd boy he was, he learnt that these vines require some stems, sticks to be raised from ground level and so he began placing broken stems, thin wires and pipes helping the plant expand into a generous web of green wonder. It was his birthday next month. Days went by, his birthday came and when he went to give chocolate to the ground floor kid, he let out an ecstatic shriek, much to the stunned Shylaja, who rushed to his side trying to not imagine the worst. The cup of chocolates had spilled, Ravi appeared to be emotional but he was jumping in joy. Still unclear, she went and touched all over his body for wounds when Ravi goes - "Mom, I became a Plant dad today. Look at the many spiny bitter guard bulbs in the vine. They are all my babies. My plant babies. I nurtured them. Nature helped me. See how many are hung." . It was the dawn of a new wisdom in Shylaja and Ravi's life.
A few blocks away from the Vinod's flat was the tall mammoth "Anugraha". A spacious flat with amenities similar to that off a villa in an otherwise average street. Housing just 3 families in the 3 floors, one can imagine the luxury each house commanded, with all the sprawling space and large living area. In the 3rd floor lived one love smitten teen , Rishi. A Handsome rich boy, all keen and ready to enter his adult years, trying to woo girls and win guys with his charm and deep pockets. But he was left bruised recently over Kanya, who didn't accept his proposal. Rishi used to spend a lot of time in the balcony looking at the Coconut, Banana and Neem trees, beautifully making love with each other, housing different souls such as crows, squirrels and even swans and eagles at times. In times of personal melancholic phases, one does search for all options to revive themselves and ironically Rishi found his Happy trigger, sipping cola and looking at the trees and breathing in the oxygen out of the trees. His mood lifted over the days, his routine of listening to some bamboo flute music, perched in a balcony wooden jhoola observing the nature until that day when he got a call from his childhood friend Pranav. At first he was immensely happy to know Pranav is in town, an equally rich kid and that he was considering moving to a place very near Rishi's. Pranav kept describing his project, of how his house was going to be built next to Rishi's , what amenities he was planning, his terrace and basement plans and suddenly said a sentence that nosedived Rishi's Excitement. Pranav declared "And one thing dude, since those trees were occupying vital property space, we have found a contractor who will help us cut down the trees, help us expand and create a community space instead with a park and pool. You and me can enjoy swimming and casual jogs everyday. Aren't you excited Rishiii ?!!!!" Rishi cut the call in shock and put the phone in flight mode, unable to process the impact of what he just heard.
Countless stories can be narrated like this, where a person may not be an environmentalist or a Nature Police, but nature proves to be a lifesaver, a life changer. Take my own case for instance. We have a Tulsi plant which me and Dad tried hard to sprout. We put in many seeds, manure and kept looking at it and nothing seemed to come for many days. Until one day, when green saplings sprouted over the surface of the pot and slowly, but steadily it grew into a complex but majestic Tulsi plant , beyond the capacity of the pot. Our family took great joy in watching the plant everyday, my mother offering her prayers everyday, me just admiring the plant with satisfied pride every time I was at the terrace. Until, the fateful month came, when Father left us and we totally couldn't take care of the plant for various reasons. The sun did a number on the plant and it totally withered away, dried and parched. I was obviously sad, but recent incidents have taught me to accept destiny's dramas. But my hard time didn't last long, when Chennai started experiencing generous July showers and this combination of night showers and Day sunshine has brought back the same Tulsi plant that apparently left us briefly. It stuns me, how magically Mother nature looked out for herself, understanding our position and now there are so many young green leaves out of the same dried stalk. From my eyes, I see this as Dad's Love coming back again. The plant we nurtured has taken a rebirth making me blissful every time I go up to see how it's growing.
Nature has only made way for us. Let us not create a scenario out of our erratic unmonitored way of living life pushing nature to take an imperious stand against humanity. So many suffering due to lack of quality air, so many rushing to Ayurveda for natural herbal products both edible and non edible. Why do something and then regret it. Use water wisely, Consider Civil projects cautiously, Preserve Road cleanliness responsibly and be mindful of what your actions do to the environment.
Let's never forget the fact that we are here for a temporary period and let us not make a permanent damage for the generations to come.
