The Banyan Tree

Hey everyone,

So, I promised some original stories here and I thought I should start posting some of them. This is one I wrote a while back based on the line ‘men may come and men may go, but I go on forever’. Hope you like it.

THE BANYAN TREE

The banyan tree was ancient. Well, it was only a little more than a century old actually. But compared to the human lifespan, it was ancient. Its roots ran deep and its hanging roots were getting quite long and deep too. And every year its canopy kept getting bigger.

The tree stood in the courtyard of a temple, on the edge of a village, somewhere in south India. It has witnessed many things and many stories. A recent and interesting story was that of Vivek and Soumya. 

The two had met as toddlers. Their mothers had introduced them to each other, and they became best friends rather quickly. The temple courtyard had been their playground and they’d had many a game of hide and seek, tag, racing, and so on around and under the banyan tree. 

They had even made a sport out of climbing the tree and swinging around on its hanging roots. 

“I bet I can climb the banyan tree faster than you can.” Vivek challenged Soumya one summer day when they were playing around the tree. They were both around eight years old.

“No way. I am faster than you. Always have been.” Soumya replied, matter-of-factly. 

“Challenge?” Vivek asked, narrowing his eyes at her certainty of being better than him.

“Challenge.” Soumya agreed, nodding.

“On your marks! Get set! Go!”, they both said together and raced up to the banyan tree. 

Soumya climbed quickly, clinging onto the branches like a monkey. Vivek wasn’t far behind. They both climbed higher and higher and soon they reached one of the top branches. They knew that the next branch wouldn’t hold both their weights and only one of them could go up.

“I am lighter. I should be the one to go up.” Soumya told Vivek, logically. 

“No way. That would mean you’d win. I can’t lose a tree-climbing race to a girl.” Vivek disagreed, stubbornly.

“You lost anyway. I reached this branch before you.” Soumya teased.

“No. No way. We reached this branch at the same time, and you know it. This next branch will decide the winner.” Vivek replied, angry at Soumya’s teasing.

Before Soumya could reply, a strong breeze blew, causing the branch they were on to sway. Both the children clung tighter to the branch. They happened to look down and they saw exactly how high up they were. 

“Maybe we should go back down now,” Vivek said, suddenly feeling afraid. 

“Why? Are you scared?” Soumya asked teasingly, though there was a slight waver in her voice as well. 

“No. Of course not. But I don’t want to fall. So I am climbing down.” Vivek replied. 

He then began to climb down without another word. Soumya stayed up for a moment longer, but when another breeze came and swayed her branch again, she decided to follow Vivek down. 

Going down was slower than going up for both of them. Vivek soon reached the bottom branch and jumped, landing on his feet. Soumya, however, reached three-quarters of the way down and missed her foothold. 

She slipped and fell. 

She screamed as she fell, trying to grab onto a hanging root to slow herself down. But it wasn’t enough and she hit the ground, falling down on her left arm.

Her scream had attracted attention, and their mothers were quickly summoned. They arrived and Soumya was taken to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with a broken wrist. She was given a cast to cover her wrist and hold it in place for the next few weeks, while it healed. 

Vivek had been crying because of shock and because he had seen Soumya crying. When everyone assured him that she would be just fine, he immediately felt better. But he still blamed himself for her pain, because it had been his stupid challenge that caused her to fall. So, he apologized to her and she immediately forgave him.

They stayed as good friends as ever, though such stupid challenges were never issued again. 

And so the next few years went by in much the same fashion, and soon they were twelve years old. At this point, Vivek’s father was transferred to Pune, and he decided to take his family with him. Thus, the two best friends were separated. 

Their last goodbye was said under the banyan tree, and it was the last time that the tree saw either of them for quite a while.

***** 

It was more than five years later when the tree stood witness to their reunion. Vivek had returned to town for a visit before he went away to university and Soumya was overjoyed to see him. They still played and argued like little children, but there were some flirty undertones to their banter now. 

“You know, if we weren’t headed in two different directions after this summer, I might have just asked you to be my girlfriend,” Vivek said, one evening when the two of them were sitting together under the tree. 

“And if we weren’t headed in two different directions, I might have just accepted,” Soumya replied softly. 

And that was the end of that. 

*****

It was another eight years before the banyan tree witnessed Vivek and Soumya together again. This time it was for a wedding; her wedding. She was getting married to some guy her parents had chosen for her, and Vivek was attending the wedding.

They met the day before the wedding under the well-lit banyan tree and he wished her well.

“Congratulations. In case I don’t get to see you properly tomorrow, l wish you a very happy married life.” Vivek told her, with a smile.

“Thank you,” Soumya replied, smiling back. 

However, they both knew that this was a bittersweet moment.

The wedding went well and life went on.

***** 

Another 5 years passed before they met again under the banyan tree. By now its canopy was huge and it offered a great deal of shelter. Vivek and Soumya met as usual under this canopy. She was holding her three-year-old son, while Vivek was holding his two-year-old daughter. 

The children met and instantly became friends; best friends. And hope was born again, while the banyan tree stood witness to it all.

That’s it for now! Until next time folks!!