Nagappa was digging a well. His field usually
fed by rain water would not be able to support the new cash crops which were a
rage in town. Many in his village had earned tidy sums by shifting to newer
items for cultivation.
Bore wells in this part of the country were
rare; the poverty all around did not permit such luxuries. He had to mortgage
his family jewels, now for the sixth time in the last ten years, to garner
enough funds to be able to dig a well.
He had gone around six feet into the ground
when the clanking of the spade against something metallic halted him. Further
probing revealed a steel trunk. Nagappa
was quivering with excitement now. What could the trunk hold? Was it some kind of treasure? Could it be a thousand gold coins? Or would it be ornaments? The hard soil around the trunk griped it in
its vice like grip. A lot of prodding finally freed it from its moorings. He lifted the trunk and put it on the ground
above him. The trunk’s light weight disappointed him. A large padlock hung from the bolt, and with
a swing of a cow bar, Nagappa managed to free it open, yet the bolt was jammed
with rust, and it again took a swing of his spade to creak the lid open.
Sitting inside was a package, brown with age, for such a large trunk, the
package seemed to be quite small.
With great excitement he picked up the
package, it felt damp, smelt odd, and most of all, it did not seem to be any
kind of treasure. It seems some kind of a book. Why would someone burry a book
for safekeeping; wondered Nagappa, as he unwrapped the package.
In spite of the sorry state of the wrapping,
the book that came out of the package, seemed well preserved. A bit faded, but
the golden inscriptions on a maroon velvet setting, was attractive, strange signs
and symbols in gold, adorned the cover. As he looked at it again he realised
that the symbols were of leaves of various shapes depicted in a jigsaw.
Then his eyes were drawn to the title of
the book... 'Germinatum' announced
the cover. He flipped the cover to look at the prologue.“One thousand year from now, when nature
would be sitting on the brink of a catastrophe created by man, and when both
humans and trees would be at a brink of mass destruction through strife and
pollution, a one eyed man will discover this book, and he shall be revealed the
secret language of Treekind and thereon we trees shall talk to mankind in a
different language”.
Suddenly Nagappa realised that he was one
eyed. He had lost eyesight in one eye in his childhood, a stone thrown at him
playfully, found its target on his eye and ever since he had been blind in one
eye.
Then it hit him. The fact that destiny had
lined him up, centuries ago; to be here at this moment finding the trunk was
over whelming. Often we search for the reasons for our existence, to realise
that one is a special person picked by the creator, for even a menial task as
it may, gave Nagappa a sense of pride. Now
he could hold back no more and started flipping the pages. In the age of blue tooth and text recognitions,
he had to just flip the pages, and as if by magic the contents of the book got
inscribed in his mind. In matter of seconds he seemed to have read the book and
learnt it by heart.
A little whisper distracted him, a faint
voice said “Nagappa, I am the little grass growing under your feet, if you care
could you step aside, your weight is killing me”, gasped the little tuft of
grass.
Nagappa stood there astounded hearing a
tuft of grass speak.
“Why do humans trample lesser beings so
mercilessly, O one eyed one”? Asked the blade of grass.
“You have been kind
enough to step aside upon my request, but I have seen others of you kind, who
look down on creatures smaller in stature to them. Why O Nagappa? asked the tuft of grass.
“Look at us, we cover most of earth, we
spread greenery and cheer all around in spite of being under people’s feet, we
are crushed mercilessly, the sun is harsh on us, the frost freezes us throughout
the night, most times we are put to death by thirst, once the rains disappear,
but we wait for just one drop of dew, so that we can grow again and regain our
lost glory, why then do humans not follow in our footsteps Nagappa? Asked the grass.
“Sorry Grass, I can speak for myself, what I
can say about mankind” retorted Nagappa. “By the way how is it that grasses can
speak”? Asked Nagappa
“Don’t be baffled, we plants could always
speak, by flipping through the book you have over there, you have just been taught 'Germinatum' language of the
trees, so now you can hear and speak to
all trees, shrubs, grass and creepers”,
said the grass.
“Pray Miss Grass, if I can call you that”
said Nagappa, “can I ask you a question? Why have I been chosen to learn this
language, and what is it that is expected of me”, asked Nagappa.
“Well” replied the grass, “I don’t know why,
you, have been chosen for this task, I
am myself just a two year old, but a few meters from here there is my great
grand uncle the Bamboo Shoot. He is a wise man, why don’t you go an ask him.
Thank you Miss Grass said Nagappa and went
in searching for the Bamboo Shoot.
In the distance he could hear creaks and crackles;
the sound grew more intense as he went further, and finally he stood under the
tall cluster of bamboos . “‘Creak’, ‘Creak’” Mr. Nagappa said the bamboo in
greetings, Creak to you too Mr. Bamboo said Nagappa now familiar with the
bamboo’s form of address.
Mr. Bamboo, I look for reasons why I was
taught 'Germinatum', can you enlighten me please.
