A Bodhi Tree in Our School

The wood jasmine filled the school ground  with its heady fragrance and toddlers were picking them up to learn simple math.  The multifarious aroma of opened lunch boxes mingling with this scent created an unusual yet a lovable ambiance. While some students preferred the veranda  the majority ran towards the shady trees filling their bottles from the RO plant of the school to share the joy of lunch with friends. The crowd under peepal tree was one  among these groups. Their teacher had told them that this tree is venerated throughout India. It is the king among trees giving out maximum oxygen during the day. The reverberations from this beautiful tree when the breeze passes through the leaves is  similar to the laughter of innocent children!!

"Auntie miss.... auntie miss... please come and see our tree please please..." Raising their lunch steeped hands up the  peepal tree gang eagerly beckoned a lady.  'Auntie miss' the creator of the school, the prime value giver and a great sculptor moulding the younger generation was on her usual rounds, an event eagerly anticipated by the children big and small. The lady was all in smiles when she looked up! The tender red leaves of the peepal tree  were peeking out as the old ones had withered  away!

"Are you taking care of your tree?"

"Yes miss.... yes miss..... we pour water every day before we go home" was the chorus

"Fine.... fine..... have you brought some vegetables, greens and pulses for lunch?"

Auntie miss had become a nutritionist now!!

"Except Nithya who has brought some chips."

"It is ok for a day Nithya..... Can you ask mother to make some vegetable or greens daily?"

"Sure miss... she is not keeping well........cough and cold miss ....and she couldn't cook much today."

"Oh what a pity!! Take some adathoda (justicia adathoda)  leaves from our herbal garden and ask her to boil the leaves and take the  concoction thrice daily along with palm sugar........" The palm sugar  will give the brew a better taste and it is also good for cold. Can you take the permission to go the herbal garden please?"

"Miss......  adathoda plants are  growing near our house."

"That is better Nithya. Please give my regards to your mother ."

"Sure miss, thank you miss....." The rapport between the teachers and the students is  pleasantly contagious in nature!

Of the hundreds of trees in the school  this peepal tree occupied a vantage location. Teachers loved to conduct classes under its shade. The yoga mistress enjoyed the location for exercise and meditation!

As days went by  the peepal tree in accordance to the nature's call started the process of shedding . But the children observed a change in the way  the leaves fell. It  happened  too  fast and the tender red leaves failed to appear.....   and in  no time the tree turned bare!! Their luncheon location  had to be shifted to the nearby neem tree! The peepal was indeed going through a metamorphosis of thinning. The children were worried. Auntie miss was called to the spot and she could also feel the change.

"May be it is affected by TB  miss. It has become a skeleton" said one of the boys. "My grandfather was  just skin and bone when he had TB but became ok after taking medicine for 6 months. Can  I ask my father  to get the same medicine for our tree?"

The other boys laughed at this suggestion .

"We should regularly pour water in the morning and in the evening."

"Red soil would help."

"How about fertilizers?"

"Fertilizers are chemicals. We will go for cow dung."

"Vermicompost is the best."

The ideas were many and varied.

 Next day morning   the arrival of a bullock cart  to the school surprised the  children !

The parent who accompanied it was met my auntie miss.

"My boy wouldn't stop his pestering till I loaded my cart with cow dung manure." He laughed and unloaded the contents.

Bags of red soil arrived.

The vermicompost prepared at school  was thrown in the pit dug around the peepal tree!

The panchgavya,  a special preparation to enrich the soil, was gifted to the school by a parent!

The children standing  around the tree held their hands together and closed their eyes in fervent prayer.

The intention was a focused one even though the end result was zilch!

The teachers were indeed touched by this act of faith!

They suggested "We will uproot the remains of the tree and plant a new one in its place during the beginning of the summer holidays and when the children come back for the new school year they could at least see  a tree coming up." We were there in the school during that summer. My sister who is the correspondent (auntie miss)  said   "Lord Tennyson is right. 'More things are wrought by prayer than the world dreams of.'

