R.I.P. Dear Friend Muntingia

When I started living in my current flat there was a colony of laborers on the plot next to our complex. They were the ones who had worked in our complex and were living in tents in the huge empty plot. The area was filled with cement pieces, plastic, rags and human excreta. I always used to think that the land was spoiled forever. I have mentioned about this empty land in one of my previous post and how I use it as my big compost bin. Anyway the laborers left in a few months after I moved in and nature took it over. The land ‘which I thought was spoiled’ was full of lush green grass and shrubs.

It was such a relief to eye and to top it all, next to our boundary wall just below my balcony, stood my friend beaming with life – “A Cherry Tree”. Muntingia Calabura,  Jamaica Cherry, Panama Cherry

He had grown so big that his arms were on our side of the boundary wall heavy with small white flowers and red cherries.

We woke up to the sound of birds instead of laborers fighting with their wives. A green tree in the middle of otherwise concrete jungle was luxury for me and my green friend taught me how a life nurtures many lives.

His branches were home to many different species of birds and my favorite animal – Squirrel.

It had become my pet and used to look upwards whenever I went out on the balcony. I started to admire nature more and when I bought a new digital camera first photos I took were of my friend and his friends. It turned me into an amateur ornithologist.

But sadly our friendship was very short lived. Thanks to the ‘fire of gut’ of our ever increasing poor population. The same immigrant people whom I have mentioned in my post chopped down my friend. The kids were even more enthusiastic than their parents.

I shouted at them, requested them then tried calling citizen groups and finally police. They all laughed and said that poor have to eat. You have money so you can afford to save a tree. They were actually correct.

None of the green activists come out and tell people that worst crime against environment is to increase the number of carbon emitting resource consuming humans. Cleaning roads will do no good. We have been planting millions of tress for at least three decades on World Environment Day but never been able to stop the decreasing green cover. Anyway with teary eyes I watched the funeral pyre of my friend from far and wondered a day will come when the powerful will have gun wielding guards for each of their trees and rest of us will perish without oxygen.

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