The Axe Falls

For the last few days I have been experiencing a range of emotions from disbelief to anger to frustration and finally a deep sadness. Yes as the axe falls on the trees at the Aarey Forest, all I can do is weep.

I went from, “How could the court pass such a judgement” to “What the hell! How can they cut the trees at night and why can’t people protest peacefully in the country anymore? Why do I feel so helpless? What can I do? And why are people supporting the cutting of the trees. They are joyful as the axe falls. Why? How?”

People have tweeted and asked, “How does if matter to the environment when only some 2000 trees out of the four lakh plus trees are being cut?It is just collateral damage and we need to sacrifice something for the progress of the country. We are moving towards a better world, blah, blah , blah…”

Why it matters

Let’s talk about why it matters if the axe falls. When they say it is only 2185 trees, I am reminded of the story of The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. The Onceler starts by cutting off just one Truffula tree and argues with the Lorax who protests, that it will not affect the bears or the fish or the swans that live in the area at all.

But as his business grows, he needs more and finally the axe falls on the last Trufulla tree.

By then the place is destroyed, the animals, birds and fish have all disappeared, leaving a desolate landscape full of smog.

The High Court order has just set a precedent of what is to come in the future. This is only the beginning. As the industrialist wants more space, more trees will fall. The court too has fallen under the spell of money and power that the industrialist has woven. Soon we will be struggling to breathe and then they will make us pay for our daily oxygen.

Is it really progress?

The second point raised was that the axe needs to fall, the trees need to die if we need to progress. I want to ask , “Have we really progressed?” Because the kind of life we live today is definitely worse than that of even fifty years ago.

I remember coming home from school as a child and rushing out to play as soon as I had changed out of my uniform. The evenings echoed with the laughter of children playing rather than the blare of the television. We were more active, healthy and happy.

Today’s kids suffer from obesity, health issues and mental health issues as well. Today’s kids talk of suicide as an option to dealing with stress.

When we were young , Dad came back on time from work, and so did Mom. They had enough time to talk to us, play with us, make sure we felt loved and wanted.

I don’t remember anyone rushing to catch trains or getting stressed out because their kids projects had to be completed.

Today life is a blur of running, running and more running, to work , to the doctor, to the gym, to various classes, to do your bosses biding, to just remain in the same place.

The goal of today’s life is no longer happiness, but climbing the corporate ladder, making more money and not having the time to enjoy that money. It means having huge cars that add to traffic jams and breathing in air that is full of pollutants spewed out  by factories and vehicles.

 How is this progress? Where has the laughter, the happiness, the peace gone from our lives? Haven’t we moved backward rather than forward?

The picture for the poem was created by my student Gautam Menon. Even children understand the importance of trees.

Too little too late

As I post this, a friend sends me a link that says that the Supreme Court has ordered them to stop cutting the trees. But this comes after 2141 trees have already been cut and the activists have been detained in judicial custody over the weekend. Sigh, I wonder what the next few days will bring.