Zenda Zembla Xanadu
All your dream worlds may come true
Fairy lands are fearsome too
As I wander far from view
Read and bring me home to you.
No ordinary rhyme that. What do the above lines signify?
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Mother of the Trees (Concluded)
After the wide road was built, the king had another idea. Having gone to all this expense to build this road into the forest, why let it lead only to the palace? Everyone in the kingdom should be able to enjoy the forest, felt he. And so he built a huge bazaar by the road.
Little by little, the forest began to change. The prince was very unhappy, as were all the children, and many of the grown ups. This was no longer the magical place they had stumbled onto. You could hardly hear the chirping of the birds over the raucous yells of the bazaar merchants. You could no longer smell the flowers.
Dejected, the prince walked into the heart of the forest where things were yet somewhat unchanged. Here was a very big and very old mango tree (yes, the same one you are thinking of!). It had always been a favorite of the prince's. It gave the most shade. It promised the sweetest fruit. Even in his low spirits, the tree would be able to cheer him up somewhat.
He sank onto the grass under the tree. 'What have I done', he muttered to himself. 'If I had but known what this would lead to, I would never have shown this place to anyone.'
'Don't worry', said a voice from somewhere near. 'It is not your fault.'
The prince started and sprang up. 'Who is it?' he asked. 'Show yourself!' He could have sworn there had been no one there, but suddenly the bushes moved, and there stood before him a tiny, wizened old lady. She smiled at him.
'Who are you?' he asked. 'I've never seen you here before.'
'They call me the Mother of the Trees', she said. 'What my name is, I could hardly tell you', she smiled. 'I forgot it myself so long ago.'
'Why did you ask me not to worry?' asked the Prince. 'What do you know about me and my worries?'
'I know', said the old lady, 'that you love this forest. And all this change upsets you. But when you get to my age, you will know that change is natural and will always happen. Mostly you have to accept it.'
'But my father! And his constant tree cutting! Is that natural? The animals and birds are losing their homes. They have no more fruit to eat. The air is no longer clean. Is this good?'
'A wise man once said that this earth has enough for every man's need, but not for every man's greed. Don't worry about your father.' She smiled and left as quietly as she had come.
The prince walked back slowly to the palace.
There he found the whole place in an uproar. 'The forest has vanished!', yelled the King and his courtiers. 'It is right here!' said the Prince in some surprise! 'What's wrong?'
'It's gone!' said the king. 'Vanished! The forest is bewitched! Let us leave at once, before some further harm befalls us!' And the king and all his courtiers took to their heels and ran!
In some confusion, the Prince turned to a small page boy who was still standing in the now nearly empty palace. 'Is it just me or is the forest still right where it always was?'
'It is, sir', whispered the boy. 'I see it too. But perhaps it is a good thing after all that they can't.'
Well, perhaps it was! But one thing was for sure. From that day to this the forest has remained hidden. It shows itself from time to time. But only to whose it counts a friend.
THE END.
With much admiration for Saalumarada Thimakka and the Narnia stories.
Little by little, the forest began to change. The prince was very unhappy, as were all the children, and many of the grown ups. This was no longer the magical place they had stumbled onto. You could hardly hear the chirping of the birds over the raucous yells of the bazaar merchants. You could no longer smell the flowers.
Dejected, the prince walked into the heart of the forest where things were yet somewhat unchanged. Here was a very big and very old mango tree (yes, the same one you are thinking of!). It had always been a favorite of the prince's. It gave the most shade. It promised the sweetest fruit. Even in his low spirits, the tree would be able to cheer him up somewhat.
He sank onto the grass under the tree. 'What have I done', he muttered to himself. 'If I had but known what this would lead to, I would never have shown this place to anyone.'
'Don't worry', said a voice from somewhere near. 'It is not your fault.'
The prince started and sprang up. 'Who is it?' he asked. 'Show yourself!' He could have sworn there had been no one there, but suddenly the bushes moved, and there stood before him a tiny, wizened old lady. She smiled at him.
'Who are you?' he asked. 'I've never seen you here before.'
'They call me the Mother of the Trees', she said. 'What my name is, I could hardly tell you', she smiled. 'I forgot it myself so long ago.'
'Why did you ask me not to worry?' asked the Prince. 'What do you know about me and my worries?'
'I know', said the old lady, 'that you love this forest. And all this change upsets you. But when you get to my age, you will know that change is natural and will always happen. Mostly you have to accept it.'
