We grow watching flies and birds, trees and rivers, the moon and stars in the sky. Can we imagine living alone? Is It Possible to lead life minus all these things? Nature brings joy and comfort to us, as we are part of it. Wake up signals from the early morning birds, filtering rays of the sun through the windows, the returning of animals from fields at dusk; the starry moonlit sky – all bring immense joy to us.
I too grew up looking at Tamarind, Neem, Mango, and other trees of various size and shape. I have seen majestically standing tamarind trees, which are age-old and cover a big area of land. When I was young, travelling was very difficult because everywhere there was thick vegetation. Then, roads were muddy, rough and narrow, and not as smooth as the cement roads that ferry us to our destinations today. While driving through those narrow roads, the branches of the trees used to brush both sides of the red government buses; sometimes the passengers sitting next to windows used to be scratched by the intervening branches. By the end of the bus journey, travelers’ clothes used to get dusty and brownish, and with a devilish look, they got down. The constant jerks of the bus made the sitting quite hell for the travelers. The sight of the overcrowded buses with the pan chewing men and women smeared with sweaty smell, and the spat pan juice flowing down from the windows, was very common then. Now, wherever one travels, one finds beautiful multiple roads stretching unendingly decked with flowerbeds in between. While constructing these concrete roads, huge, age-old Tamarind and Neem trees, which had graced and rendered shadow service to the travelers and the roads, were brought down to the ground. The uprooted and mutilated trunks of the trees were lying forlorn on both sides of the road as if a witness to the rape of nature by human beings. A lot of progress is going on, huge buildings, complexes; four to six lanes of concrete roads are making way everywhere in the name of culture, but at the cost nature. On a Sunday, we went to a place called Savanur to see some unusual trees. We halted at Savanur Math to see those beautiful amazing trees. For us, it was like a bolt from the blue. We had never seen such trees ever before. At first sight, those two African trees engaged us not because of their beauty but by their size. The Nizam of Savanur planted those historical trees. Even a great lover of nature cannot afford to grow such a single tree in one’s premise today, even if is presented freely. Real estate business is thriving so much that, slowly one by one, green fields are being converted into plots. People, being blind to immortality, are hugely investing in land risking their and the coming generation’s life by creating problems like global warming.
This tree serves as food to human beings and animals and very useful in making juices for energy drinks, ice creams and fruit powder. Seed, bark, and leaves of these trees are used profusely in the cosmetic industry. Saucer sized white flowers die very shortly after they bloom. The seeds are parked in a hairy pod. The tree bears fruits only once in a year.
Each tree has a unique beauty and grace of its own and differs from others in shape, size, color and texture. However, this is an extraordinary elephant sized tree with a majestic look. The bottle shaped tree has a huge trunk and the short branches spread out only at the top quarter portion. No doubt, it has its unique beauty.
Artists across the world always respond, reflect and represent their surroundings in their works. We see this beautiful tree represented in Mogul Miniatures.
Artists across the world always respond, reflect and represent their surroundings in their works. We see this beautiful tree represented in Mogul Miniatures.
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