This photograph by Abhay Azad is haunting me. As soon as I saw this photograph, I rushed to the venue to meet this tree. My parents left us without any will and I know how difficult the life ahead is without a will.
The photograph of this half-cut tree has many meanings for me — vulgar display of power, the road to somewhere or nowhere, the journey is a process, a tale of valor and sacrifice, helplessness, transformation, and of course the simplest of all of it; deforestation. But, I’m sure something is about to happen; something is on the way.
With this in mind, I met the tree who narrated me with its last wishes. We, together, made a will and recorded its last wishes:
- I want my visible assets to be given to the poor employees of the contractor of municipal authority. They’re filthy poor and every part of me might bring in prosperity for their family. I want all my visible assets to be of use to someone or the other.
- I want people to address me as a martyr. I’ve lived all my life for service and I want to die in service. I’m a green-warrior.
- It’ll be great if some of my body can be used to build little homes for the birds that I hosted. They’re my family and I don’t want them to be homeless again.
- I understand, that I’d to leave. Everyone has to leave one day but I am proud to be sacrificed in the service of my country, in service to my people, in the service of development.
- I want the current and next generation to cultivate more green-warriors like me that can lay down their lives in the service of the nation.
- I want my invisible assets i.e. goodwill, kindness, gratitude, and love to set an example for coming generations. I won’t be there, and maybe many more like me won’t be there but life goes on. Goodwill, kindness, gratitude, compassion, love, and all of that has to continue. Let’s fill the world with colors of love. Nothing is permanent — cultivate more of me and I shall never die.
- I’m being sacrificed for progress and I wish my people, whom I served all my life, to progress not only materialistically but also morally, holistically, and spiritually. I don’t have any regret for the people who have allowed me to be a martyr. I share my gratitude and forgive them.
A tree is known by its fruit; a human by deeds. A good deed is never lost; one who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and one who plants kindness gathers love.
Saint Basil
This tree has been a giver all its life and will continue to give, forever. In the last moment also, it was sharing its gratitude and thinking of contribution.
The tree was positive about the future, positive about the sensibilities of human intellect. It had faith in the divine system, design thinking, technology, and more trees that shall be cultivated.
It shall never die. You and I’ll die, it shall never die — givers never die.
