Felling of the Banyan Tree (Woven Words)

Chapter 10 Poem (Class 11)
ABOUT THE POET

Dilip Chitre (1938–2009) was born in Baroda. He writes poetry both in Marathi and English. Travelling in a Cage, from which the poem selected here has been taken, was published in 1980. Apart from poetry, Chitre has also written short stories and critical essays. An Anthology of Marathi Poetry 1945–1965 is one of his most important works of translation. He sees poetry as an expression of the spirit. He lived and worked in Mumbai. 

My father told the tenants to leave
Who lived on the houses surrounding our house on the hill

One by one the structures were demolished
Only our own house remained and the trees
Trees are sacred my grandmother used to say
Felling them is a crime but he massacred them all
The sheoga, the oudumber, the neem were all cut down
But the huge banyan tree stood like a problem
Whose roots lay deeper than all our lives
My father ordered it to be removed

The banyan tree was three times as tall as our house
Its trunk had a circumference of fifty feet
Its scraggy aerial roots fell to the ground
From thirty feet or more so first they cut the branches
Sawing them off for seven days and the heap was huge
Insects and birds began to leave the tree

And then they came to its massive trunk
Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped
The great tree revealed its rings of two hundred years
We watched in terror and fascination this slaughter
As a raw mythology revealed to us its age
Soon afterwards we left Baroda for Bombay
Where there are no trees except the one

Which grows and seethes in one’s dreams, its aerial roots
Looking for the ground to strike.

1. Identify the tone of the poet towards the felling of the tree in the following lines:
“Its scraggy aerial roots fell to the ground”;
“Sawing them off for seven days and the heap was huge”;
“Fifty men with axes chopped and chopped”;
“Insects and birds began to leave the tree”;
“We watched in terror and fascination this slaughter
a) Sarcasm
b) Critical
c) Poignant
d) Nostalgic

2. The following words helps to understand the nature of the poet’s father. What exactly is the nature of the poets father according to the poet.

The father was a much practical man. ... 

“the structures were demolished”

“but he massacred them all”

“My father ordered it to be removed”

a) The poet’s father was money minded.

b) The poet’s father was quite practical and not emotional.

c) The poet’s father was irrational.

d) The poet’s father was immovable.

3.     ‘Trees are sacred my grandmother used to say’— what does the poet imply by this line? 

a) The poet implies that trees are considered to be sacred in Hindu religion a faith strongly advocated by his grandmother.

b) The poet talks about the belief system of his grandmother.

c) The poet has nostalgic memories about his grandmother.

d) The poet says that his grandmother considered trees to be sacred.

4. ‘No trees except the one which grows and seethes in one’s dreams’— why is the phrase ‘grows and seethes’ used? 

a) The memory of the banyan tree causes anguish in the minds of the poet.

b) The memory of banyan tree grows in the mind of the poet.

c) Then poet boils when he thinks of the dead tree.

d) The memory of the tree grows and remains in his mind every day. The image of the dead tree comes to the poet’s mind and causes anger in him therefore he uses the word seethes.

5.     How does the banyan tree stand out as different from other trees? Pick out the appropriate phrase from the poem.

a) Whose roots lay deeper than all our lives

b) The great tree revealed its rings of two hundred years 

c) its aerial roots Looking for the ground to strike. 

d) The banyan tree was three times as tall as our house

6.     What does the reference to raw mythology imply? 

a) The banyan tree is considered to be sacred and also a lot of religious and mythological belief attached towards the banyan tree.

b) The banyan tree lives for more than 200 years.

c) The banyan trees has a huge circumference and gives shelter to other birds and insects.

d) The banyan is considered to be the most sacred tree in this world.

7.     ‘Whose roots lay deeper than our lives’— what aspect of human behaviour does this line reflect? 

a) One banyan tree survives many generations of human life. But human beings follow a practical approach rather than going deep into mythological beliefs.

b) There is a subtle comparison between human life and life of a banyan tree.

c) The poet is drawing a parallelism between human life and banyan tree.

d) The banyan tree is a witness to changes in tradition and cultural shifts.

8.     Comment on the contemporary concern that the poem echoes. 

a) The poet talks about deforestation.
b) The poet talks about the pace at which culture and civilisation is changing.
c) The poet talks about decline of mythological belief system.
d) The poet talks about the life span of man and the life span of a banyan tree.