Wonders of nature are evergreen

So, one early morning, on accidentally glancing at my backyard, from a rear window, its tranquil environment and natural activity came as a surprise.Dawn was near and the birds were jubilantly greeting the morning light. On the balcony by the side of the house a large old gulmohur swayed gently in the morning breeze. The dew washed leaves and flowers winked mischievously at the sunbeams touching them. The cool earth gave off a warm earthy scent that mingled with the crispy air. Quite suddenly one was aware of the trees that were standing tall and silent on the small strip of land that had mercifully been left untouched by the builders, and ran around the three sides of the building. The spreading gulmohurs, with flaming orange-red flowers and their fan-like leaves, the sleepy laburnums with drooping bunches of bright yellow, bougainvillaea of variegated colours screeping over the boundary wall, the drumstick tree with masses of white flowers, a tamarind tree and a number of straggling plants making an effort to survive as best they can in the untended soil.

A chance encounter with nature turned into a revelation. Since then, it has become a pleasure of the deepest kind to watch out for the birds. During January to March, when the drumstick tree flowers the brilliant little purple sun-birds appear out of nowhere. At this time the bulbuls too are greatly in evidence. Mynahs, doves, magpie robins and squirrels also share the same territory.

Each month unfolds some secret, trees shed their leaves, flowers turn into fruit, and fruit to seed again. When they meet the earth and are touched by rain new life sprouts and renews the old. The wonders of nature are evergreen. Trees, birds, squirrels, butterflies, flowers, small wonders of nature. Put together they form the immensely important factor of our environment.

Trees are not mere beautification, but an immensely important factor in our lives. They absorb the damaging carbon dioxide released from car exhausts, human breath, aerosols, and factories and convert it into oxygen. Trees attract rain, they given shade, bring down summer temperatures and the roots of the large trees spread under the earth and hold the soil together.By cutting down large number of trees the world over, we have collectively caused the green house effect. The atmosphere oxygen has been reduced and there are gaps in the protective air layer which is allowing the damaging ultra violet rays of the sun to reach the earth.

A polluted atmosphere attracts fewer birds, who have a very definite purpose. The arrival of a number of birds heralds the seasons. Traditionally, the koel begins to sing when the monsoon is near. The immigrant pied crested cuckoo, when it flies in from Africa also brings the rain.

Surat is a city still in the making. It still has a very fair chance to improve its environs and enhance the quality of life. It has become the second cleanest city in the country, it can now take on the drive to be the greenest as well.

On the World Environment Day, Surat would do well to lay the foundation for some open green spaces. Parks and gardens are sadly lacking in the city. A park or botanical garden can serve as a place of entertainment and education. Green areas must be insisted upon particularly in the new developments

.Their boundaries can be maintained by dense tree plantations, creating a small wooded area in each lot. Roads too can have avenues of tamarind or fruit-bearing trees which also attract the birds.

Merely talking of the environment and celebrating an environment day is not going to help us. Perhaps, it is time that we take cognizance of our traditional way of life, wherein man took from nature only enough for his use, and thus the earth remained a cornucopia for man.

Perhaps 5 th of June can be another beginning for a green Surat along with the clean Surat.