The year 2008 ends on a sad note for me. Last week, my grandmother passed away. The sad vacation came to an end yesterday. It couldn't have ended on a sadder note than with what I saw yesterday just before my trip back to Bangalore. I was travelling through the road around the University stadium in Trivandrum leading to the LMS junction. There, the avenue trees on both sides were being cut off. Those trees and the sudden coolness when we reach there been one of my long standing memories of travelling through roads in Trivandrum. All of a sudden, I could feel the hot sun beating down hard on my head. There was no coolness around. The cutting process was still going on. Its sad that in the name of road widening and development the little green pastures that are left in the city are also robbed from us. Please stop this. Development shouldn't make the God's own country end up looking like a desert.
The remaining part of the avenue trees after the merciless cutting down. Sadly, there's no before the cutting snap to show you how beautiful it was**********The Green Coffin***********
Reminiscing about a day
when I strode along this stretch
when it was so unlike this wretch
when all around was the shade.
The green filled my eyes
Not with envy,but with pride
It was always fun to ride
On those silken boulevards.
The axes of modernity laugh hard
The tree lands with a thud
Unseen tears evaporate
Obscene wealth contaminate.
And what remains now?
Where are those green shades?
Where are those sturdy barks?
Where will you hide from the sun?
Oh!Who hears those voiceless cries?
Oh!Who will heal those unhealable wounds?
-Dedicated to the fallen trees in Trivandrum as well as all over the world. Please stop felling trees.
PS- Recently I read about a young Indian village guy who developed an idea to make paper from elephant dung. He has tried it successfully and been churning out reams and reams of writeable paper. Ideas like this can save a million trees if accepted worldwide.
PS- Recently I read about a young Indian village guy who developed an idea to make paper from elephant dung. He has tried it successfully and been churning out reams and reams of writeable paper. Ideas like this can save a million trees if accepted worldwide.
PPS- Have a lot of catching up to do. Have to check mails from the past 10 days and also all your blogs.
your crusader Praveen
21 comments:
Sorry to hear about your grandmother...
And I'm not sure how I feel about those road development works. Wasn't there another option?? The last thing I want is Trivandrum succumbing and degrading into another of those dry, uncomfortable urban mess we have in hundreds in our country.
I've posted your image in Skyscrapercity with due credits given.
Happy New Year Praveen!
awww..
i m sorry, grandparents play the role of tree in a person's life, they give us shade and fruits of their experience and love..
n trees being cut off is similar.. i guess we need another 'chipko movement' to save the trees..
Sorry to hear of your grandmother. God rest her soul in peace.
And yes, the greenery so synonymous with Kerala seems to be slowly but surely getting eroded. All in the name of progress and urbanization.
Nice verse on it too, esp this line:
Obscene wealth contaminate.
Instead of talking of it, I hope the Minister sticks to his words, shared in this morning's Indian Express, Kochi Ed. , about afforestation too!
I'm sorry to hear abt ur grandma :(
May her soul rest in peace
*HUGS*
Wishing u a rocking,prosperous 2009!
Cutting of trees in the name of road widening and development is a gruesome offence..really sad!
those trees are cut off? thats sad and bad.. used to jog in that area every moning.. i stayed in velayambalam last year... btw bro i am back to bloggging tmrw night
@scorpiogenius
Its digusting to even think our trivandrum going the way of other cities scarred by over development...the green pastures in the city are shrinking day by day.
and thanks a lot for linking it there..
@Richa
yes..chipko movement was a landmark..we need more such initiatives
@Usha
the same minister who talks about planting trees might be ordering to do the opposite ...
@swats
you could bring in some celebrities to save the trees
@chriz
good to see you back man...we all missed your comic posts very badly
sorry to hear abt ur granny dear..
ad very sad..to lose someone we love..
tats life we hav to liv it..
the ps:) section..tats reely nice..yes we could save trees..and so life...
ps:) u haven't changed yet...the b'roll my blog url..
Am sorry about your granny!
My heartfelt condolences..... It is quite akin to the end of an era!
Yea... Its really sad that so many trees are being felled these days!
sorry to hear abt your granny,its always a painful thing.
may her soul rest in peace
God, i cant believe that those trees are cutting down, its really sad, i guess whn i go home, i wil b seeing lot of changes in tvm. Last time whn i went i saw those half build pillers of xpres highway, i guess this time i wil b seeing things more worse than that. In the name of development, our govt dnt even knw wt they r doin.....!!!!!
