THE TREE
I was talking to a gentleman, this afternoon. He came from a Punjabi business-family which had done well for itself. “My father believed in giving love, care and financial support to his children, but he never wanted to remain dependent on them;” he said, “like a tree, he only gave us… even in his death!” “Even in his death?” I was curious… “A tree comes from a tiny seed, often, accidentally dropped by someone or a squirrel,” the gentleman explained, “It germinates under the ground… it sprouts and becomes a sapling… becomes a tree, and, before it bears fruits, it bends… It gives us oxygen, even though it takes in all the carbons we breathe out … It gives us shade… manure… dry leaves and dry-wood from its branches… and, even when it dies, its leaves behind wood for our use… For whole life, the tree only gives and expects nothing from us.” And we? “I have only given to my two sons just the way our father gave us… expecting nothing back in return,” the gent...