By Savitri Narayanan
Noopur was surprised when she opened her eyes. There was a patch of sunshine on her bed! It fell through the parted window curtains.
She got up and rushed to the kitchen.
“Mummyji, I’m late for school! How come you didn’t wake me up?”
“Since when did you become so studious,” smiled Sunita as she continued her kitchen chores, “wanting to be in school on a Sunday too?”
Noopur wandered away happily. She went out to the front yard where Papaji was trimming the bougainvillea bushes.
“How come you’re up so early today?” he teased. “It’s almost lunchtime!”
It was then that her eyes fell on her new bicycle. A few days ago, they had exchanged her old one for this new one. A brand new Atlas, it was black and maroon, with strong handles polished and shining!
Noopur gobbled up her breakfast and was soon out with Payal, cycling away. Their favourite area was the Harela woods near the Donsa River.
“When I was like you, it was a thick forest,” Dadaji often said. “Once in a while even a leopard or an elephant came out wandering!”
There were no more wild animals around anymore, still it was a quiet and secluded area. There was a sense of calm and mystery about it making the Harela woods one of their favourite cycling destinations.
But things were different on that particular morning. There were people around and there was action! Trees were being cut down!
Standing beside their bicycles, the girls took a closer look. Things had changed since they cycled here, maybe before the exams. A few trees were gone forever! Where they stood once with heads held high, there were just stumps now! Another tree which was being cut, was falling down, its lush green branches almost touching the ground. There was another man with his axe, targeting the tree beside the falling tree.
“Soon all these trees will be gone,” thought Noopur, “and buildings will come up in their place!”
Her eyes welled up at the thought and Noopur sat down there itself.
There was a conversation in the air!
“Is it hurting?”
“Not really friend; I mean, the axe doesn’t hurt but the thought hurts!”
“True the thought hurts, tomorrow it’ll be my turn!”
“And then mine…”
“And then mine…”
The air filled with shrill laughter. Noopur and Payal were puzzled and looked around. The conversation was clear but who was talking?
“We came from the earth and we go back to the earth, we’ve nothing to lose!”
“As long as we stand tall, we keep giving – fruits, flowers, fodder, fuel…”
“And fresh air, too, we convert the carbon dioxide to oxygen.”
“You folks do it only when the sun shines whereas I do it all the time!”
“That must be a peepul speaking,” though Noopur. “Dadaji says peepul trees give fresh air during the day and night that’s why they’re at the entrance of the temples!”
“These foolish men want to make quick money, can’t see beyond their noses!”
“True, they don’t understand the long-term effects of their actions!”
“My concern is for these children; what kind of world will they inherit! Polluted, barren, dry…”
Noopur couldn’t wait any longer.
“Maybe Papaji could tell the Sarpanch to stop cutting the trees!”
Determined to make an effort, Noopur jumped on to her bicycle and pedaled home fast.