It was a very painful to see those trees being cut down. Still remember the days when we used to walk beside those while we were little kids in school...At this rate it will be hard to get a breath in our city.
Praveen, my heartfelt condolences on your loss, first of all.
I am a green, a card carrying member of Green Peace and WWF but I like to weigh up the pros and cons of development before opposing it.
It is inevitable that a rapidly growing city like Trivandrum needs to expand its infrastructure. That is a public need, which all of us are beneficiaries of. And sadly, that often means that buildings have to be demolished and trees cut down. We have to accept that, since allowing urban development to stagnate is not an option. I doubt if anyone would be willing to forgo electricity or piped water to protect the environment. In that case, we would have been much better off environmentally speaking, than we are now.
What is essential is that environmental impact be minimised and mitigated. Whereas, earlier road expansions had seen trees being axed and never replaced, the TCRIP project has ensured that replacements are planted and looked after. In fact, the TRDCL folks were watering trees even when the project was in limbo.
What irks me is that there a lot of pseudo-environmentalists who rally out to prevent a single tree being cut down in Trivandrum city itself, within a few kilometers of their homes, when they do nothing to stop the industralised destruction of entire forests further away. That reeks of an ideology of convenience rather than conviction.
Development is something our city urgently needs.What we should aim for is to ensure that these gains are made at the least environmental costs.
Sincere condolences.
A painfully beautiful dedication bro'. Something has to be done about this.
A very happy and prosperous New Year to you and yours...
Peace.
Death continues to stalk us
Sometimes gently, mostly not
I'm at the age when loved ones die
And as I live I understand why
My hearty condolences Jabri!!!
And yea.. the trees... they cut it for Strawberry Fields... :P
btw... happy WORKING new year chetta!!!
@PJ
have updated u in my blogroll now:D
@Rakesh
hmm..yes
@rvivekshanmughom
there will come a time when we wont have enuf trees left to cut down
@devil incarnate
those pillars r still there mocking at us:(
@rockus
everyone has some memory attached with those scenic places
@ajaypp
that comment gave me a whole new perspective on the subject. If what you said is true(the planting and caring of new saplings), then I've to applaud them...
Am not against cutting trees for development..But atleast in some places, they could go in for a kind of development which doesn't do any harm to the trees and nature..and I do not support those psudo environmentalists who oppose all kinds of developments blindly.
@kartz
thanks a lot man
wish u a happy new year too
@hari
apt words..Hail motherjane:)
Dude, checked out your album. Thanks for the share. How I envy you. :P
Glad you had a good time... Gotta make a visit to that place sometime. Guess the wait continues for now...
And yeah, can relate oh-so-much to the first line of this post...
See you around. Tc. Happy blog hopping and emailing! I quite understand how it is to check an uber flooded inbox... :D
Peace.
Pseudo Environmentalism is basically ignorance plus the tendency for being on the safer side( less or zero brick bats) along with choosing an easy way to acceptance & publicity. Town Planning is never considered as a destructive science, by any acceptable environmental standards. Wonder why these people are not interested in planting new trees or planning new avenues!!! They write & publish at the cost of trees- again never on recycled paper !! They spent enormous time on ways to object cutting of senile trees of the famous avenues( on heritage and upbeat avenues only), which are practically dead. Just think of the numerous cable ducts taken shaving their roots spread and the fact that many of them get uprooted at even mild wind speeds. Nature upholds change and it is for the prudent men - who are infact advanced animals & nature's own produce - to see that development is routed through the sustainable lane. Let us remember that each living being will have its own life period & tress are no exception. Instead of pondering over those cut, let us plant new avenue trees and make our city greener.
Sad about the trees...I felt the same way when I saw trees being ripped out from the hillsides in Vizag, leaving them bare and bleeding. And I wouldn't say it was for an exactly worthy cause. We sure can live without studios and amusement parks built at the cost of the environment.
Hail Motherjane!!!!!! \../
Sorry to hear about your grandmother, Praveen
My son is home from Bangalore and recently while driving through this exact area, his reaction was "Oh my God what happened to the trees??!! This area was so beautiful and cool!!!"
You can imagine how I feel. I have been seeing it much much longer. I used to get down from my college bus at Palayam (studying at Kariavattom) and walk home. I really enjoyed the walk and preferred it to the crowded buses. Now one part of it is gone. How long before the rest face the axe?? I wish one-ways would come up rather than trees cut down to widen roads. But I suppose with the increase in numbers, both people and vehicles, there is no option. :(
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