- ‘Break a Branch, Lose Your Sight’: An unwritten warning that has been passed down the ages
- Local residents believe the tree is a living goddess with divine powers
- There is even a small temple under the overwhelming shade of its vast canopy, where men, women, and children stop to pray
- And in addition, the tree’s milk-like sap reportedly possesses healing properties.
As a boy of four, I would often hear my Father sing a song, mostly absent-mindedly while doing something or the other. At other times it was sung especially for me. I was obviously too small then to grasp the full import and significance of that song then. Later however when I was older, I happened to read a poem called “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer, an American writer and poet.
Something about those lines seemed oddly familiar. At first the memory seemed an elusive blur, so close and yet so far away. Then suddenly in a flash, everything clicked and fell into place.
- Actually, it was the last verse of the poem: “Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree”, that inexplicably lifted the fog from half-forgotten memories and helped me recall that this poem was the same as what I’d heard years ago as a song
But now we must step into the present and learn about a Banyan tree, equally fascinating – and mysterious.
Stretching across a full acre in Sahiari village, Aurangabad district, Bihar, a 500-year-old giant banyan tree stands as a silent witness to centuries of history. An ominous warning prevalent in the area says “break a branch and lose your sight”.
Local residents believe the tree is a living goddess with divine powers. There is even a small temple under the overwhelming shade of its vast canopy, where men, women, and children stop to pray. And in addition, the tree’s milk-like sap reportedly possesses healing properties.
In response to Environment Minister, Dr. Prem Kumar’s conservation initiative, experts from the Forest Department have declared their intention for a more dedicated approach towards the study and care of the tree to keep it healthy for the centuries ahead.
The department has also launched a mobile app called ‘Bihar Heritage Tree’ which will allow interested persons to upload photos, GPS location and details of sacred trees in other parts of the country.
Stipulated guidelines to recognise an old tree as a heritage tree, include that the tree should be at least 100 years old, located on public land without any ownership dispute, alive across three generations, have cultural or religious significance and bear the stamp of recognition by botanists.
Along with this banyan tree, other ancient trees include a 1,400 year old tree in Chhattisgarh’s Korba, a 900 year old Adansonia digitata in Jharkhand’s Palamu, a 250 year old banyan at Kolkata’s Botanical Garden and a 450 year old African baobab, locally called Elephant Tree in Hyderabad.
Under a unique government scheme known as the Guardian Tree Pension Scheme, launched in December 2021, trees over 100 years old trees get pension from the government.
Under this scheme,50 trees received monthly funds in 2022. They also get donations and corporate CSR support.
These ancient trees not only bind nature and culture, but they also anchor communities in history, faith and well-being.
Bihar’s banyan tree should serve to inspire every villager, city visitor and traveller to pause, listen and seek healing under its sweeping shade.
Trees
BY JOYCE KILMER
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest near Robbinsville, in North Carolina, USA, preserves one of the largest stands of old-growth trees in the eastern United States.
Part of the Nantahala National Forest, the 3,800-acre Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is a paradise for walkers, with trails that lead beneath giant trees, some more than 300 years old.
Today the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is home to more than 100 species of trees, including virgin stands of sycamore, basswood, oak and yellow-poplar. The largest tulip poplars are more than 20 feet in circumference and over 100 feet tall.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Pravasi Samwad. Pravasi Samwad is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented.
