I remember the day I was carefully planted by a bunch of kids in a garden off the coast. The kids were happy and repeatedly marveled at my luck that my seeds came from another part of the country and I had got the park with the best gardener. I marveled at the huge trees surrounding me that were now being taken out to play their part in life’s scheme of things. I had decided, I had to imbibe everything that the park provided me and walk out as the huge towering tree that everyone would look up to and that would be a guiding light for seeds that were yet unborn.
There were seeds of various varieties, some matched, and some didn’t. However, this did not stop all of us from playing around in the garden. Slowly we all got to know each other and our different backgrounds helped us learn fast. The gardener came everyday and watered us, so that we could grow up into what he dreamt for us. He made us realize what we were worth and how important each tree was to the society.
I still remember the day I bore my first leaf. Some others had started getting their spurs also, while the others were still strengthening the roots. It felt great and a sense of achievement ran through my entire body. And then the trees started outgrowing their peers. There were some who could work their way up the value chain easier than others. They gained, others lost out. The gardener was at times troubled by the scenario but he had seen all others do the same. The rewards were more impressive than peace but somehow all trees loved this chaos. Getting prepared for life as some called it, it was fun braving the gales and tornadoes of life right in our backyard. Some of us found shelters during this time, shelters that we could bank upon if a calamity strikes. With every tornado that struck, we huddled into our comfort zone; it was as if we can stand tall in front of any calamity as far as we are together. We even found the trees with whom there was no connection and those with whom we could sway in the winds for hours on end.
One fine day, the gardener decided that the trees would have to move on. We were asked to start for our journey ahead. Various states and cities took trees as they required. Some were to beautify the parks, some to hold the rivers and still others to fructify and be of service to humanity. It was then that we realized that the tornadoes were yet to come, the gales yet to be faced, and the comfort zones would be missing. I for my part, would miss the casuarinas tree that always stood by me, the eucalyptus that always heard me when silent tears were flowing down my eyes, the mango tree that gave me all its fruits happily, and the tall deodars whom I’ll always look up to and will always aspire to be strong and tall like them. Tall not in height, but in spirit, that never say die spirit that I came across and that always inspired me to go the extra mile. I now go to another beautiful garden where some new trees and new challenges await me. But I will miss this ground of mine, which honed me, where I grew from a seed to a tree, a fine grown tree. I look upto my peers, all fine grown men, ready to take on their responsibilities and ready to face all tornadoes alone. I am thankful to the gardener for his patience to see us evolve over a period of years, I thank god for lending his unending support in the entire endeavour.
And as I write this, the feeling sinks in, I am moving out into a new world, away from my cocoon, from my known surroundings, and I’ll cherish them all my life.
