There is not an experience that has missed my eyes in my long life . I still remember when Govind came to me , with tears in his eyes while he narrated about the lack of irrigation for his crops and opened his heart to me . I pleaded on his behalf and some rains were arranged on his name. He bore his heart and soul to me whenever we conversed. He had no fear of me misusing the trust he had on me and it was so heartening to see someone find that deep comfort in you and what you stand for . The other day , he lamented about the contaminated water, the industrial pollution that was affecting the saline levels and this time , he was worried that there might not be enough water itself, leave bad quality water . I comforted him, in my characteristic way , as he hugged me , patted me and stopped talking for some time until he composed himself in my halcyon presence. He left with a lighter heart with a ripe mango in his hand as I bid him farewell and eagerly longed for my next conversation with him.
I am a Mango tree and I live in Govind's backyard and I am quite old. I have seen the rise in prosperity of Govind, over the years, the way his family and living space improved. I find great purpose in my life as God's creation seek shelter in my presence, and it feels good that even though I am immobile because of who I am , I still have a magnetic effect on the recipients of my products. The other day , Kalia the crow was telling me about how it enjoyed a wonderful feast on a New Moon day in Govind's terrace as they seemed to lay out a great spread on those days without fail . It told me to always have an eye on their house, to protect them from earthquakes and other disasters. I try to not cause too much litter , but because of my age and my eternal tryst with the forever partner, the Wind , I keep losing my leaves from time to time . I feel bad that Govind's household have to constantly clean my area. Albeit, truth be told, I did enjoy their company whenever they came to clean . The only times I feel a bit frustrated is when some children or random people throw stones at me for my mangoes and they don't wait for me to offer them at it's natural course . But what to do, there are so many of them out there and so few of us ( trees ) here and I pardon them . For what's worth , I feel needed and this is a penalty I have to pay for being kept alive.
You have not the slightest idea , how it feels to hear my friends cry and moan, when they were uprooted and cut down by these people , to make way for yet another civil structure. One season, I fought against mother nature herself, as I refused to bear fruit, because I saw a Neem tree being cut down . I got so pissed and I delayed my fruits by one month and even the first yield tasted average. But for Govind's pure love, I yielded , otherwise I couldn't selfishly carry on with my business while my fellow folks were abruptly ended . In a corner of my heart I knew that one day my time will also come, but I was sincerely hoping that Govind should not be the one to do it. He must never be put in a position so as to choose me or something else. I did have that much intelligence to understand that , with all his wealth and resources, Govind can easily take me down and build a new structure on my place and make some more money out of it. But, in all my conversations, his love and gratitude for me was consistent , pure and without ulterior motives and I understood he will never lay a hand on me.
Our folks got a tip from the bird flock that a major weather condition was to happen in the next few weeks and we better ensure our roots were strong enough . Govind carefully ensured that my roots were unaffected and the soil structure around me feet were solid. I lived by eating the love he had to offer and the rain and shine , the creator showered on me out of his mercy . I made a deal with the birds and my wind buddy , to look for my most fertile parts and help me live incase the weather disaster ended me. A couple of dogs and some cows helped carry the fertile fruits and stems that had some life force in them. My wind buddy randomly shook my branches as these creatures picked the selected ones and started scattering them in places where they felt I will survive. The process was like this, my wind buddy tickles me, the birds pecked my selected branches as I jokingly told them to look here, look there .
I had to look out for them , as the humans might think some stray animals were loitering around their premises and chase them away. Little did they knew that a whole project was underway here. The chosen parts of me that fell down - the seeds and stems were carried by my animal friends . The cows selected the spots, they weakened and moistened the spot by stamping on the soil , the dogs started digging , the cows then rained dung and urine for manure , then the dogs started cremating the place with the loose and damp sand. It was so heartwarming to see how the creator finds ways to maintain his creation. If only humans could learn or listen to us. It was funny, when once I saw a snake also help but since the cows were a bit afraid and I also know that Govind is not fond of snakes, I politely requested him to not participate. However, I did give him a task. I asked him to look out for rats , mice and squirrels, and scare them away as my fertile parts were being taken to the chosen spots. These creatures enjoy my fruits as well , but for now my priorities were clear. To survive , beyond test of man and Time.
This went on for few days, when the day of the cyclones arrived. It was a terrible show. My wind buddy warned me that he had to do this and requested my cooperation as it was a command from the head office to cause torrential rains and high speed winds. I agreed with him, but sought his help in not excavating the carefully planted saplings strewn around. He said, he will move some boulders and heavy objects as protection , so that the excess wind and water didn't kill them. I patiently saw Nature do it's thing. A few hard days, but then it became normal. As the water drained and the humans started rebuilding their lives because of the ruthless cyclone , I saw Govind open his window and look at me from a distance. I kind of shrugged a few leaves and broken twigs on my higher branches , to let him know I was still alive and I am still standing. I could see a smile come on his face , as
I mentally transmitted a message to him - "Nature never takes down nature . Its you all , who have to take care of us , because if you don't, we end up obeying instructions from the creator to teach you all some not so pleasant lessons".
Take care of the environment, may the fertility of mother nature never be prioritized over Man's never ending Vanity.
