Roadside Trees - What did we just do?

Dear Bommu,

Your mom sent me a picture of your first bus journey and your curious questions about bus tickets. I wanted to write you a letter about my bus journey 22 years ago.

When I was your age Bommu, we had to travel to Trichy often and we used to take buses.

The bus stand would be buzzing with people rushing in different directions and snack sellers singing their trade cry “Murukku venuma murukku ''.

Once the bus halts, Mummy would rush to take an empty seat near the window and take me in her lap. The boring 40 km journey would start as the driver changed the gears, and slowly the busy streets gave way to green fields and fresh air through the window.

As the bus chugs along, the only entertainment was to eat murukku and count the tall trees on the roadside.I used to think those big trees were planted by some kings. The teacher at school taught us that King Ashoka planted trees on roadsides. Maybe some King like him planted these neem, tamarind trees and many other ones on this Trichy road, I thought. I was only 5 years old and knew to count only upto three digits. I used to miss the count and would probably fall asleep after that.

But as I would watch those passing trees, I also observed the lives around them. A grandma picking up neem seeds to sell them off at an oil mill, children stoning the tamarind tree to enjoy its tongue tingling tangy fruits, shepherds resting under the shade while the flock grazed around. It looked like the trees planted to give shade benefits way more than it was intended.

Few years later, the government decided to expand the highway into a 4 lane, and so had to bring down the trees along the stretch on both sides. It is funny that they planted new shrubs in the middle to compensate for cutting down those big trees.

Years forward, the same roads are empty. The other day, Thatha (grandpa) couldn’t find a stop to rest while he went on a bike. There was no tree left to shelter. I wonder about all the birds, insects and animals that used to make shelter in those trees.

Manufacturing fancy phones, planes and cars is difficult. But making beautiful cities is easy.

P.S.

Trichy didn’t just lose its microclimate, but 48 pounds of CO2 absorption, 1040000 pounds of Oxygen every year, leaving out the lives of birds and animals it supported and the local economy.

There was a growth in transportation but at the cost of what? If the government had foreseen this and included nature in their growth plan, we would still be enjoying the boring bus journeys.