I don't think we, Pakistanis, care any more, for anything other than making lucre, trashing out cities and polluting out environment.
How far away we are gone from our roots and our childhood! Far, far, too far, indeed.
I am amazed how a nation calling itself devotees of the Religion of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) could prove itself to be so ignorant of two fundamental and elementary needs of humankind: nature - which is essential and vital for man's existence; and knowledge - which makes man perfect and accomplished.
The Quran started with the word IQRA - "to read" - and the Prophet made gaining knowledge mandatory for every Muslim - man and woman.
He is also reported to have said (to the effect) that If one sees Last Day (Qiamat) coming and he has a seedling or a plant in his hand he better plant it in soil before he himself perishes.
Since I have come back from abroad after living there for 20 years, I go out and see miserably sad condition of some of the trees and plants I used to enjoy as a child. Then these trees were just wonders to watch. Now, they look a picture of gloom and sorrow. Dreadfully parched, drying, dying or dead.
Especially Tahli - Dalbergia sissoo (called sheesham in Urdu )is in extremely pathetic condition. Huge trees of this wonderful species are standing lifeless and still - mourning tearless at their own demise. Not a shoot to be seen on their listless hollow and bug-eaten bodies.
For how long we can turn our indifferent backs on without pushing our own health, well-being and even existence into the abyss of peril? If this shameless condition of negligence continues unabated, I believe, before we know it, the whole species is going to go on the way the dodo and so do we.
Nobody in this plighted country seems to be doing anything about it - or for anything else - for that matter. Whosoever I have talked to so far has either shrugged off, shown least interest or knows nothing about what is happening.
To tress and to him!
I will try to put some "sketchy" information accompanied with some pictures of plants and trees, to build my own knowledge base of plants and trees around my city. At the same my this blog may bring a little awareness in others. May be!
I tried, over the Internet, to look around to find any information about flora of the Punjab or Pakistan but I could not find a single - nada, none, zilch - website devoted to flora of these pathetic regions.
Even Wickipedia's page regarding this subject is so poorly organized and incoherently written that one is embarrassed to even look at it.
This blog could be a start - a baby step.
The trees are God's great alphabet:
With them He writes in shining green
Across the world His thoughts serene.
~Leonora Speyer
Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money. ~Cree Indian Proverb
