Felling of The Banyan Tree

Chapter Summary

The poet begins the poem with an incident where his father has informed his tenants to vacate their house so they could proceed with the course of demotion. All of the houses except for the ones where the poet resides and a banyan tree that was considered pious by his grandmother were struck down. The trees were also chopped down in the process. Several of the trees there were considered sacred once and had medicinal values were also uprooted and chopped away.

The banyan tree, however, posed a problem since it was enormous and strong roots. The poet’s father still gave the order to cut down the tree. The banyan tree was so big that it was almost thrice the size of the poet’s residence. The trunk of the tree was almost 50 feet in its circumference. The aerial roots were extended thirty feet and touched the ground. They started the process of chopping down the tree by shedding off the branches. The birds and insects were rendered homeless and they flew away at once. Fifty men together put an effort to chop the tree down that exposes the trunk. It showed that the tree was around 200 years. An expression of fear and fascination grasped the audience.

Soon after, the poet along with his family shifts to Mumbai where they could not see a lot of trees. He could see trees in his dreams growing forth and touching the grounds to turn into concrete buildings.

‘Trees are sacred my grandmother used to say’— what does the poet imply by this line?

There were various legends regarding the sheoga, neem and mostly the banyan tree. In Hinduism, the aforementioned trees are considered sacred and highly relevant in various aspects of Hindu mythology. People from old times considered cutting down of the trees a sin since they used to worship them. The rituals were mentioned in different Holy Scriptures.

People from old times used to say that chopping down peepal and neem trees would call down ill events. The poet is trying to imply that people like his grandmother believed and preached the beliefs associated with the above-mentioned trees. Quite a lot of mythological and religiously relevant tales are associated with these trees and resultantly there were various beliefs associated with these trees.

‘No trees except the one which grows and seethes in one’s dreams’— why is the phrase ‘grows and seethes’ used?

In the end, the poet shifted to Mumbai with his family. The poet saw a banyan tree and remembered the one that stood tall in his garden. The tree that used to be in his paternal home has been cut down; however, its memories remain wide. The banyan tree has been personified by the poet as this is the tree that grows in his dreams. The banyan tree is personified by the poet as the one that grows big in his dreams.

The trees seethe in his dream implying that he is writhing in agony in his dreams. The poet is trying to convey that the tree is in anguish in his dreams as it was mercilessly chopped down.

How does the banyan tree stand out as different from other trees? What details of the tree does the poet highlight in the poem?

The banyan tree is considered one of the most pious among all the other trees in the Hinduism. This tree is worshipped in various parts of India. There are numerous mythological tales associated with banyan trees in Hindu culture. The poet admired the banyan tree as well and was astonished as the rings in the trunk revealed that it was around 200 years old.

This strong tree requires a lot of effort to cut it down. When the banyan tree was being cut down by 50 men, the people watch the event with fear and fascination. It felt like decades of their childhood and memories were being cut down.

What does the reference to ‘raw mythology’ imply?

The banyan tree has various mythological references associated with it. The grandmother also considered this tree highly sacred to them. This information was added by the poet to invoke the sentiments of the audience towards nature and the Hindu traditions and culture.

The banyan trees were chopped down by the order of the poet’s father. This process revealed the age of the tree. The poet felt like the tree concealed age-old knowledge witnessed numerous historical events and saw generations grow old. Now the tree has been slaughtered the divine shade of the banyan tree is gone once and for all.

‘Whose roots lay deeper than our lives’ — what aspect of human behaviour does this line reflect?

This line states that the poet has compared the lives of humans with that of the age-old banyan tree. The tree was mythically huge and concealed various witnesses within it. The tree resembles the life it has charted through the era of two centuries. The events the tree had witnessed are now gone for eternity. The tree perished and took away centuries' worth of memories along with it.

Comment on the contemporary concern that the poem echoes.

The poet is concerned about the changes being incorporated into society along with the associated mentality of people. The values of the trees are fading slowly as modern ideologies are shrouding society.

The religious values that have been taught to them since childhood are fading slowly. No one is willing to pay any heed to these values. The current lifestyle has turned humans into a cog in pieces of machinery. The poet emphasises the values are now considered archaic and backdated.

FAQs

Q1. What is the nature of the poet’s father?

Ans. The poet’s father is authoritative and practical in the real world. The sentence where it is mentioned that the trees are being cut down as per his father’s order emphasises that his father was a man of modern values and had lesser regard for their traditions.

Q2. What was the nature of the poet’s grandmother?

Ans. The poet's grandmother was a person of old times. She believed in and valued the old traditions and culture. She considered the tree pious and loved the tree as a sacred being.

Q3. Why were they struck with fear and fascination?

Ans. People who surrounded to see the banyan tree was being chopped down were all in shock. A lot of memories were associated with the trees many of them have lived their entire life seeing those trees. The tree getting chopped down truck has an emotional tone for all.