BEAUTY
IS BUT SKIN DEEP !
Whilst
travelling in Garhwal hills near Lansdowne , recently I was again
attracted to the beauty of the pine trees ,uniformly spread over the
hills. The smell of pine in addition to its look is distinct. There
is variety too in pine , I was amazed to see a pine spread out like a
Pipal tree at one place , though most are of conical shape. However
if one examines the utility of this seemingly beautiful tree it is
limited. It secretes gum from its trunk which is used in
preparation of tar for road construction, the wood is used in making
of furniture but is of lower variety and no match to teak, saal or
shisham etc. The thin leaves are of no use to cattle and shed
regularly to create a slippery layer which is dangerous in hill
trekking , specially when wet. Moreover it consumes lot of water. In
contrast is the grey oak/Indian oak tree commonly called Baanj which
is also found in these heights, it does not bear any fruit ,carries
ordinary look, gawky appearance, its leaves are of dull green colour,
to add to its woes in Indo-Gangetic plain women who are unable to
bear children are referred to as 'baanj' an insulting term ,uttered
in loud whispers by jealous friends, ambitious mother-in-laws and
spoilt sister-in-laws ( nanad). This is burden of
feudal India where women were (are?) considered as commodities ,
primarily for producing children and if any one failed even owing
to biological inadequacy of her husband the poor lady carried the
burden of being referred to as 'baanj'.
However
despite its dull look it is preferred by the villagers and community
at large as it is a rich source of water. It retains water in its
roots and it is common to see a small but regular water stream near a
cluster of 'baanj' trees. It is a saying in hills that where ever
you see baanj there will be water. Its leaves are also eaten by
cattle .Compared to baanj, pine consumes a lot of water and the
initiators of this disastrous practice in hills were the Britishers.
They encouraged growth of pine as it looked beautiful and its wood
was utilized indiscriminately in timber trade using the rivers in
hills for transportation .Despite being innovators in Science their
sense of environment was grossly faulty.
Returing to
Pine and Baanj ( grey/Indian oak) the nature's analogy restores the
belief that 'beauty is but skin deep', but we tend to glorify
appearance ! Our preference for FDI at the cost of our small
farmers/traders is yet another fatal attraction merely based on
'appearance'.
कोई टिप्पणी नहीं:
एक टिप्पणी भेजें