Strong winds and fallen trees

The trees that fell with the strong winds during the cyclone, in December, 2011 at Pondicherry revealed a lot about themselves.

There were many trees which had a hollow in the centre caused by pests infesting them. Their trunk was weak and did not sustain its  heavy foliage in wind blowing at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour.  

The second type of trees were those with heavy trunk, several branches and dense foliage, but with roots above the soil. The wind wrenched the roots and twisted the trunk and the tree fell flat. Some of the trees were severed from all their roots completely.

The third type were those, which were planted in loose subsoil.  Their roots could not anchor them in the wind, which swayed the trees freely, uprooting them. The bamboo trees are strong enough to withstand winds, but even they were uprooted by the wind, possibly due to some deficiency.

As I went about looking at these sights and photographing them, I was shaken by the fury of the wind. To see over 100 trees fallen or trunk bare of branches and leaves in the campus  was a disturbing sight.

As I walked back home, a supervisor from the maintenance department stopped me wanting to tell me something. He knew the terrain and the soil chemistry well as he himself owns a farm in the coastal area. He reminded me that most trees that fell had a defect. Trees fall with the wind when they are weak.

Our strength is our character. What sustains us in difficult and hostile circumstances is our conviction, morality and integrity. If we are tentative in any of these values, we are likely to be lured by the temptations of fame, money, position, sex, etc. The higher we are in stature, the greater will be our fall, when we are carried away by the sensual temptations.

Late Dr. Paul Brand, well known for his original work in reconstructive surgery of hand and an outstanding role model for young professionals, mentioned to me in an interview, that, ' I have fear of moral fall. So I keep myself bathed in prayer and meditation of the Scripture'.

 M.C.Mathew.(text and photos)