Ali inherited from his father a forest area of Russian Olive, Sea Buckthorn and other plants spread over more than 20 canals of land beside crop fields and baren land areas. Most of the parts of the forest were so dense that only animals could move around making way through the bushes. With the spreading dusk of the evenings, birds of the village including sparrows, owls, doves, myna, magpie and other seasonal birds would move towards the forest to sit in the dense branches of trees, seeking refuge from foxes and jackals. The evening would turn noisy with the birds chirping to make rooms among the trees. In winters the birds would feed on fruits of forest trees exposed out with the leaves dropped down in Autumn. The forest bed remained covered up to knee by dead leaves and bird poos, and in spring green seedlings would pop up out of the dead leaves from the seeds dropped down with birds poos.
For years the forest served as source of fuel wood for Ali’s father beside feeding household cows, sheep and goats, while the dead leaves and bird dropping were used to fertile the crop fields. Educated from colleges Ali and his brothers started talking clearing the forest to be replaced with apple, apricot and other fruit trees. Ali’s father, who nurtured the forest from small seedlings to big trees, would helplessly listen to his sons’ arguments and economic calculations, and one day departed to eternal peace before witnessing the destruction to his lifelong investment in nature. The forest was cleared.
The area now covers a modern house, crop land and area for fruit trees, but has lost its connection with nature. Sparrow nests around the house are cleared every year to make the house clean. Birds are kept away to save grape, cherry and apple fruits. The noisy evenings with birds’ chirps have lost to death silence with occasional voice of dog barking away wild animals. Forest insects have been replaced by fruit and crop pests who have developed resistance to pesticides due to its excessive use. Elderly villagers who visit the farm house look at it with wonder. Their appreciation of the new development is still dominated by the stories of hunting in the forest, their experience of cool and calm shades of the forest trees and their talk of nervousness when they would steal walnuts. Though Ali’s children have not witnessed the passing to new development, Ali feels ashamed and guilty to deprive his children of their right to experience a natural eco system. He is now ashamed of the fact that a tree is not just a tree but a home, and how many bird nests he must have destroyed.