'But my father! And his constant tree cutting! Is that natural? The animals and birds are losing their homes. They have no more fruit to eat. The air is no longer clean. Is this good?'
'A wise man once said that this earth has enough for every man's need, but not for every man's greed. Don't worry about your father.' She smiled and left as quietly as she had come.
The prince walked back slowly to the palace.
There he found the whole place in an uproar. 'The forest has vanished!', yelled the King and his courtiers. 'It is right here!' said the Prince in some surprise! 'What's wrong?'
'It's gone!' said the king. 'Vanished! The forest is bewitched! Let us leave at once, before some further harm befalls us!' And the king and all his courtiers took to their heels and ran!
In some confusion, the Prince turned to a small page boy who was still standing in the now nearly empty palace. 'Is it just me or is the forest still right where it always was?'
'It is, sir', whispered the boy. 'I see it too. But perhaps it is a good thing after all that they can't.'
Well, perhaps it was! But one thing was for sure. From that day to this the forest has remained hidden. It shows itself from time to time. But only to whose it counts a friend.
THE END.
With much admiration for Saalumarada Thimakka and the Narnia stories.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
The Fable of the Mother of the Trees (contd.)
The Mother of the Trees spent the next many years planting and taking care of her trees. When there was less water, she carried water on her head from the next village many miles away. When her husband did not make enough money of a month, she cut branches from the trees and planted them in the ground.
And everywhere new life bloomed. Slowly, what had once been a barren wasteland became a beautiful forest! And miracle of miracles! Birds, bees, butterflies, animals all flocked to their new home! And the trees heavy with fruit (even after the animals had eaten their fill) eased their tired limbs by dropping the fruit on the ground. And from them yet more trees were born. Things could not have been better.
But one day, the man, who had by now become a very old man, went to sleep and died. The mother of the trees no longer felt like being with anyone but her children, and she went into the heart of the forest. The forest closed in on her and everyone forgot all about the trees and the story of the birth of the forest.
Many years passed.
Then one day when the prince was out hunting, he came upon these untouched woods. As he entered, a calm descended on him. All he could hear was the sound of birds chirping. He could smell the blended fragrance of a million fruits and flowers. The very air was fresh and sweet. 'Surely this must be a magical place', he thought. Excited at his discovery, he ran back to tell all! 'We must find out what this place is and make it a part of our kingdom!'
Everyone in the kingdom was thrilled by the new place! They came from far and wide to inspect and admire the forest. And the forest was SO pleased! For so many years they had missed the voices of people. The trees were happy to offer their best fruit to the children who came visiting. The flowers were keen to show off their brilliant colours. Everyone admired the prince's forest.
But the King who was a very greedy man, had other plans. 'Why don't we build a small palace here?' he asked. 'Then we can stay in comfort whenever we want'. The prince was not happy at the thought of changing anything in this lovely place. But the King assured him that it would not make much change, and anyway many of the trees were old and much better off being cut! The prince gave in.
The King was very pleased with his new palace. It was so much better than the old one! It had much prettier rooms and the furnishing was SO elegant! He was really quite taken with it and began to spend more and more time there.
After a while he began to get quite fed up with all the traveling back and forth he had to do between his kingdom and the forest. He decreed that a wide road be built connecting the palace in the forest to the palace in the city.
Like a sweeping gust of wind, rumour swept through the forest. No one was sure anymore what was true and what wasn't.
Was the venerable beech tree by the well really going to be cut? 'It can't be' said the squirrel. 'That tree is my home!' 'And my playground', said the small child. 'Who will I climb now?'
'I just built my nest there' said the sparrow. They shook their heads sadly.
And yet men poured in every day with axes and plans.
(To be concluded.)
And everywhere new life bloomed. Slowly, what had once been a barren wasteland became a beautiful forest! And miracle of miracles! Birds, bees, butterflies, animals all flocked to their new home! And the trees heavy with fruit (even after the animals had eaten their fill) eased their tired limbs by dropping the fruit on the ground. And from them yet more trees were born. Things could not have been better.
But one day, the man, who had by now become a very old man, went to sleep and died. The mother of the trees no longer felt like being with anyone but her children, and she went into the heart of the forest. The forest closed in on her and everyone forgot all about the trees and the story of the birth of the forest.
Many years passed.
Then one day when the prince was out hunting, he came upon these untouched woods. As he entered, a calm descended on him. All he could hear was the sound of birds chirping. He could smell the blended fragrance of a million fruits and flowers. The very air was fresh and sweet. 'Surely this must be a magical place', he thought. Excited at his discovery, he ran back to tell all! 'We must find out what this place is and make it a part of our kingdom!'
