The first two phots are of a coconut palm tree, about three hundred meters away from our garden, across the paddy fields. Its stem is fully covered by a creeper and the leaves of the palm tree, look yellowish and reduced in number and in appearance in comparison to another coconut palm tree, about 20 meters way from the first one.
The only difference between the two is the creeper covering one of them from the soil to its top, which makes the tree look reduced and different in appearance.
It is likely that the tree is unattended because of which the creeper has covered the trunk over a period of time. I happened to notice this by chance. Therefore I am unable to give a line, the creeper would have taken to cover the trunk from the soil to the top. The three climber would find it difficult to climb such a tree, to pluck the coconuts. As this tree has no coconuts, the tree was abandoned, perhaps.
Usually saprophytes thrive on degenerating stem. So I wondered whether this phenomenon is symbiosis.
What brought to my mind while seeing this disturbing sight was the sight of a group of people who were going around collecting donations for a political party in the shopping area of the village where we live. Most of them were unemployed. They spend their time supporting and promoting a political party. The party offers a small support, for which they have to raise donations.
Look at the impact of unemployment of young people. I recognised who are poorly employed or unemployed after finishing the college education. In a conversation with one of them, the usual desire of his generation is to get a regular employment with social security in the future. That happens to. a small group. In the competitive market, others are not survivors to find a suitable job.
The full human potential is unharnessed in the current social and political system.
However I come across the genuine spirit of service of the unemployed youth. Recently a group of them paved a mud road to go to a village which only had a foot path. When I went to see the outcome of their efforts, I felt how resourceful they are!
The coconut tree suffers from living its full life and bears fruit, because the creeper has encroached upon it.
There are some preventable and avoidable factors which push youth in to unemployment and live a reduced life!
It is the social and political system to take this as a challenge! The younger generation is the cream of resource in a community. If they are not enabled, we deprive them of their prospects in life! The projection is that, the unemployment is unlikely to be any less, unless the younger people is trained to attempt more self employment opportunity for income generation.
A young man goes round in the village to gather the domestic waste and delivers it to the dump yard, for which he receives pocket money from each household. The income is just enough to support his nuclear family!
The coconut tree covered by a creeper is a disturbing sight- it looks as if the owner of the garden does not care for the coconut palm!
To be inattentive for the wellness of a palm is a symbol of the in- attentive optic we can carry within us!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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