Rebirth of a kind
Opposite my house, there was a tree. I was not familiar with its name but the flowers were so lovely. They were sunny yellow and bloomed in summer. They were so pretty and I felt so energised after staring at them for a few minutes every day that I took a photograph and saved it on my Dad’s mobile as the wall paper. I was proud that the tree added so much beauty to our house.
A few weeks ago there was some electrical work in our street. Huge vehicles roared in and they chopped off the branches mercilessly because, they said, the branches interfered with the electrical line. I saw my tree now shorn of its beauty looking sad and barren. I was not sure if the branches would flower again. But a few weeks later they did. The branches grew and, this time, they seemed to bend away from the electrical line. They sprouted tiny pale green leaves. I wondered if the tree had finally figured out the human world. I am not sure but I am overjoyed. I learned that the tree is the Casia Fistula or Kondrai.
Paveja J, Std X
Thanks to the librarian
This happened in our village where I lived in a big joint family. One day my cousin and I went to a library. Our interest was not in the books but in the fruits of the tamarind tree nearby. It was sweetest fruit under the sun. The good thing was that the fruit would fall with a heavy gust of wind.
One day, there wasn’t much fruit on the ground. So my brother threw some sticks at the branches. Unfortunately, they fell on the library’s roof. The people inside got angry and started shouting at us. I was scared that they may complain to our parents. The librarian then said, “I have been watching you for a long time. As punishment I want you both to be here tomorrow morning, failing which I will report your mischief to your father.”
So we went to meet the librarian promptly the next day. He gave us two neem saplings each and asked us to plant them near our house and take care of them. We followed his instructions and the trees grew well. Soon some of our families shifted to the city. But whenever we go to our village I’m eager and happy to see the trees that I planted personally. After this incident, I also started reading books. Just like books, trees also spread happiness!
Priyadharsheni K, Std XII
Fruit of love
My grandmother’s house has a gooseberry tree near the compound wall. It used to give me many tasty gooseberries. Many boys and girls from the village would try to pluck gooseberry in the evening, as it was dark. It was easy for the boys to do so as it was near the compound wall. Initially, I was angry with them but soon made friends with them. We shared our berries. After sharing, it became tastier. I wondered at how a tree had built a relationship among people!
Whenever I went back home, I would ask my friends to take care of our tree. I would meet them only in the holidays. Year after year, when we met, we always sat under the tree. The tree has changed as have we and our topics of discussion. But our choice of meeting place remains the same: under the gooseberry tree. This is where we share our berries and our friendship!
Subashree B, Std XII