The tree was said to be haunted. As I sat by the window looking at the jamun tree it seemed far from being haunted. Infact this lovely spring morning the tree bathed in sunshine was swaying with the wind looking refreshingly welcoming.
While I do believe in the supernatural I haven’t really experienced anything weird ever. If I had to I really would want to meet a few departed souls just to complete some unsaid words.
I would love to meet Pappa and just tell him that one of the most cherished moments of my life is having watched Madhubalas Mahal with him at 12 midnight at the farmhouse.
I wish I could tell my Maushi, how much I missed her and wished she was around for some of the most important events of my life
That day before aaji’s demise, when she hugged me and cried and I said “don’t worry, you will be fine” knowing that she wouldn’t, I cursed myself for not having spent enough time with her during her last days for matters that today seemed worthless. How I wish I could just once apologize to her.
Well getting back to the jamun tree, it is a lone tree surrounded by a number of tiled houses. The tree has been there for years as the belief was that whoever has tried to cut the tree down has faced immediate death. Don’t know how true that is but it definitely has saved the tree.
This jamun tree in old central Calcutta took me to my childhood jamun tree at our building gate back in Mumbai. As a school going brat, summer vacations were spent in clearing up the tree of its ripe juicy fruit. They the best jamuns every tasted. The tree faced the stones and the sticks we used, to bring down the fruit. Even the fruits that went plop on the earth were picked up wiped against our clothes painting them purple and gobbled up. The tree never failed to provide us with the fruit every summer vacation. And then as we grew up... summer vacations vanished and so did the jamun tree… unfortunately it failed in making the world believe that it was haunted.
Another Jamun tree that’s close to my heart is the one in Nanas building. Well Nana used to make a wire loop at the end of a long stick and tie a plastic bag to it and he would then pluck the fruit from the jamun tree standing in the third floor balcony… so good was he with this act that the fruit would never miss the plastic bag to go hit the earth below. That tree too couldn’t live on forever. Well would love to meet nanas soul too to thank him for the jamuns and many more things
So long live the Jamun tree here… stay haunted forever else the cruel world will pull you down too and I just hope some day I get to taste your haunted fruit as well.
While I do believe in the supernatural I haven’t really experienced anything weird ever. If I had to I really would want to meet a few departed souls just to complete some unsaid words.
I would love to meet Pappa and just tell him that one of the most cherished moments of my life is having watched Madhubalas Mahal with him at 12 midnight at the farmhouse.
I wish I could tell my Maushi, how much I missed her and wished she was around for some of the most important events of my life
That day before aaji’s demise, when she hugged me and cried and I said “don’t worry, you will be fine” knowing that she wouldn’t, I cursed myself for not having spent enough time with her during her last days for matters that today seemed worthless. How I wish I could just once apologize to her.
Well getting back to the jamun tree, it is a lone tree surrounded by a number of tiled houses. The tree has been there for years as the belief was that whoever has tried to cut the tree down has faced immediate death. Don’t know how true that is but it definitely has saved the tree.
This jamun tree in old central Calcutta took me to my childhood jamun tree at our building gate back in Mumbai. As a school going brat, summer vacations were spent in clearing up the tree of its ripe juicy fruit. They the best jamuns every tasted. The tree faced the stones and the sticks we used, to bring down the fruit. Even the fruits that went plop on the earth were picked up wiped against our clothes painting them purple and gobbled up. The tree never failed to provide us with the fruit every summer vacation. And then as we grew up... summer vacations vanished and so did the jamun tree… unfortunately it failed in making the world believe that it was haunted.
Another Jamun tree that’s close to my heart is the one in Nanas building. Well Nana used to make a wire loop at the end of a long stick and tie a plastic bag to it and he would then pluck the fruit from the jamun tree standing in the third floor balcony… so good was he with this act that the fruit would never miss the plastic bag to go hit the earth below. That tree too couldn’t live on forever. Well would love to meet nanas soul too to thank him for the jamuns and many more things
So long live the Jamun tree here… stay haunted forever else the cruel world will pull you down too and I just hope some day I get to taste your haunted fruit as well.
Seriously, you have written a better piece than Toru Dutt's "Casuarina Tree".
ReplyDelete(GOGOL)
very well written..keep up the good work!!!
ReplyDelete