Everyone in the kingdom was thrilled by the new place! They came from far and wide to inspect and admire the forest. And the forest was SO pleased! For so many years they had missed the voices of people. The trees were happy to offer their best fruit to the children who came visiting. The flowers were keen to show off their brilliant colours. Everyone admired the prince's forest.
But the King who was a very greedy man, had other plans. 'Why don't we build a small palace here?' he asked. 'Then we can stay in comfort whenever we want'. The prince was not happy at the thought of changing anything in this lovely place. But the King assured him that it would not make much change, and anyway many of the trees were old and much better off being cut! The prince gave in.
The King was very pleased with his new palace. It was so much better than the old one! It had much prettier rooms and the furnishing was SO elegant! He was really quite taken with it and began to spend more and more time there.
After a while he began to get quite fed up with all the traveling back and forth he had to do between his kingdom and the forest. He decreed that a wide road be built connecting the palace in the forest to the palace in the city.
Like a sweeping gust of wind, rumour swept through the forest. No one was sure anymore what was true and what wasn't.
Was the venerable beech tree by the well really going to be cut? 'It can't be' said the squirrel. 'That tree is my home!' 'And my playground', said the small child. 'Who will I climb now?'
'I just built my nest there' said the sparrow. They shook their heads sadly.
And yet men poured in every day with axes and plans.
(To be concluded.)
The Fable of the Mother of the Trees
Once upon a time there lived a woman. This woman was very sad. You see she did not have any children. So she cried and asked her husband why this was so. He was very upset and went to sleep feeling sad.
And then, he had a dream!! Not just any ordinary dream, but a great and wondrous dream! In his dream God came to him and said 'My child. Don't be sad. It is very easy to love your own children. I do not worry about that. But I worry about my children. I need someone to take care of them. And that is a difficult thing to do. I need someone special! Out of the ordinary. Will you do this job for me?' And God went away smiling.
The next morning the man woke up with this curious feeling you sometimes have. Was that really a dream? What had happened? And what did God really mean. He thought about that all day as he had his meals and went about his daily chores. Preoccupied, he did not notice when he tossed a half eaten mango out of the window instead of putting it neatly in the bin.
The days went by and he all but forgot about his conversation with God in that special dream. But one day about a month from the day that this story started, he saw a tiny green shoot thrusting out of the earth under his window. The tiny green shoot had four even tinier glossy leaves sticking out of it. And as he looked at it he was filled with wonder. A strange feeling went through him. For some reason he could not explain, even to himself, he thought of the special dream. Could this possibly be what God meant? Was this little shoot the 'God's child' of his dream. He felt very sure that this was the explanation of the whole thing.
So he called out to his wife, showed her the tiny green shoot, told her about the dream and asked her what they should do. 'Nothing for it!' she said. 'We must care for this little tree.'
And they did. Tending it carefully, watering it. Cleaning it to remove insects. They watched it grow with so much pride. From a shoot it grew, to become a big, fine tree! And the man and his wife were happy.
One night soon after, God came in their dreams again. 'My children', said He. 'You have both done very well. Ask what you will of me and you shall have it!' 'Then', said the woman. 'Give me more, many more of your children to care for. '
'I will', said God. 'And you will henceforth be known as The Mother of the Trees'.
(To be continued...)
And then, he had a dream!! Not just any ordinary dream, but a great and wondrous dream! In his dream God came to him and said 'My child. Don't be sad. It is very easy to love your own children. I do not worry about that. But I worry about my children. I need someone to take care of them. And that is a difficult thing to do. I need someone special! Out of the ordinary. Will you do this job for me?' And God went away smiling.
The next morning the man woke up with this curious feeling you sometimes have. Was that really a dream? What had happened? And what did God really mean. He thought about that all day as he had his meals and went about his daily chores. Preoccupied, he did not notice when he tossed a half eaten mango out of the window instead of putting it neatly in the bin.
The days went by and he all but forgot about his conversation with God in that special dream. But one day about a month from the day that this story started, he saw a tiny green shoot thrusting out of the earth under his window. The tiny green shoot had four even tinier glossy leaves sticking out of it. And as he looked at it he was filled with wonder. A strange feeling went through him. For some reason he could not explain, even to himself, he thought of the special dream. Could this possibly be what God meant? Was this little shoot the 'God's child' of his dream. He felt very sure that this was the explanation of the whole thing.
