6 days ago
- General
- New Indian Express
The treasure in our trees
From the stately, tall coconut trees come the coconut, which could be fashioned into wonderful stilts on which children could walk tall. From the Indian Coral tree came these wonderful seeds that would get very hot when rubbed on the ground. What wonderful hours we had, placing the hot seed on the arm of an unsuspecting friend and watching them leap in surprise.
Where have all the trees gone? Most children have barely seen a tamarind tree, let alone climbed one.
About a year ago, I interviewed a number of people asking them to recollect their childhood memories of play. One talked of a wonderful catching game that they played that involved climbing trees. Another reminisced about how he never used to enter through the gate of his friend's house but preferred to clamber over the wall by using an overhanging tree.
To quote Richard Mabey, a renowned British writer and broadcaster, best known for his work exploring the relationship between nature and culture — 'To be without trees would, in the most literal way, to be without our roots.'
And the roots of our traditional games are in
our trees – truly the treasure in the trees.