“Nagappa, I am but just ten years old, I am
not aware of the reasons why. A mile
from here lives my cousin Sugarcane. He
is one hell of a sweet guy, people confide in him, secrets that they cannot
digest, perhaps he would have the answer to your query”.
“Ok Mr.
Bamboo, but having met you, I might as well clear some doubts of mine. Can you
tell me why you keep creaking and swaying, are you in pain? I see the Oaks
& the Teaks, they stay tall and firm, their body vast and majestic. Look at you, knotted and full of
joints, creaking and swaying, so what is your problem ? “Asked Nagappa
“Nagappa, you may call me fragmented, but
that is my real strength”, replied the Bamboo. Each joint in my body marks the
completion of one journey and the commencement of another, when I stand tall in
adversity, not even the strongest of the typhoons can uproot me.
My strength is
greater than that of steel, I fear not the snow, nor the sun, either the rain
or the wind, yet I bow down in honour of others virtue, when pushed.
I grow faster
than any other tree in the world, but yet my insides I keep hollow, so that I
can learn from other and yet have space to assimilate more.
The best part is my
simplicity, I do not need any processing to be used by man, you use me as a
weapon to protect life, you use me as a utensil to serve food, you use me as
shelter to built you home, yet, I need no paint and varnish, no artificialness
to complete me as a person. I am what I am and I stay that way till I am burn
in a fire.
Show
me the way O Bamboo, the way to your cousin’s place. Said Nagappa, satisfied
with what the bamboo had to say.
Don’t worry Nagappa, you shall find my
cousin very easily for he is a popular person. Said the Bamboo.
True to what the bamboo said, every shrub
and tree showed Nagappa the way towards the sugarcane fields, except Miss Tomato,
who seemed to be not too impressed with Mr. Sugarcane.
Pfft...., she raised her
nose in the air. Are you looking for the juicy sugarcane, be careful, he is too
sweet a person, but he can never be as soft as me, so what if I turn out to be
a bit sour sometimes, I am more colourful, plump, and soft than he can ever be,
I wonder then why humans always seem to be always chasing the sweeter things in
life, saying that she rushed inside her little farm.
When he finally reached the sugarcane
field, Nagappa saw snakes and rats creep inside the sugarcare stems, yet the
Sugarcane stood steady, greeted Nagappa with a smile and heard his story, and
honestly replied, “yes Nagappa, the world knows how sweet I am, I live my life in
peril, with snakes all around me. Dacoits rush into my fields, when escaping arrest;
lovers push me apart to get inside my parlour to make unashamed love.
I hide
many a secrets within my fields; have seen much treason being plotted inside my
den, news gets to me fast since I talk sweet. But this sweetness gets me only
so far in life, I am clue less as to why you have been chosen for this task”,
replied sugarcane. “Go a mile further up,
you will come across Mr.Neem, he is pretty senior amongst us, perhaps he can
tell you something”.
By now the cacophony of the trees and
shrubs, the weeds and the grass in the jungle talking to each other was very
distracting. To believe that only humans gossip is a fallacy, plants and trees with
nothing to do all whole day seem to talk endlessly.
‘Hey’ whispered the rose bush, “I am going to lose all my flowers tomorrow,
you see its Valentines, and every year its so painful to lose all your flowers
at one go”, it sobbed.
“Serves you right you vain rose” we are
tired of your fashion statements, “your pride was unmanageable last year when
the farmer grafted a violet rose stem on your body last year, look at you now,
you will rightfully be shorn tomorrow of your vanity ”said the marigold with
vengance.
“Thank god you are not a plantain tree, I
give birth only once, and humans wait for me to fruit and then tear me apart,
thankfully this year I have decided not to produce my fruit, I saw the worried
look on my farmer’s face yesterday, he gave me a truly disgusting look” said the
plantain tree laughing.
“Talking about humans, I still remember the
look on that Newton guy’s face, when I let go one of my rotten apples on him,
continued the apple tree, “Imagine that humans took so long to figure out that
rotten apples can't float in the air, on top of that I understand that he became very famous indeed, because of me letting go of one apple on his head, is it
not hilarious”
“Thank god I crawl on the river sides and
don’t drop my fruits people’s head unlike you” added the water melon,
So the conversations went, as Nagappa
marched onwards and reached the tall looking handsome Neem tree.
“Greetings O tall one”, hailed Nagappa.
“Greetings to you too, O one eyed one”,
replied the Neem tree. You travel from far, why don’t you rest under my shade,
and perhaps have some fruits from my tree.
What!
Exclaimed Nagappa, fruits from your trees are eaten by crows. Why should
I be eating this bitterness?
“Ha, ha, ha laughed the Neem Tree. So
typical of Humans to speak lowly of things which are bitter. Dear Nagappa, I
carry so much bitterness in me, yet I remain happy, I flourish in spite of this
bitterness. Everything in life cannot be sweet; there are bitter parts to life
too. I blossom & fructify, my fruits are sweet and juicy too. None of my
bitterness is carried by me in my approach towards life, I grow tall, my tree
is a home to many a squirrels and birds. I am happy the way I am, yet I show no
bitterness to people around me, unlike humans who turn bitter at the slightest
of adversity”.
