“It was struck that the tree was old”; Peshawar’s dying old trees

On the one hand, if the planting season and campaign is going on across the country, on the other hand, “plantation” is also going on. And where there is looting everywhere, if there is also tree cutting, it is not a matter of surprise.

Last year i.e. in 2022, hundreds of thousands of valuable trees were set ablaze due to successive fires by “unknowns” on the mountains of many areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Harvesting is a different story, on which a lot has been written, but. Therefore, in the light of the introduction related to its topic, it is submitted that despite the fact that many links of human evolution are missing.

But by combining the known links, we can see many colors of the human life of ancient times, his mental evolution, art and skills, consciousness and unconsciousness in these links. Among these colors, there is an ancient and indelible color of trees and their influence on human life and its subconscious. According to Allama Iqbal:

Before us was the scene of Ajab Tere Jahan

Some gods were stones, some trees were trees

About the effects of trees and plants on the human mind and human feelings, concepts and emotions, the well-known progressive writer and intellectual Syed Sabat Hasan writes in his book “Mazi ke Mazar” that “the concept of tree life in this early It is a reminder of a time when human life depended only on trees, plants, leaves, fruits and roots.

This process continued for thousands of years, so the importance and usefulness of the tree is Muslim from the birth of humanity and its importance has been established in the consciousness of man in such a way that even after the passing of the tree age, he does not free his subconscious from the concept of the tree. But his thought and mind added to the variety and effectiveness of the tree and attributed to the tree properties that were not present in the tree itself.

This is the reason why even today the sellers of herbs and silajit go around claiming to be cured by it. Name and mention of Sidrat al-Muntahi and Tuba tree. As Rehman Baba says in one of his poems

Don’t give too much sevreem

Lamboswe Kebab on sata damakh is good

(I don’t like the shade of the Toba tree, I prefer to be roasted in the flames of your face) Gautama Buddha’s tradition of attaining “enlightenment” under a banyan tree and similar tree worship in ancient times. Considering it as the abode of giants and gods, some people in Pakhtun society still consider the “fig” tree as sacred and the abode of giants. Do not break the branch of this tree or burn its wood.

In this way, the tradition related to the “Treek” tree, which is called “Sarikh” in Pashto language, has been very popular among Pakhtuns for centuries that this tree (Treek, Sreikh) was used to cure the severe fever caused by the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). was prayed for. This is the reason why the leaves and branches of this tree remain withered at the time of Asr, which is reflected and mentioned in this verse of the public genre of Pashto poetry.

Every plant is fresh

Zah Laka Sarikh Har Mazigar Taba Ki Yamma

(At the time of Asr, all the plants are very fresh, whereas I am suffering from fever every day at the time of Asr, like Tariq). This is the reason why the “Treek” tree is still seen with some degree of sanctity and respect in the Pakhtun society. The presence of this tree (Treek, Serikh) was considered indispensable in the ancient rooms of Pakhtuns.

Even in the old houses, you will find very few rooms where there is no “Trek” tree. In our own village Mouza Jalsai (Swabi) five or six common rooms are found even where there is a tarek tree. Even in this distant modern day, the people of the tribal district of Kurram and Nangarhar province of Afghanistan usually sit under a big shade tree and discuss about the problems and difficulties faced in life.

There is a famous proverb among the Pakhtuns, symbolically speaking of a tree, that “If the handle of the ax had not been from my own body, it would never have uprooted me like this.” If we consider the proverb and apply it to our civilization and culture and our environment and nature today, we cannot turn away from the fact that the above proverb seems to be telling a long experimental story because the tree that we see in our civilization and culture. continues to be used as a symbol.

The ax cannot strike this tree by itself, nor is it compelled by any supernatural force to strike the tree, be it a woodcutter or any other, the same tree which has fed hungry man from the beginning to this day, naked. Covered the man with his leaves and bark and covered him with seventy.

The one who saved the man from the strong winds in his foothills, from the hot deserts and the intense heat of the sun and made him sleep sweetly by singing lullabies from the tongue of the wind in its dense cool shade, the same tree that always remained a shade on the tired man, who It is the same tree that gave man patience and steadfastness, the means of food and travel through its roots from the earth, and the courage to fly from its height, which gave satisfaction and joy to man’s taste and beauty with its greenness and freshness, the same tree which is the body of man. By absorbing the poisonous gas (carbon dioxide) emitted from the tree, it provides the heat of life (oxygen) to keep the human being alive, but unfortunately, the same human being who lives in the shadow of trees and its influence for thousands of millions of years. It has reached its current form and position by taking a long evolutionary journey of life.

The growing power of science and technology, the claimant of knowledge, thought and wisdom, but today we only look at the current condition of the few remaining ancient trees in Peshawar, the capital of our province, Gandhara civilization, the city of flowers and gardens. What can any sensitive person who recognizes the historical significance and cultural identity of trees do anything but cry and feel sorry?

Imagine the Peshawar of the time when rulers like Zaheeruddin Muhammad Babur used to come here to hunt rhinoceros and who has mentioned and praised the gardens and beautiful thick trees here in his autobiography “Tazak Babri”.

