Song Of The Trees
We know that Trees are one of our oldest ancestors, revered in many cultures and featured in creation myths. Science is now slowly discovering aspects about plants that indicate we have known very little about them. Only lately, have we discovered that Trees communicate with each other, support one and other through its root system. Some studies have shown how a potted plant can recognize its caretaker coming back home when the caretaker is upto 2 kms away. This makes one wonder what is undiscovered, how much we dont know. We wondered that sure trees are record keepers of past climatic changes but what if they were also witness to and keepers of lives lived around them. What if they have stories to tell and we just need to slow down and see it, hear it...
This photo-series is an attempt to look at Trees as Living Beings and not just a resource! Like in many mythologies, this is an imaginative attempt to humanise Trees and get people to imagine the interconections that we share with nature. I have collaborated with a friend Rupal Sheth, who has specifically written the poem below for this on-going series!
A Song From The Trees
-Rupal Sheth
If there was one thing I could say to you,
it would be to hug me, and hold me,
To whisper into my soul as I do into yours,
To sing to me,
I long to hear the echo of my love for you,
I yearn for us to be one again,
I long for you to long for me…
Stay in my arms forever
Fingers Intertwined, intimate, complex, entangled,
Swirls of our memories together rolling out on me
Waves of rhythm from you congregating into me,
Cracks, Scars, Wounds, Secrets,
Wrinkles, Folds, Crevices, Comfort
My uprightness challenged by your bent spine
Your poise only a blindfold
Your death petrified into my body, disappearing
That spark of light Reappearing
In my eyes, in your sight
In my heart, in your beating
In my body, in your breath
In my whispers, in your song
In our song,
One breath, one song, one heartbeat
Now can you hear my longing for you to long for me too?