Analysis Of An Ode To Gulmohar Tree

An Ode to the Gulmohar Tree (and Other Giving Trees of Chennai)

To say that the Mother Nature has taken us on a terrifying roller coaster ride on 12th December is an understatement. As the city cripples from the aftermaths of Vardah cyclone, I struggle to bid farewell to a huge Gulmohar tree next to my apartment. Of all the big things happening, only the smallest of things, the insignificant ones, the ones that we took granted for, make us see the big picture and appreciate life as a whole.

The Love Story
I have only known the tree for about 6 months but it was love at first sight; the tree influenced us to rent the apartment. My balcony looks out to its branches and it felt better to look into nature than the neighbor's balcony. As Richard

When the rattling of the windows and doors were too loud to ignore, we opened the curtains to watch the tree branches swinging wildly. The poor tree's branches were beaten and tossed around by Vardah's outrage. But being an old tree, I hoped that it would hold to see the light of another day. 'That is my favorite tree', my son whimpered over and over.

The Fall of a Giant
Somewhere in the second spell of the cyclone, when nature's fury was too much to handle, a big branch of the tree gave away silently - it did not come down crashing with a loud noise but a dull thump. I did not even have to look out to make sure because the rustling of the leaves was immediately replaced by howling of the wind. By then, the rain was pouring down the window pane but amidst the green blob, I could clearly see the bright and fresh wound where the branch was broken.

Nature will Find its Way
When I heard the next day that there are thousands of other trees that have suffered a similar fate, I wondered what might be in store for us during the summer of 2017. For me, my balcony was never the same without one such tree - it became too hot to sit there and I moved my workspace to