KAKATIYA UNIVERSITY, WARNAGAL
ENGLISH FOR EXCELLENCE
UG CBCS SEMESTER-4 TEXTS
UNIT
1: RENEWABLE AND NON RENEWABLE RESOURCES
Jadav Payeng (prose)
Jadav Payeng was
born in 1963. At the age of sixteen, he began planting trees on a deserted
island, and over the next few decades, an entire forest grew out of his
efforts. He devoted his youth and most of his life to this mission-reducing
erosion by planting trees and tending to the land. His forest became known as
the Molai forest, after Jadav's nickname. Over the last few years, he has been
given a number of awards and been made the subject of documentaries and books
about environmental conservation. In 2015, this humble tribesman from Assam was
honoured with the Padma Shri Award for his contributions.
In 1979, during
the monsoon, sixteen-year-old Jadav saw a pile of snakes washed up on a sandbar
after the floods in the Brahmaputra river. They were scorched to death in the
heat that came after the rains. The sight filled him with horror and drove him
to wonder what would happen to humans, whether they, too, would die the same
way without shade and tree cover in the heat. He asked the nearby villagers for
help because he could see that the land around them was being eroded and
damaged at a great rate. Their advice was to plant trees, as many as possible,
especially trees like bamboo which would be able to survive difficult weather.
Jadav took their advice to heart and never looked back. Driven by his mission,
he stopped going to school focussing only on the task at hand -to plant more
trees, every day.
The Brahmaputra
river is home to the world's largest river island-Majuli. The island is almost
1000 hectares in area, but is constantly threatened by me due to the widespread
soil erosion that takes place. Majuli Island was shrinking, and fast. To stop
this, the Forestry Division of Golaghat district launched a plan in 198 to
plant trees in 200 hectares. Jadav was one of the local labourers to help with
effort. When the plan was abandoned in 1983, Jadav continued as if it had never
stopped. He chose to stay back even after the others left, and not only did he
k care of the trees already planted, but he went on to plant hundreds and
thousands more trees, transforming the barren sandbars and islands in the
Brahmaputra into a dense, green forest.
This forest was
named the 'Molai Forest after him, and became a home elephants, rhinoceros,
Bengal tigers, and a number of different kinds of deer and birds The trees
themselves are incredibly diverse, as Jadav planted as many seeds as he could
get access to, not just sticking to bamboo-though bamboo is the most common tree
in the forest. Today, people travel from all over the world to visit the Molai
Forest and get a glimpse, not just of the various wildlife, but also to see the
wonder this single man managed to create.
For the longest
time, nearly thirty years, Jadav worked on his forest alone, waking up before
sunrise every day, rowing his boat across the river to the island, and working
all day in the forest-planting new trees, taking care of saplings and younger
trees and plants, making sure all was right in his contained ecosystem. No one
really knew about his work, besides the nearby villagers and the Mishing tribe
to which Jadav belonged. Jadav did not ask for help, nor did he seek permission
from any government authorities; he believed his work was necessary and also a
part of the Mishing tradition of respecting and giving back to nature.
In 2008, a herd
of elephants accidentally entered Jadav's forest after running wild through
nearby villages, damaging fields and houses. When officials from the forest
department came looking for the elephants, they were amazed to discover the
dense forest covering so much space. They were further surprised when they
learned that it was the work of one man alone. The locals wanted to cut down
part of t forest in order to hunt the elephants that had destroyed their homes,
but Jadav stood in their way, When asked about the incident, Jadav remembers.
But I said: "Kill first, before killing these animals". The same
villagers now acknowledge the important of the woods as it has become a source
of livelihood for them."
The state forest
department did not officially extend any help with Jadav's continuing efforts.