So he called out to his wife, showed her the tiny green shoot, told her about the dream and asked her what they should do. 'Nothing for it!' she said. 'We must care for this little tree.'
And they did. Tending it carefully, watering it. Cleaning it to remove insects. They watched it grow with so much pride. From a shoot it grew, to become a big, fine tree! And the man and his wife were happy.
One night soon after, God came in their dreams again. 'My children', said He. 'You have both done very well. Ask what you will of me and you shall have it!' 'Then', said the woman. 'Give me more, many more of your children to care for. '
'I will', said God. 'And you will henceforth be known as The Mother of the Trees'.
(To be continued...)
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Road Widening - A Necessity?
Road widening is a daily reality for most people in developing cities. In a place like Bangalore, it is also a daily question (well for some anyway) . Is it really the best way to cope with growing traffic?
I've put down some thoughts on why I believe it should always be the LAST not the FIRST way to manage traffic.
1. Road widening leads to tree cutting. Trees purify air, lower temperatures, improve the water table, provide shade, shelter birds... I could go on. Cutting a single tree has an irreversible impact on the environment that we need to consider.
2. Road widening needs land acquisition. Very often this land has been purchased by people using their life's savings. Sometimes it is used to run shops or businesses and people's livelihood depends on it. Before taking it away shouldn't the people planning, implementing or advocating road widening be able to say in all conscience: 'I'm sorry. I tried everything else. I had NO OTHER alternative' ?
3. Road widening cuts into pedestrian space. The road belongs to all kinds of users including cyclists and pedestrians. Also, it is a fact that in areas with very wide roads (Delhi in India, most cities in the US) it is less than safe to ride two-wheelers or cycles. When we make roads unsafe for pedestrians, cyclists and two wheelers, we put more cars on the roads, for which we need more road space and more widening - it's a vicious cycle!
4. Road widening has been going on for the last 3 years in full swing but with negative results. The reason is not hard to find, every extra inch of road space has been occupied by a new vehicle that has been added to the roads.
Which brings us to the bottom line. The real issue plaguing our roads today is not less infrastructure but inefficient use of existing infrastructure.
Every traffic jam is marked by the huge number of cars carrying only ONE passenger. Clearly the available road space is under utilized.
The natural conclusion is that better utilization of road space through car pooling, shared taxis/autos, more dependence on buses and other public transport as opposed to private transport would improve matters.
True, it would not be as convenient as driving your own car, playing your choice of music or leaving at the exact second that is convenient to you.
But against that we should weigh the environmental and human loss that is a result of road widening and its natural corollary - tree cutting and land acquisition.
Which is the better way? Which one should we try first?
I've put down some thoughts on why I believe it should always be the LAST not the FIRST way to manage traffic.
1. Road widening leads to tree cutting. Trees purify air, lower temperatures, improve the water table, provide shade, shelter birds... I could go on. Cutting a single tree has an irreversible impact on the environment that we need to consider.
2. Road widening needs land acquisition. Very often this land has been purchased by people using their life's savings. Sometimes it is used to run shops or businesses and people's livelihood depends on it. Before taking it away shouldn't the people planning, implementing or advocating road widening be able to say in all conscience: 'I'm sorry. I tried everything else. I had NO OTHER alternative' ?
3. Road widening cuts into pedestrian space. The road belongs to all kinds of users including cyclists and pedestrians. Also, it is a fact that in areas with very wide roads (Delhi in India, most cities in the US) it is less than safe to ride two-wheelers or cycles. When we make roads unsafe for pedestrians, cyclists and two wheelers, we put more cars on the roads, for which we need more road space and more widening - it's a vicious cycle!
4. Road widening has been going on for the last 3 years in full swing but with negative results. The reason is not hard to find, every extra inch of road space has been occupied by a new vehicle that has been added to the roads.
Which brings us to the bottom line. The real issue plaguing our roads today is not less infrastructure but inefficient use of existing infrastructure.
Every traffic jam is marked by the huge number of cars carrying only ONE passenger. Clearly the available road space is under utilized.
The natural conclusion is that better utilization of road space through car pooling, shared taxis/autos, more dependence on buses and other public transport as opposed to private transport would improve matters.
True, it would not be as convenient as driving your own car, playing your choice of music or leaving at the exact second that is convenient to you.
But against that we should weigh the environmental and human loss that is a result of road widening and its natural corollary - tree cutting and land acquisition.
Which is the better way? Which one should we try first?
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