Surbhi Singh - Basti villager’s plant trees mission might be the kind of drive that can prevent climate change
One of the key clauses of the landmark Paris climate deal
focusses on preservation of forests. The last time India took a serious note on
tree plantation was after Sundarlal Bahuguna’s Chipko movement in the 1970s.
The concepts of afforestation and re-forestation, though not alien, found
currency in country. But can forest protection and climate issues be the
headache of governments and ‘tree-hugging’ NGOs alone? Mativar Singh, a retired
teacher of a village school in Uttar Pradesh’s Basti district, proves that
individual effort do matter in the larger scheme of things. For Singh, planting
trees is like tending to his own fragile family and therefore his primary
responsibility. His contributions to the environment may have gone unnoticed,
but it gives him satisfaction.
A little over 60 years ago, Mativar began planting seeds in
his village. As years passed by, the fondness for his leafy family grew and he
decided to dedicate his life to planting as many trees as he could. In fact, he
began planting trees while he was in Class VII, but it was in 1954 that it
became his life mission. Mativar recounts the day when his elder sister was
asked to get mangoes from their neighbour. She was chided and chased away. When
Mativar heard of this he decided that he would plant so many mango trees that
whosoever wanted the fruit, would not return disappointed. He started with 150
saplings.
Then in 1967, when his property was partitioned, he planted 50-60
Mahua trees (an Indian tropical tree scientifically known as Madhuca
longifolia) in his bit of land. Now that tract of land has over 5,000 trees
from mango to jackfruit, guava to eucalyptus. He goes to the orchard everyday
and plucks fruits or collects fallen ones and plants them in the nursery. In
due course when the sapling is ready he shifts them to the orchard.
Along the Manorama river, Mativar Singh has planted Peepal
and Banyan trees so that travellers can rest at the banks of the river. He also
loves to see bird nests in these trees. Mativar feels very happy looking at his
garden. “Sages come and rest in my garden. They praise God…I feel immensely
satisfied looking at them enjoying the benefits of my tree,” says the
septuagenarian. He says that trees are such beautiful creations of God and grow
selflessly for others. “They never ask us for anything in return but are around
always for us.”
Mativar’s mission in life is to continue planting as many trees
so that the coming generation will reap benefit from them. When anyone ever
asks for a sapling, he is more than willing to give them free of charge. While
our government is upbeat over the Paris Climate Change summit outcome, it is
imperative that India moves beyond conservation to sustainable management of
our natural resources. Individual effort is what we need to harvest at the
moment.
