Mr Human Being!

During one of my teaching assignments out of Hyderabad, I went to a town to talk and motivate students ranging from High School to Post Graduate classes. The town being bestowed with an abundance of water was full of greenery and all the schools and colleges I visited in the town had plenty of coconut and banana trees. Windows of the classrooms offered an excellent view of those trees around and they took me into my childhood raised under similar surroundings and the trees seemed to strike a conversation with me.

We are Proud of our Existence! I smiled at the trees and asked how they consider their existence in a world dominated by man. They swayed their heads in the gentle breeze and said in unison “we are proud”. That surprised me because; these are times when man is leaving a trail of destruction all around with utter disregard to the environment, mankind and the tress saying that they are proud of their existence seemed strange to me.

What makes you think so? I asked. Being larger and taller it was the turn of the coconut tree to answer first. “I am worth a ton of gold whether I am dead or alive. Each and every fiber, product and organ in my body can be used as it is or recycled for a better product. People love water of my fruits; eat the fruits, make mats out of leaves; brooms out of the sinews of my leaves; coir out of my trunk, firewood out of my dried leaves, cover of the fruits  and trunk; beams to construct houses out of my large trunk and so on. Who else can benefit the society in such a fashion? Concluded the coconut tree”.  

What about you Mr Banana Tree? I cocked my head to one side and questioned. All of a sudden, as if from nowhere, a whip of sweet smell of ripened banana fruits reached my nostrils and the large leaves of the banana tree started flapping happily. “I am very proud, it said. I give bananas both raw and ripened which have lot of nutrients; leaves to eat as eco-friendly plates; stem and the flower to make curries and chutneys, my hide to be used by devotees to fill oil,wicks and use as lamps. I do not ask for fresh water. Even the water used for domestic chores is good for my sustenance”.

What about you Mr Human Being? I wanted to end the conversation and bid goodbye to the trees before this question could be asked. However, the inevitable was done and an eerie silence fell over the surroundings. Though I could not voice my opinion, my inner self was alert to the situation and started talking to itself. “I am supposed to be the protector of the environment; supposed to give more than I take from it; share my possessions with the nature and humanity with a pride of having been born as a human being; I am not supposed to bring my own destruction out of greed, jealousy and intolerance; what to talk about sharing during my lifetime, I should do so even while I am dead; when dead, I should readily agree to donate my organs which are of no more use to me as a dead being”.

Are You Proud of your existence, Mr Human Being? So asked my inner self.

Enough! Enough of that self criticism, I admonished my inner self and glanced around. As if they heard my inner voice, all the trees were nodding their heads gently and seemed to understand my dilemma.  I gathered my books and started beating a quick retreat when there fell a fully ripened coconut and a banana from the tress, beckoning me to take them with me as a souvenir.