We were anxious to know the context of such statement. 

'Has the vast amount of outstanding  fee collection had come into the school kitty?' We wondered!

 "I want to give you a surprise ." So saying she pulled us to the school ground.

"My peepal tree has sprouted new leaves. My children's faith had indeed given the tree a new life!!"  We witnessed that wonder tree  along with the interesting story behind the show narrated by my sister!

 On November 16th 2018  the  newspapers were full of the devastation the Gaja cyclone caused in the delta region of Tamil Nadu.  I called up my sister.

"Are you ok? The news says that Trichy is not much affected."

"I am in the school..... It is a sight no one would want to see. Thirty  trees have fallen down and our peepal tree is one among them..." She was  on the verge of tears.

I too was depressed. Years of effort by the school administrator ( my sister's husband) had indeed filled the area with greenery and it would  take  years  to replace them. I was also worried about the children's reaction regarding the peepal tree when they come back to school from the cyclone holidays.

The 'auntie miss' had indeed prepared a philosophic speech for the day. In the school assembly on the opening day she said  the loss of trees is nothing compared to the damage the Gaja cyclone had  caused to thousands of people who  have  no roof over their heads and bereft of  all their possessions  were hungry and thirsty. The children indeed did their best by bringing in sacks of food articles and clothes. The parents and the teachers  chipped in. Even though it was not a rich school and most of the students belonged to the lower middle class their spirit of sharing made it possible to fill a full lorry load!

She comforted the children especially those who cared  and believed and brought the peepal tree back to life.

"Auntie miss....." one among the boys hesitantly started " Why don't we try to replant our peepal tree again please?"

"Try what...... my boy?"

"We will pull the roots inside, bring it to upright position and try our best miss..... Let us not lose hope please ."  That single voice became a slogan. The parents brought in strong ropes and the gang of energetic youngsters slowly and gently brought the peepal  back to its position.

My sister though admired the faith in the children kept her fingers crossed.

The other day there was a photo in our school Facebook page, wherein I saw the smiling face of my sister with a few new leaves from the peepal tree as the back drop. She called me up to say

"The peepal tree and my children are my Bodhi tree. 'Focus, Belief and Action' are the pearls of wisdom which would be my lode star and my revelation written down in indelible ink in my heart by my children! "Even over the phone I could feel her great energy flowing

Much Ado About Nothing

We were anxious when our friend's wife  requested us over  phone that she would like to meet us in their house on an urgent matter.

When we went there our friend  Krishna, a happy go lucky man, was not the usual self and his glum countenance did not augur well. His wife was the one who narrated the happenings.

She said that the routine health check-up they did every 6 months was a bit disturbing and in Krishna’s blood analysis indicated a high sugar level and a visit to the doctor was imminent.

"Doctor I go for a 3 km walk every morning. How is it that my sugar level is high? May be we could do the test again in another lab?" her husband seemed anxious.

"You are using a first class lab my friend." the doctor said. High sugar can be hereditary. Is there any history in your family?

"My grandpa and grandma  had the condition..... But my father did not have." Krishna said

 "Sometimes it can skip generation. Stress is another  significant factor for sugar condition." the doctor said."  You cannot do anything with 'nature' but 'nurturing' is in our hands. Can you follow me?"

"Please make me understand." he requested the doctor.

"Hereditary factor can pass over generations. That is a 'natural' occurrence. But in our life we tend to 'nurture' stress, an important factor in sugar level. We build it up  with unwanted worries anxieties within the family in the work place  and in other relationships. But with little bit of effort we can come out of this negative nurturing and develop a positive one. Try the "Take it easy policy"." The doctor laughed.

"But he is a jovial person..... he can make you laugh at the drop of the hat." Krishna's wife said.

"Mam all of us carry a sub conscious mind. If it is in a conflict all the time it is bound to affect our system."

