We read, write, speak and teach to students: “Forests are the sources of almost all our needs.” But alas! Forests everywhere along with millions of living species are in a pathetic state, except in a few countries. Degradation of forests is posing a serious threat to the existence of our children, grand children and future generations whom we love so much and want their safety and comfort. Children are in panic for the alarming rise of temperature and its numerous catastrophic effects on life and the earth.
The other day I was taking my evening walk in the stifling heat along with a student of Class VII, Nishant Saha. Nishant despaired: “Sir, if the rising trend of temperature continues like this, after twenty years our heavenly Duars of North Bengal will be on fire; temperature may exceed 60°C. What will happen then to our survival?” Pained, I answered, “If nothing is done to check the temperature, we might have to experience a field of dead bodies like the fish out of water.” This drove worried Nishant into a deep contemplation. After sometime, he woke up and cheered with a wonderful idea like “eureka!” of Archimedes. He shared: “Sir, Governments in all countries are giving a lot of money to the citizens under different schemes. Similarly, if the Governments could chalk out a scheme to pay Rs 10,000/= to every citizen annually inspiring them to plant and nurture twenty saplings each, then I think in just twenty years the burning world might turn back into a blissful heaven.” I was awe-struck by the splendid idea of Nishant, which I believe is practical and workable, and it is the need of the hour.
I lived in the midst of thick woods for 27years in Bhutan and realized the multiple marvels that trees bless us with. John Burroughs, American Naturalist wrote, “If I were to name the three most precious resources of life, I should say books, friends, and nature; and the greatest of these, at least the most constant and always at hand, is nature. Nature we have always with us, an inexhaustible storehouse of that which moves the heart, appeals to the mind, and fires the imagination – health to the body, a stimulus to the intellect, and joy to the soul. To the scientist, nature is a storehouse of facts, laws, processes; to the artist she is a storehouse of pictures; to the poet she is a storehouse of images, fancies, a source of inspiration; to the moralist she is a storehouse of precepts and parables; to all she may be a source of knowledge and joy forever.”
On this auspicious day I plant these saplings together with Nishant in dedication to our children, grandchildren, future generations and to the millions of endangered species.
Drops of water make the Ocean.
Thank you, Kamakhyaguri Byabsayee Samiti, for distributing saplings among the public on the occasion of the celebration of World Environment Day, and for granting me the privilege to be a part of this noble programme.
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