The Banyan Tree

I go to the Pune University sometimes to sketch and paint. If I lived closer to it I would spend large chunks of my life there. I love the quiet green environs of its sprawling grounds, which are filled with ancient banyan trees. Here's a little ode to these graceful grand old trees.


Gnarled and ancient stood the huge banyan tree in a quiet corner of the forest

It’s branches knotted and twisted bent to the rough forest floor

Carpeted by the brown earth on which grew rough grasses

Thorn bushes and young saplings and myriad trees of every kind

The tamarind so sour and the flaming gulmohar

The sool babool so straight and the neem with its bitter leaves

They grew tall and spread their branches too

But the banyan strong and wide stood sturdiest of all

It’s trunk spanning the girth of the life of the ancient forest itself

Its branches encircling the earth itself

Each branch sending a daughter branch down

Which took root in the dirt and sprung new leaves and new branches

Which flowered and fruited and sent more roots down to give new birth anew

In its embracing shade the banyan gave shelter

To the small and the big to the weak and the strong

To the brown mynah and the singing koel to the crow and the peacock

To the mischievous monkey and the gentle deer lifting its nibbling snout

Without difference to anyone the banyan gave of itself to every one

To some its soothing shade to others its fruit

To some a haven for the ebullient spirit

To others a resting place for the weary soul

To the seeking mind it became the tree of knowledge

To the hungry soul it turned into a fountain of wisdom

To the child of the forest a nurturing mother

To its older sisters and brothers an indulgent father

To the wayfarer the traveler the wanderer a generous friend

Asking nothing in return taking nothing as due

Ancient yet with the sap of youth coursing in its knobby soul

Tall and wide and wise and old the banyan stood


-by Rita Putatunda