The Banyan Tree

There used to be a huge banyan tree
we had no love for nature then
but its soothing shadow
helped us dream a lot
about our love life
professional life…

It was the place
away from the confines
of four walls of the classroom
where we used to practise
singing the patriotic songs
as well as tunes of bollywood,
where we used to burst out
anger against teachers
inventing nicknames for them…

It was the place
where we used to debate
whether spirit is a reality 
to discuss dualism and non dualism,
Gita and Abhigyan Shakuntalam
as also to interpret poems
of Surdas, Bihari, Hariaudh and Tagore
mostly in romantic ways,
forbidden in the classroom…

It was the place
where the strategies were devised
for our board exams
and also to crack entrance exams
for medical and engineering
and a future five years hence…

It was the place
where we used to get
respite from sweats and troubles,
where we would see
everything green and golden
where we could feel
the feelings of every leave
that had become quite familiar
with our faces, laughter and gossips,
a true friend and a guardian
of a classroom
away from the classroom
like in Shantiniketan…

The last day
when we left the college
first time tears rolled down our faces sitting under the same tree
that witnessed all our activities
good and both with forbearance
we had all started loving
the very nature
of that banyan tree…

We still feel
its shadow and fragrance
engulfing us on and often
taking us back to our golden days
of the teenage years…

–Kaushal Kishore

images: pinterest