When I see tall coconut trees dwarfing mud huts, lush paddy fields dotted with white cranes, a rare lotus pond and thorn shrubs with quails - I know I'm home. This is what i yearn to see when i return home.
Especially the coconut tree farms banking the road, with trees towering towards the sky. There is something special about these magnificent trees, swaying slowly and dancing to the wind. By logic, these trees shouldn't provide any shade, but strangely, the coconut farms are the coolest and the best place to rest. These trees make me feel so calm at heart and so at home.It is also very entertaining to watch the farmers so effortlessly dart up and down those trees to pick coconuts.
Sadly, it will soon not be the same. The tall trees are being replaced by a short and stubby variety. The agricultural department has come up with a new short variety tree that bears coconuts in just 1-2 years whereas the tall variety needs 5 years before it can bear coconuts. Not having to employ farmers to climb the trees reduces cost. A success for the agri dept and a welcome advantage to all the farmers of the southern belt, but to me - it's a loss, a coconut farm will be no different from any other orchard.
I took it for granted that my land and landscape will remain the same. So many childhood memories attached to them. The drive to kodai through the winding roads will no longer be the same. It will be a picture I will miss dearly.
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