*******************The man who planted trees ***************

By Vani Balaraman

Sookanpur was a village in Central India.

No one knew how it got the name Sookanpur.
Sooka in Hindi meant arid and dry !

Sookanpur was once a prosperous village , people went about their daily lives with much gusto.
Blue clouds formed beautiful patterns in the sky.
There were trees that swayed in the wind , birds chirped and often squirrels played peek-a-boo amidst
the greenery.
The soil was fertile and the villagers grew maize, rice , vegetables and fruits on their land.
Rich soil meant prosperous farmers and in no time, the farmers were counting their money bags.

But slowly as the days progressed, the villagers turned greedy.

Birds that visited the fields were shooed away.

The villagers also encroached upon forests lands.

They cut down trees and scared away the elephants with loud drums and dhols.
The village , that was once all green , did not have trees anymore.
The village resembled a concrete jungle.
The climatic changes were severe.
Summers were hot , accompanied by water shortage.
It didnt rain as much as it did earlier.
The villagers hadnt bothered about water conservation either.
Water for new buildings arrived in tankers .
People had begun to pay for water.

And one fine day , the only pond in the village dried up.
People had begun to fight amongst themselves for water .

What curse had befallen them ?, wondered the villagers.

Should they give away a goat in sacrifice ?
Would it rain again if they performed poojas and kept fasts ?
Which God should they appease ?, wondered the villagers

Some of them packed their belongings, and moved with their families, and their farm animals to a
different town.

There were very few families that stayed back in Sookanpur.

Bolaram, a farmer was hopeful that the town would be inhabitable again.
Is there a way we could bring back all the greenery again!, he exclaimed .
We have erred , we were selfish and kept cutting trees down , said his wife .
I will start sowing seeds , and pray to the rain god .
I am sure he will listen , if we are earnest in our attempts , said Bolaram.

Bolaram bought seeds from the neighboring town and started planting them everywhere.
In gardens, in the hills and on the slopes.
With his work , he inspired more farmers to plant trees.
And they together prayed for rain .
And then one night , clouds gathered in the sky.
There was thunder and lightning.
It rained all night .
The villagers were overjoyed .
The pitter patter of the rain drops felt like music to their ears.

Their hard work was bearing fruits at last.

As days passed, the trees turned green.
The crops grew taller .
Flowers bloomed.
The villagers were delighted . For every new leaf that took life , they sowed more seeds .
It was exciting to watch nature take over and cover the once barren land in her green blanket.

Animals came back to the village.

They frequented the watery holes.

Life was back to normal.
Flowers bloomed and leaves swayed in the wind.
Sookanpur finally learnt to live in harmony with nature.
Well ! Why should the village be still called Sookanpur when there was abundance of greenery
around?
It is believed the wise villagers decided not to change the name of the village .
Sooka (dry/arid ) reminded them on what curse would befall them if they abused nature.
And it believed to this day, if you visit Sookanpur, the villagers talk about Bolaram , and how he turned
his dream into a reality .

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