Two Trees

Sitting by the window, Arjun was gazing at his farm.

“What’s the matter?” asked his father, noticing his son was lost in thoughts.

“Dad, how do you think students from villages can compete with their urban counterparts?”

“What do you mean?” asked his father.

“We have no facilities here. We have to walk for an hour to get to school. We have frequent power failures. Now we are in the middle of a thunderstorm, meaning there will be no school for a few days,” replied Arjun. He was visibly sad.

Suddenly, they heard a loud crashing sound. They dashed to find out the huge tree just outside their porch fallen. It fell on the boundary wall and broke it.

“Wow! This also had to happen,” said Arjun. “Now we have to work to remove the tree and repair the boundary wall.”

“Don’t be disappointed Arjun. Look at the bright side,” said his father.

“Sorry dad, I can’t see one.”

“You’re right about removing the tree and the repairs. But think for a moment, had the tree fallen on the house, what would have happened?”

Arjun was quiet; scary thoughts ran through his head.

“You’re right dad, it could have been a lot worse. Thank God the tree fell in the other direction,” replied Arjun.

“I find one thing funny though dad.”

“What’s that?”

“See the tree on the other end of our farm? It always seemed less sturdy, weaker than the one which fell. Funny that one survived the storm, and this one fell!”

“Ah! A good observation. This is also the answer to your worries- worries about how you would be able to compete with urban students,” said his dad.

“Can you explain?” asked Arjun.

“Remember how your grandfather used to scold us because we always watered this tree, right from when it was a sapling and invariably forgot to water that one which is still standing?”

“Oh yes, I remember,” replied Arjun.

“This tree represents those who have all the resources available. They grow, they flourish but their roots never go deep enough because they find everything easily available on the surface. What happens when they are faced with a storm? You can see for yourself. On the other hand, the tree which is still standing, never got any resources easily. As a result, it had to push its roots deeper and deeper. The result? It survived the terrible storm!”

Zeyd Ladha