"Go off  sweets, sugar, salt and tuberous vegetables like potato except sweet potato. I will prescribe some medicine. Take it on a routine basis and you will be fine. Please never ever  stop your exercise.  That's the  free tonic for the  constitution."  The doctor advised.

"Having sugar is the easiest condition to manage Krishna.... Keep your routine, avoid temptations for sweet meats, eat small portions frequently there you are healthy as ever!" my husband said

"Easily said than done Anna." His wife said. "He hates his sugarless coffee and hates his less salt food. " Is a meal worth its salt without a spoon of pickle?" he grunts! He is on a sort of hunger strike. His side of the family is addicted to sweets. For them a lunch or a dinner is incomplete without sweets. Sometimes the sweets go beyond and extend to evening tea also!! A mere glance at the sweets in the shop make them salivate. And the laddus our Trichy  guests bring from Mayil Mark shop is  his ultimate!  I don't know how I am going to manage the show."

"It's a question of habit Krishna." My husband said " With some determination and effort you can definitely come out of it. Take the case of  Magie's sister. Her case is similar to yours. The  'sweet addiction' runs a riot in the family! It starts in right earnest on the new year day. The first of January is  the naming ceremony of Jesus and in keeping with the Tamil tradition every household prepares lot of rice mixed with jaggery and coconut. Vessels full of this sweets rice is taken to the chapel for distribution to the whole village. The visits to the houses to get blessing from the elders on that day is again  a process of eating this sweetened rice and no one minds it!!

On  a daily routine the morning the breakfast in that house starts with hot idli with melting butter and sugar and evening  tiffin is invariably  a sweet dish. Even the sweet potato a sweet one on its own is mixed with lot of jaggery and coconut and served as big balls! The fried peanut is accompanied by a lump of jaggery and puffed rice soaked in milk is a delicacy with added jaggery and grated coconut! The whole show reaches a crescendo  during the Xmas season with plenty of Tamil sweets! But now when  her sugar level shot up her sister  made a determined effort for a big conversion and today enjoys her tea sans sugar. When an old lady can do it can't you a young man raise yourself?

"That's the problem....." He was miserable. " I am young..... should I spend my whole lot of years  without my sweets? Or without my pickle?" He was on the verge of tears.

At this juncture I thought of my very close friend who could be a supermodel  to  youngsters. She is a  person  who enjoys her work, her relationship and her food in short takes the life as a great blessing!  One day as she was relishing her morning decoction coffee she fell down holding her stomach in great pain. Her husband panicked.  Any amount of house hold treatment for stomach pain including copious application of oil would not reduce her suffering. Suspecting  a severe attack  of appendicitis she was then rushed to the hospital. The scan revealed a tumour in the pancreas which had to be operated at once. Of all our organs the pancreas is the most delicate one  which can never be treated directly. She almost collapsed and was put on life saving device. Children living abroad rushed to their sinking mother. Her willpower and the positive vibrations from people around her at last brought her back to life. After days together in the hospital and frequent check-up she survived losing  all the functions the pancreas had to perform. A simple diet of boiled vegetables and a bit of carbohydrates became her daily diet. Not just that injecting insulin thrice a day before meals is obligatory and routine never to be missed.

She was at home for some time for rest and  recuperation. When we called her husband  to enquire about her health he surprised us with the news that his wife was back to her organic farming routine !

"But how is it possible? she had lost 10 kg. and is on a existentialistic  diet. The whole exercise will tire her out." I blurted and was worried

"Mam I am also into that diet, shedding unwanted flab! Not just that we are developing a property and both of us are on the site from the morning till evening. We carry our lunch along and relish it amidst the beautiful hilly ambience!" I was happy for them!

Whenever the couple visited the city it was mandatory that they make a short visit  to our place and that day happened to be the special one for all of us. We enjoy each other's  company, the philosophical yet lively chat.  On the day I received  call from them regarding their visit to our place and that  they were brining organic carrots beans and of course the hill specialty avocado which I love.   I prepared  a very simple lunch for the lady along with a little bit better one for us all. We had another pair of invitee too. 

