The spirit of Arbor
Ankur Bora
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”
Emerson perhaps was speaking of the power of intention. Everything that happens
in the universe begins with intention. When we set intentions, we ask the
universe to guide us toward our goals. And once we make a decision, the
decision also seems to make us; we find the joy of life of service. We discover
fellow travelers extending a hand and encouraging each other to rise up and
walk. We witness beautiful arbor, with their beauty on one hand and their
service on the other, beckoning us to the spring of abundance.
It is one thing to understand the issues. It is quite
another to do something about them. For Jadav Payeng, it all started with
trees. He made his decisions, and sent his intentions out to the universe —
backed up with large measures of hard work, perseverance and love. He had a
vision of building a better future —trees healing the land and regenerating the
vitality of earth, of children whose daily lives are enriched by nature’s
wonder and growing up to become champions of the environment, of urban areas
rejuvenating with saplings and coming to life with neighborly spirit. The story
of Jadav Payeng is an epic battle of mankind; spending 30 years alone planting
trees on a barren sandbar near Majuli Island in Assam, Payeng has converted it
to a sprawling 1360 acres of forest. He
is one of the most triumphant stories of the human spirit and Jadav’s wonderful
work is bringing people together – students, professionals and environmental
activities; local communities, Township and Council members, arborists and elected
officials, inspiring all to make a measurable positive difference to the people
and the planet.
Amazing positive achievements can happen when we connect
with others and put faith in the collective power of people. Assam Foundation
of North America (AFNA) is an organization which believes in fostering
cooperation through a common goal. This year AFNA decided to take the inspiring
story of Jadav Payeng to the next level by partnering with Bridgewater Township
in New Jersey, U.S.A, to plant trees in its community parks. It all started
when Mr. Binoy K. Bordoloi, director of AFNA, visited the interior island
village and witnessed firsthand Payeng’s single-handed quest and missionary
zeal. On his return, Mr. Bordoloi informed us and also imbibed us - It’s a time
we come together and make a common voice. He proposed AFNA to be a vehicle for
environmental work. Thus, we embarked on a mission – we will promote Jadav’s
story over and over again until people get the message. We also set on an
immediate goal, to lean on elected officials to take immediate action.
America is the most charity-minded nation on earth. If
approached and informed properly, Americans are more than willing to support service
to anyone, anywhere in the world. There are a great number of non-profit
organizations promoting planting of trees in this country. The Arbor Day
Foundation is a conservation and education organization that inspires people to
plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. We decided to approach the foundation and
the township of Bridgewater and our effort was led by Mr. Niren Choudhury. Mr. Choudhury is a man of commitment,
tenacity, determination, belief and planning. He met and impressed upon the
foundation members – that, there should be a theme each time they plant trees,
to enhance the meaning of their action. Mr. Choudhury also presented to the
board members the video of the short film “Forest Man.” by Canadian filmmaker
William Douglas McMaster. Nevertheless, our application had to go through
intense screening process. Finally, we received the anticipated news - The
Bridgewater Township is pleased to announce a tree dedication ceremony to honor
the internationally renowned forester Jadav Payeng.
The news of the tree plantation initiative created an
instant sensation. The news spread throughout the locality and soon schools,
regional foresters, councilmen, arborists became eager to take part in the
program. The frontrunner among them was the Roots & Shoots from nearby Hillside
Intermediate School. Roots and Shoots program is a Club that meets regularly
before school to work on activities related to the environment. Students
perform a number of tasks related to habitat loss and wildlife populations.
Among these was transformation of six acres of school property into a nature
preserve. Other projects included reforestation, establishing a wildlife
meadow, a freshwater marsh and hosting an annual environmental festival. Roots
and Shoots is an embodiment of Jadav Payeng – budding children learning to protect
our environment and serve the well-being of our eco system.
The Assamese community in the North Eastern region of USA
was fully and whole heartedly involved in the organization of the event. There
were few directly involved including Kamalakshi Hazarika, Nripen Barua, Suranjoy
Hazarika, Shakuntala Choudhury and Bani Bordoloi. They spent countless hours
with unwavering patience and persistence, answering calls and questions, preparing
brochures and other communication needs, coordinating with the participants and
cultural troupes. Back home in Assam, we were ably supported by Jitu Kalita and
Prasanta Bordoloi of Jorhat. We were emailing Mr. Kalita about the event
regularly and to relay the information to Jadav Payeng. We have a special
relation with Prashanta Kumar Bordoloi. Mr. Bordoloi is an alumnus of Water
Resources Engineering Rutgers University, New Jersey and is currently working
for a bio-engineering solution for containing river erosion by Brahmaputra. Satyajit
Nath, a fellow alumnus of Rutgers is in touch with Bordoloi and exploring
supporting his endeavor.
On 17th October, the township of Bridgewater
marked the celebration of “Jadav Payeng
Tree Planting Ceremony”. Scores of participants joined the festivity at the
Chimney Rock Park on the center of the city. The audience was greeted with live
music and performances with a medley of Bharat Natyam, Kathak, Punjabi Bhangra,
Odissi and Manipuri dancers. Overall, there were 48 participants from different
groups to show their various talents in front of the invited guests and multi-cultural
gatherings. Unveiling the Plaque and the memorial tree dedication, the Mayor of
Bridgewater Mr. Daniel J. Hayes, paid glowing tribute to Jadav Payeng, “It is our pleasure to honor him, raise the
awareness level across the continents, and inspire others to join in this noble
cause.” Mr. Hayes added “The
celebration also marks Bridgewater’s achievement as recognized Tree City of USA
for the 19th consecutive year and honors the community for its commitment to
effective urban forest management.” Joining at the ceremony were Chris O.
Poulsen, Director of Health & Human Services Bridgewater Township, Mr.
Shambhu Amitabh, Vice Consulate of India, Mr. Upendra Chivukula - New Jersey
commissioner of Public Utility and the first Legislator from Indian Origin to
New Jersey Assembly, Somerset County Freeholders, Councilmen, Council woman,
and many other dignitaries. Speaking to the audience, the distinguished guests lauded
the Bridgewater Township in creating worldwide recognition and use of trees as
part of the solution to global issues. In addition to the distinguished guests,
the Hillside Intermediate School presented to show their environmental projects
through "Roots and Shoots" program as well as Township presented
their Shade Tree Program in display. “We
are glad that Bridgewater Township has given us the opportunity to honor Jadav
Payneg for his immense contribution to the environment. Jadav Payeng will be
always remembered in this township” said Mr. Niren Choudhury in his closing
remark. The function concluded with the Mayor distributing the certificate to
all participants and with a boisterous Bihu, by the local Assamese ladies entertaining
young and adults alike with the spirit of the Assamese folk dance.
The Jadav Payeng Memorial Tree in the Chimney Rock Park
stands tall amidst the arbor and vivid blooms of autumn; it’s a season that
seems to intrinsically say to us, “We all
can pull together.” In retrospect, the Planting Ceremony was a path
breaking event on community mobilization. Let the new generation in Assam honor
and idolize our green warrior. Let's hundreds of thousands of roots &
shoots creep underground everywhere and make a firm foundation. Let’s the local
population get involved in the planting of trees and mobilize themselves and
their neighbors for sustaining them. The future of the planet concerns all of
us and all of us should do what we can to protect it. After all, we are the
children of the same soil.
Thanks for all.
ReplyDeleteVery nice initiative
ReplyDelete