The tree

I had taken a week off from office. I had to. Last two months were incredibly chaotic, multiplying like amoeba. Effortlessly. So I am here in Krishnanagar, a tiny hamlet so away from the world that had I not visited it myself I would not have believed that it exist.

The first three days since I have arrived here, have been simply wonderful. I did things, I had never done nor did I think that I would ever do. I went fishing with the guesthouse cook, ate with my hands that too sitting on the mud floor! Come to think of it again even my mom would not believe it. And the best thing I did not smoke at all. Yet I felt so refreshed. Is this called bliss? Maybe.

Yesterday I planned to explore the woods that surround the entire north eastern side of the village. I left after breakfast. The village is small but the wood looked monstrously huge. I entered it with lots of trepidation but once inside, it did not seem so menacing anymore. Tall proud green pillars rising towards the blue ceiling with creepers and grass covering the floor. I don’t remember how long I was in there but one thing did strike me, there were no birds, none at all. I didn’t see any, I didn’t hear any.

The fact was scary. Why would a forest full of lush green trees, not attract any birds. Then I noticed there were no insects or reptiles visible either. Why? A strange fragrance was in the air. A notoriously sweet smell, so sweet that it made me giddy. As I walked around, I discovered the source of it. A tall 6’ shrub with leaves as large as elephants’ ear, luscious looking fruits and fiery orange coloured flowers. It was appealingly ugly. I wanted to move away from it but to my horror I found myself walking towards it as if some invisible power was pulling me towards it. There were more of them some distances away.

With trembling hand I reached for a flower. The moment I touched it, its petal clamped down on my palm. An excruciating pain shot down my hand. I started screaming for help while trying to pull out my hand from the carnivorous plants’ grasp. But in vain.

While struggling to free myself from its grasp, my steel bracelet got entangled with the petals. They immediately shrank, at first I did not notice but as I continued to struggle, my bracelet too continued to touch the petals and the flower stem. Suddenly the plant released me. As I tried sitting up a creeper from the plant wrapped itself around my legs. By now, I had realized that it was my steel bracelet that had got me released.

Being a junk jewellery fanatic, I was also sporting a steel chain around my neck. I yanked it off and tied around the creeper on my leg. It immediately withered off. Like a madman I started slashing it towards the plant. Whenever the chain touched the plant, it shrank. For few moments it looked as if the plant had reduced in height. Sensing it, I turned back and fled for my dear life.

At the guest house the cook cleared my wounds and bandaged it. He then told me about the carnivorous plant. It eats up everything.

I realized that my stainless steel chain and bracelet were completely new and strange for it to fight back. Stainless steel had crushed its ferocity and got me my life. Till then the metal was just that for me, a metal which looked good. Now it held a fresh new interpretation. It could save life.

© copyright with Antara Banerjee Gupta