Trimming and Tree felling.

 August 10, 2025

Life is full of contradictions, ironies, and paradoxes. In the monsoon, the whole nation embarks on plantation drives. Saplings leave nurseries like hotcakes. It’s the time to celebrate lush greenery, when even the driest patch of land offers some foliage in homage to the rain god. An aerial view of the country during monsoon is breathtaking with a vast, vibrant green landmass. Nature is in full bloom.

Yet the irony is, we are unclear about our intentions. Do we truly want a greener planet, or is planting saplings simply fashionable? Social media erupts in applause the moment you showcase how “environment-friendly” you are. The paradox is that we plant a sapling while cutting down a mature tree at the same time.

It’s disheartening to see authorities like local government bodies, resident welfare associations, and the like, engaged in tree felling under the guise of trimming. Years of growth are destroyed in seconds on trivial and absurd pretexts: a branch might one day touch an electricity wire, it could fall on a valuable car, or grass isn’t growing beneath it. Seriously? Are these excuses even tenable? And notice, this wisdom always surfaces during the cloudy season. As soon as the monsoon sets in, we conveniently forget the wrath of the summer sun.

We fail to appreciate that India is a warm, sunny country, with eight to nine months of sunshine in most regions. Summers are so harsh that even the shade of a few leaves feels like a blessing. Yet we sacrifice vast, cooling canopies to suit our immediate whims. Boulevards are stripped bare, and if you object, you’re told, “Trees are like hair and they grow back.” Wow. What an analogy. Trees are our lungs, protect us from heat, bring rain, and sustain life for birds, animals, bees, and countless other species. They are the foundation of the life cycle. They are not comparable to hair. Trees don’t grow back in weeks, it takes generations. I would like draw everyone’s attention, we don’t ‘plant a tree’ but we ‘plant a sapling’, and for it to grow into a tree it takes a lifetime.

And please, don’t justify cutting a mature tree by claiming you’re planting saplings in its place. A sapling is never a substitute for a full-grown tree. We have already uprooted enough to endanger our species and destabilize the environment, inviting disaster.

Strict action is needed now, or we will be become a curse for the next generation. Food for thought.