Peepal

Silence coughed.
Is became was.
A 20 year old peepal
chopped
for a skyway,
a Metro.

Francis Thompson verses:

All things by immortal power
Near or far,
Hiddenly,
To each other linked are,
That thou canst not stir a flower?
Without troubling a star.

But dear old poet Francis Thompson, none troubled when they did away with the peepal, chopped to shreds, sold for cash. It was tall, young and sturdy on the divider of Link Road; afraid of zooming traffic, none went near it except crows and koels; in its early years, some of me friends watered it in the morning; there was no traffic then; a morning sun and evening moon paused on their walks. Did not hit me till a young college kid alerted me. Setting out for college, he prayed to the peepal and the sun above. 'The day always went off well. Me girl friend was never upset,' he said laughingly. Now? The Metro work started without any public discussion; some babu, some contractor, some politician decided to make money for their next 10 generations and the peepal had to go with other bushes on the road divider. Archaeological expeditions are on in Borivili (W) and Dahisar; electricity companies, telephone outfits and Metro have done away with all the roads below and skies above. They hack everything standing, sitting, sleeping. With the skyway will come railway stations and more cars and more bikes and more lorries. Will that help ease travel in Mumbai? Do not know. How many trees will be cut for highways and projects? How many animals will lose homes? Does anyone keep count; we number humans dead and alive. Population statistics. What happens when a tree or a forest or an animal is brought down? Do they go to Heaven or Hell; there cannot be Hell for them, me thinks, as Hell is for humans. For sure less birds will visit or fly over Link Road. Maybe India 2020 will be without Earth. Will that be pretty?