However, the local officials who had discovered the forest were so impressed
that they began to visit regularly, and would sometimes bring saplings and
seeds so Jadav could go on planting and growing his forest. Then, a few years
later, when poachers began to invade the forest, trying to catch rhinos and the
other animals living in the forest, Jadav immediately warned the forest
department. They were quick to respond, and not only did they prevent the
poachers from succeeding by taking away their equipment and supplies, but
officials from the forest department also camped in the Molai forest for a few
months to confront and catch any poachers.
Jadav lives with
his wife and three children in a small hut near the forest, and while his
priority and mission in life is to continue planting trees and tending to his
forest, he makes his living by selling milk from his cows and buffalos. He has
a small farm where he raises these animals and also grows vegetables. The
cattle often graze in the forest, which can be dangerous, since there are
tigers that roam those areas. Jadav has admitted to losing a number of his
cattle to the tigers in the forest, but he doesn't resent them or get angry
about it: 'Nature has made a food chain; why can't we stick to it? Who would
protect these animals if we, as superior beings, start hunting them?" He
never feels that he is in danger from the wild animals; rather, he says, man is
the biggest danger to the forest. Between poachers, locals looking to protect
their villages from the wild animals, and others out to cut down trees to get
wood-even Jadav agrees that the numerous cotton and bamboo trees in his forest
are excellent wood the forest faces far more threats than it causes.
Though the forest
was almost a secret for thirty years, once it was discovered, Jadav's efforts became
the stuff of legends. A number of documentaries have been made about his work
in the past few years. In 2012, The Molai Forest, a locally made documentary,
was produced and screened at Jawaharlal Nehru University. The next year,
another documentary, Foresting Life, was made by an Indian filmmaker, Aarti
Shrivastava. In 2014. American filmmaker William McMaster made Forest Man,
which was on the life of Jadav Payeng and his work with the Molai forest. This
documentary was shown at a number of film festivals all around the world, and
even won an award at the Cannes Film Festival, which led to increased awareness
about Jadav's work. A children's book was also written about Jadav, called Jadav and the Tree-Place.
In 2012,
following the first documentary, Jadav Payeng was honoured at a public Forest
Man of India'. In 2013, he was honoured at the Indian Institute of Forest
function at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and it was here that he was given the
title, 'Forest man of India'. In 2013, he was honoured at the Indian institute
of Forest Management during their annual event. He also received honorary
doctorate degrees from Assam Agricultural University and Kaziranga University
for his contributions to the environment. Finally, in 2015, he was given the
Padma Shri Award for amazing work.
It has been forty
years since Jadav Payeng began planting trees. He has not grown tired of his
work, nor does he intend to stop any time soon. He still does most of it alone,
going through the forest to water and check on new saplings and trees, to
collect medicinal herbs, to make sure the soil is ready for new seeds his work
never ends. He believes children are the future, and the key to saving the
environment Planting of trees should be part of the school curriculum. Each
child should plant two trees and look after them till they leave school. This
way, they will generate the oxygen they need and also pass on the legacy to
newcomers.
When asked how he
has managed to not grow tired, Jadav replies that he isn't doing it alone. In
his eyes, he only starts the process by planting a few seeds, some saplings;
Nature takes over from there and does the rest.
Jadav Payeng's
work has had a noticeable impact on the world. His contributions to the
environment are amazing, especially when one considers that for thirty years no
one knew what he was doing. The Molai forest is the result of one man's
dedicated service to nature, and proof that even one person can make a
difference.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND
VIDEOS:
JADAV PAYENG THE FOREST MAN - YouTube
"THE
FOREST MAN OF INDIA" Jadav Payeng | An interview | INSCIGNIS 2020 -
YouTube
THE FOREST MAN OF INDIA - YouTube
VOICE OF TREES - The story of a man who planted a forest documentary film india - YouTube
Forest Man | Jadav Payeng | Inspirational Life Story (Bengali) - YouTube (Benagali)
Jadav Payeng develops 1,400
acres of forest area in Assam - YouTube
Click here to download- JADAV PAYENG PPT
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