You guessed it right. It was Krishna and his wife. 

With mutual greetings, all the six of us settled down as the conversation gained momentum.

With this bonhomie, lunch was a relaxed affair. The exception was  Krishna who said that he would be a glutton whenever he came to this house for a meal as Mam always made something special and tasty which he could never resist. But today she has  played a subdued note and her payasam and vadai are conspicuous  by their absence. He said “Damn my sugar." Krishna was a disappointed man.

"Same here too ......" said the lady from the hill and laughingly said, "Whenever I come here mam will prepare a special spicy gravy for me. Alas...... I am missing it."

"But that gravy is just in front of you. Can I serve you?" I said.

It was then that Krishna looked at her plate and was surprised. It was an assorted variety of boiled vegetables with a table spoon of rice occupying a corner.

Her enthusiastic conversation throughout meal did liven up the ambiance which made Krishna wonder.

"Such a tasteless meal....... is it ever capable of creating so much joy in her?"  He was in awe!!

After the couple took leave to catch the train back   the bewildered Krishna asked  me why that lady who was not over weight was undergoing such a diet. "Does she want to make a style statement?"

I spilled out the whole story. " She always counts her blessing Krishna.  For her life is a miracle and   food is for survival and not for taste which is just throat deep."

Krishna now realised  the reason for the luncheon invitation and thanked both of us  for giving him the lesson of life which any number of advisory expressions  can fail to produce.

Do Plants have Consciousness?

In our childhood days the noni trees of our village played an important role in our game plan. If 'keeping houses' was the play of the day   variety of dishes with brick dust, sand  and raw nonis formed  colourful  dishes in coconut shells and the ripe black noni fruits ( which was the single edible thing of the feast while other dishes were just pretends) became the celebrated dessert for the guests who visit the house.

This 'noni juice' of today, the unknown tonic of those days indeed should have boosted our immune system!!

With hefty sticks from coconut broom we had hammer throw with raw nonis serving as the hammer weight. Being a climbable tree it acted as the king's seat if drama was the amusement for the day! When we play in the moon light  which invariably progressed late into the night the noni flowers too participated in our game providing the heady fragrance  to make it an enchanting experience!

Being the only active members of the family, the visits to my village now is a rarity and coincides with certain feasts and rituals handed down through the generations. Today the almost hostile attitude to trees by residents members of the family in the village is very painful. When I tried my best to tell them about retaining and growing more the local trees  they listened out of respect and never ever did it go beyond that limit!

" If only I had more open space in my house in the city." My heart  ached.

One day as I was watering my little garden I was surprised to see  two little  plants with long tender leaves. On closer examination I was astonished to find out that they were noni plants!  " How is it possible?!"  I wondered . I have never seen a noni tree in my vicinity and beyond!  Rain tree, flame of the forest, neem tree, punga tree almond tree and konnai tree  are the commonly seen trees. I had seen some noni trees in the bushy areas at the back of Integral Coach Factory at Perambur when we go to visit my sister. But how could it  propagate  travelling such a distance and that too inside my tiny garden?!!

In my calls I made that day to express my wonderment, my little saplings became the centre of jubilation.

"You must be having a telepathic communication with your village." someone said

"You must have been strongly wishing for the noni tree to come to your garden."

The responses were varied but I enjoyed them all!

It was 9th of October which is my birthday, after my yoga in the terrace  as is my routine to  come down  to look around my garden, a chill ran down my spine. I  trembled I shuddered. I was witnessing a miracle before my eyes! My three feet noni plant welcomed me and wished me a very happy birthday with it's first fragrant blossom!!

To those who called me to wish on my birthday  my talk  literally  bragged about the miracle that had happened on the day!

" My love for trees should reach the sky high." was my prayer for the day!