Imagine this Peshawar where the youth, children and middle-aged people of the city used to gather in the evening under the Peepal tree standing in front of the Lady Reading Hospital to watch the boat and chat for a while. Due to this meeting and getting up and sitting, unity, unity, love and love were increasing among the residents here. The famous and historical place of Peshawar, Chowk Yadgar, on whose chest is an unbearable burden of marble and cement, a burden under which even a tall and strong Chowk like Chowk Yadgar can hardly breathe. is taking

Here, the face of the people and the eyes in which there were numerous historical, romantic and cultural images of this place, today the carelessness of the citizens and the increasing pollution in the city have made this eyewitness blind and aged prematurely. Today, apart from the old tree standing near the Police Check Post at Wazir Bagh, Lady Reading Hospital, Gora Graveyard and Rampura Bazar in Hashtnagari, there is no other old tree in the entire Peshawar city.

Thus, the village of Bada Bir near Peshawar is also said to have attained enlightenment under a plum tree, which is only a tradition while history is silent on the matter. In the city of Peshawar, even today, in some places, we can count some old trees that are taking their last breaths of life.

Most of the peepal trees are left in them because the peepal tree has a mythological and religious significance, even in some traditions it is mentioned that the Buddha did not sit under the shade of the banyan tree but under the peepal tree for enlightenment. Perhaps one of the reasons was that most of the traders in Peshawar city belonged to the Hindu religion, that is, the majority of the shops and markets were Hindus.

That is why peepal trees are seen standing in most markets and important places in which some trees have been cut down and the condition of some trees is such that due to lack of care, their condition is pathetic. A tree of any kind and any name of any region should not be divided by religion, color, caste or geography because:

“Where there were gods, there were stones, where there were trees.”

The tree is the gift of nature that the Lord Almighty has given to this earth for the beauty of the universe. There was a time when the cool shade of the tree was valued, the wood was valued. Today, this value is known only to the smugglers of the timber mafia.

Realizing the beauty of the tree, those belonging to the ruling and upper classes have restricted it to their palaces, bungalows and highways, whereas in the past, the Pakhtun ruling Ranshir Shah Surin planted trees on both sides of all roads, highways, especially GT Road. And maybe this poem was created for that reason

Travel is a prerequisite for the traveler to be better

A thousand trees shade the path

Poets adorned it in their poems and painters depicted it on paper with their colors. According to the English poet Edward Zorth, trees are scholars who bring knowledge to man.

You can learn so much from one of its fallen leaves, as much as you cannot learn from all the wise men of the world. However, in front of Einstein, the apple fell from the tree. We don’t know who won and who was defeated, maybe time will tell, but after the invention of the train, the body of this tree was passed through the furnace of science, and technology took nature under its grip, the result was a crack in the ozone layer around the world. It took the shape of the blanket around the world to protect it from pollution.

Science and pollution have made a hole in it, due to which many adverse weather changes have occurred, even Peshawar has not been spared from its effects. There used to be thick trees in gardens and highways. But the reconstruction and opening of high-rise plazas and highways cut them down and turned them into fuel, and in this fuel today the residents of Peshawar are burning.

Today in Peshawar you will rarely see beautiful scenery, trees and thick trees, this is the reason that the temperature of Peshawar is increasing, people have lost the love and connection with the soil of this city that they used to have before.

This is what has given us today’s advanced modern age, global village, and abundance of information technology? In addition to Peshawar, Swat, which is called the Switzerland of Pakistan and the beautiful and valuable dense forests there, not only the schools were blown up by the Taliban in 2010, but the precious forests there were brutally cut down. Damage was done, due to which trees worth billions of rupees were turned into piles of rags.

Along the canals and roads of most areas of the province, valuable trees like shesham have become food for bhidimak and gonad. But no one is asking.

A few poems about trees

This time it’s for the fuel kit
The sparrows loved this old tree very much
………
Do not cut it for the sake of shortening the construction
That there is a spider web in this tree
………
He was happy to sell the firewood
Then after that the kadi would burn in the afternoon
………
This is a tree that has neither thorn nor flower
It is futile to sit in the shade and cry
………
He extinguished the same lamp whose light was the resurrection
It was struck that the tree was old
………
No one has ever seen a meeting with you
The birds sitting on the tree have been blown away
………
Shajar asked, “Whose scent is this in you?”
Hey Sham Ulm said sadness
………
Don’t trust everyone
Do not call every shady thing a tree
………
A tree should be planted for love
Which should also be shaded in the neighbor’s yard

There was a strange pain and everyone cried
When the tree fell, the birds cried all night
………
They went to their destination in the sun
We ate the shade of the tree
………
I am living like a tree
After getting tired, where did he go?
………
All the birds have flown in the seasons
But the old people kept waiting for them
………
There was a lot of exhaustion, but beauty in the shade of trees
If I had sat down, I would have died
………
Be it a journey of a king or a caravan of fakirs
Trees understand the mood of passers-by
………
Even if it does not give shade, it gives shelter
It is the tree of desire even in autumn
………
The birds fought over the property
Tree for sale is written on the tree
………
Planted a tree of love
The tree fell and the fruit burned

Let’s go through Ashjaar Jadhar
Whoever sits in its shade will pray
………
I am sitting in the shade of this tree
Which has no leaves on its branches
………
A roof is very important while building a house
In Bacha’s yard, but trees are also to be kept
………
Come touch me and put green color on me
I also keep a branch for planting
………
I fell by burning, not blown by a dry tree
I did what was required of loyalty
………
In Arsh Bihar also came a sight of Pat Jhar
On the green trunk of the green tree, a dry one was put
………
What happened if it did not bear fruit for years?
The shadow is still in the trees in the corner of the yard
………
He continues to tell the stories of the old era
What is left is the old tree towards us
………
My heart goes into mourning
Villages of villages that become markets