“Be that it may, I know what brings you
here, and like my other cousins I too do not know why you were taught the ‘Germinatum
‘. The only person who could educate you is the head of our family the Banyan
Tree. Go looking for him, he is seated near your village school, since the last four hundred years, he is the oldest among us all. Seek and you shall have your
answers Nagappa”.
That is how finally Nagappa found himself
in the open field behind the school village in search of answers to this now
tiring pursuit.
A sudden bout of giggling brought him back
to the present. Who could it be he wondered? In the vast expanse around him he could see
but a lone banyan tree, and the barren land ahead of him looking dead and dry
like a camel’s back.
The giggling repeated and someone shouted,
hey Squirrel, don’t you dare dig in there, your whiskers are tickling me, go make your nest in the hollow in which your
father lived for long, don’t dig where
it tickles. The giggling continued.
A perplexed Nagappa looked around for the
source of the noise.
Who is giggling around here? Nagappa raised
his voice.
“Hey Nagappa, don’t you recognise me, I
have been living on your ancestral land for the last four hundred years, you
used to swing on my creepers, make a hammock out of them and sleep the night
through here, and I used to sing lullabies for you. Don’t you remember me, I am
the banyan tree standing right in front of you” came the husky reply.
Well!
Coming to the reason for your visit, replied the banyan, I don’t know why you
have been chosen for this task, but the need to communicate with humans is the
need of the hour. There was a time till a few centuries ago, when the
vegetations in this earth lived in co existence with humans, but going by the
way you are destroying this earth, we urgently need to put a stop to this
destruction. Humans have not evolved to the extent they believe they have.
We trees, plants, shrubs, weeds and all
vegetation, are all part of ‘Treekind’ we all are from a distant Galaxy. Our brethren
have captured most of the universe. What
you see as silent vegetation on this earth is not what we are. We travel space,
we have reached multiple galaxies and all corners of the universe, we live and
create life, we came here when the earth was just a piece of rock, we brought
along most of the life forms that you see on this earth. While man has been
scanning the air waves for signs of alien life, he does not realise that man is
himself the biggest alien in this universe.
We
the ‘Tree-Kind’ go back billions of years in existence, except for mobility we
have mastered everything there is to know.
we have become so advanced that we have grown little creatures out of
vegetation, these creatures named 'Pota-toes', because they were originally
created out of potato like tubers, are our voice, hands and means of
development, we provide them the knowledge, and they built planets for us to
migrate and expand. They create special cocoons for us to drift in the
universe, unaffected by the radiation and heat.
Today we rule the universe, we don’t use air-waves, and our language
transcends space and travels faster than light.
Due to strange reasons 'Pota-toes' could
not survive in the earthen atmosphere and hence we could not develop here. We
built man to help us grow, but first we wanted him to develop himself. It has
taken us just few million years to grow man, millions of years are like a blip
in the infinity for us, and it has been worth the wait. Unfortunately the way
man has been self destructing himself, our leaders have decided that it is time
for us to take over the earth.
So
we started our dialog with you, here on every person that you meet shall automatically
be transmitted, ' Germinatum' from you, it shall be only a matter of one month
before the entire human kind is able to speak our language.
“Then why did you wait for a thousand years,
as mentioned in the book, ‘O Great
Banyan’”, said Nagappa, with new found reverence.
Nagappa, how childish can you be! The trunk and the book that you see as one
thousand man years old, is in space terms not more than 24 hours old, the trunk
arrived from our head quarters last night, the force of the impact took it six feet into the ground, and the thousand years that you see written here in man
years is all but 24 hours in space terms.
So go meet with as many people as you can,
your one spoken word in earthling language will suffice to transmit 'Germinatum' to the receptor who can then repeat the process onwards to the people he meets,
we give it only a month from now on, for the entire humanity to learn 'Germinatum'.
Once you learn the language, you will see, that knowledge coming from us defeats most of the basic principles of science as you have defined it. When you start learning our ways, your science will come out to be primitive and helpless against the billion years of technology available with the ‘Tree Kind’.
When that happens, trees will rule the
earth, just as they rule the universe. Not with aim to defeat the humans, but
to begin a new era of mentoring humans.
What you sow, where you sow, when to reap, when to prune shall all be guided by the ‘Treekind’.
What you sow, where you sow, when to reap, when to prune shall all be guided by the ‘Treekind’.
The earth is no more for your people to
misuse and destruct. Don't you worry! The advancement that we shall make together will take
you towards many more new worlds that you would never have seen on your own.
Humankind takes a quantum leap here on.
“Lets reiterate the basic moto of the Treekind ’As we stay rooted to the ground, the more
towards the sky we shall grow’, a fact that humans seldom follow” concluded
the great Banyan.
These Words were beyond comprehension to
the humble Nagappa, who picked up his implements and headed home with a quizzed
expression on his face. Not realising that the world will never be the same again ; of course for the good.
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