You must have heard of people worshipping every form of being in India. Among those, trees rank high. Every temple in the village has a huge tree outside the temple structure that has a platform built around it in most cases. People circle the tree when coming to the temple and often tie threads and other such stuff. It is also a shade to many birds and people sit around it and catch up. In some villages in the interiors, there are panchayats that are conducted. Panchayats are local governing bodies that settle disputes among the villagers.
Trees are part of nature and represent the life form. It not only gives shade and produces but is also home to birds and squirrels and the like.
The giants in my village are the mangoes, jackfruit, and coconut that give the identity to my state and then there are the cash crop trees such as the rubber. I have never heard of anyone worshipping the rubber but that may be because it arrived late on the scene. The rubber tree is not kept long. After planting the sapling, it grows for four years before it is tapped for milk and then it is cut down after the milk is extracted for about 8 to 12 years. Later it is converted to wood that is usually used for making cheap furniture. The boughs are used as firewood.
Mango trees and jackfruit trees are also not worshipped but these are so abundant that every householder feels the need to plant them near the house. There are high yielders but the traditional varieties do not give yield every year but only once in two years or so. The bud varieties promise yield frequently but are short-lived and need a lot of care.
The coconut trees are what give the name to my state - Kerala. The 'Kera Vriksham - coconut tree' is a tree that is really useful. Every part is used in one way or another. Coconut trees are a must and nowadays more and more people are realizing the goodness of the humble coconut.
I feel that the coconut must be looked after really well because it is really helpful to all. Tender coconut water can be given even to sick people. The
Coconut oil is healthy and can be used to cook as well as nourish the skin and hair. The leaves can be used to make roofs and brooms whereas the
dried fallen leaf parts can be used to start a fire and so on. The wood is used for making furniture and sometimes even as a bridge to cross canals in Alleppey, a district in Kerala. The shell can be used as a ladle and the husk can be used as a rough scrubber for bathing or for cleaning utensils. The outer husk is also let to soak up the water in the canals and the fibers are then extracted to prepare ropes. Thus the importance of the coconut tree in the life of the human is so huge.
Do you worship trees in your locality? Can you write about it?
