Sairam friends,

My friends at work had associated with a Non-Profit Organization Ver in Coimbatore and we participated in an event to Plant trees in the Coimbatore-Mettupalayam roadside. Last night, I went to Jenny’s club to meet my Sister’s Father in law who has flown all the way from the U.S to meet his friends. Seems, it’s been 50 years since they graduated in the Coimbatore Institute of Technology (CIT, Coimbatore). He told me that about 30 members had come for the re-union and asked about my work. He told me to learn and do something better than what I am currently doing. I also realized that I am trying to live within a comfort zone and not doing anything to grow in my career. I bowed to his feet and reached home as I respect him a lot.

I reached home and had severe leg ache. I slept off early asking my Father to wake me up at 6 A.M.

I had lots of dreams as if I am struggling to climb the staircase of my office. The stairs were made of iron rods and not concrete and I am really scared to reach the top floor. I usually get such a dream and take hints from it with my own way of interpreting things. Then, I saw myself going in a train.

My Mobile alarm woke me up at 5.30 A.M to make me switch if off and sleep again. My Father gave me Coffee at 6. A.M and woke me up. I took bath, offered flowers to Sai and all Gods, and lit a lamp. Then, I was wondering why my friends did not call up it. It was already 7.A.M and we were supposed to be there at 6.40.

Finally, I walked to the spot they asked us to wait. When I reached there, it was really crowded and I met some of my colleagues. I can’t make fun to these people as I just know them. So I roamed here and there blabbering something once in a while. Finally, all the guys came from the office. I was really eager to touch all the plants…hehe…so I walked behind the tempo carrying hundreds of saplings and kept them down with other guys. I had a feeling that the organizers would have communicated systematically as most of us didn’t know how to proceed. But we can’t find fault in a good cause. It was really a good effort by Ver foundation for having collected several youngsters together and getting lots of saplings to plant. Anyway, Its understood that we just have to get the tree saplings and find our place to plant it.

I carried two saplings with mud in the pack they gave. It was heavy. Not as heavy as the wooden logs I used to carry some years back to offer in Nagasai Mandir Dhuni but since it had wet mud, it’s heavy to carry and walk long. We all stopped in a place. We didn’t got the gardening tools – Kadapaarai and Manvetti in Tamil.

My Father’s biggest wealth are the following

1. Pipe rinch- Whenever Motor is repaired in any house for the past 25 years, they come to our house to ask for it and my Father strictly asks me if I got it back and kept it safe..hehe..

2. Cutting player

3. Spanner

4. Some tools which I bought for his birthday from Flipkart

along with this

5. Two Kadapaarai (Crowbar farm tools)

6. Two Manvetti. ( I tried to explain to you what’s it but the Wikipedia page re-directs to Malayalam Actor Mamooty.)

My Father treasures all this stuff very much. Ha ha..

So I asked my friends to wait and came to my house to take Kadapaarai and Manvetti

My Mom took the Man vetti and gave. My Father collected some dried broken Coconut to use it for taking away mud.

We rode the colony Siddhi Vinayakar Temple to get the big Kadapaarai. It was a big heavy for me to balance all this stuff sitting behind the bike but we rode carefully.

As we reached the spot, I called up my friend to say the Gardening tools were ready. Meanwhile, a Bunch of girls came behind a girl. I assumed they are coming to borrow our Kadapaarai and Manvetti. So as soon as they came near me, I said “There are 25 guys. We need it…We need it.”.

Later, I understood that she came just to say that we split into groups and plat the trees.

Some of our guys were taking a selfie with the sapling. So I told them for fun…

“Selfie edutha sedi valaraadhu”

Plants won’t grow if you take a selfie with the sapling. You need to plant and water it.

Finally, we all took the Office Bus and started towards Mettupalayam. We found a good place where none were planting trees.

There was a bakery nearby too.

I think it’s few meters before Kumaran Mills, Coimbatore.

Enjoyed planting trees in Coimbatore with my friends

We all got down. All the guys formed a small group and started planting the saplings. I was roaming here and there simply talking to them. I realized we need water. So went to the Bakery nearby and asked Anna there if we can get 5 pots of water to plant trees.I told him, shall surely pay for it too because they might have paid for the water. He said that they don’t need the money and offered me a pot and water. I took the pot full of water and went to all the places my friends were trying to plant trees. It was a really happy moment and I really enjoyed helping my friends and others to plant trees.

I don’t know why I was so excited. I get so excited when I do some physical work for a good case with a team of friends and I keep speaking something or the other for fun.

I realized that everyone planting trees in the hot sun is not used to such physical work. So I bought a Fanta and water in the bakery. I took it to my friends and they drank it. Later, I realized people from Krishna College, Yuva Bharathi school and some other team had come who also might be thirsty. So I bought 5 more water cans to give them. It was all over in no time. Again, I went to the bakery for one more Fanta and Water. 2 Liter bottle was over. So I bought one-liter water bottles.

I walked the 1 K.M stretch in both the sides and gave water to whoever were planting trees. Again, I went to the Bakery to buy more water bottles but saw that all my was over. So I took all the 10’s and 20’s in my wallet to buy 5 more water bottles. I walked ahead and gave it to everyone. I was excited.

There were no ATM nearby. So I asked my friend to give me 200 Rs. He told me, its enough but I forced him to give money as mine got over.

Finally, We all reached the place we started. I think our team must have planted 10 to 15 saplings. Probably less than 5 might get a life. I am happy we planted 2-3 trees in front of a Company where they already maintained a garden. So the security there, said they will water it. In another place, the security said the owners will scold them. I told him personally if they scold, then take it off and plant it somewhere else.

Planting trees on the roadside is a good cause but I honestly don’t know many of these saplings will grow into a beautiful tree. We felt happy for the time we spent together though. I sweat a lot but was not embarrassed about it because I am used to it nowadays. I can’t help me. Seems there’s a fountain over my head and face that I sweat so much.

I did not plant any saplings myself. I was just roaming around to all the groups and watching how they did? In Nagasai mandhir too, When they do Annadhaan, I carry the water jug with me for devotees to drink while having meals. I have this love for giving water and wish I get more opportunities to do it for a lifetime.

A flashback of the lost Tamarind trees in Coimbatore – Mettupalayam road:

The Tamarind trees which were there on both sides of Coimbatore- Mettupalayam road earlier were planted before 100 years. Seems, some people regularly come in Bullock cart and watered them to grow a tree.

I came back home and started writing this article. I don’t have any photos of us planting trees. When I get it from my friends, shall include it in the article.

Shirdi Saibaba’s early times shows his love for plants and nature. Sai planted Tulsi plants in the entire land where the Samadhi Mandir stands today. I had a desire to promote gardening and launched GardenIdeas.in but so far I only have one article on it.

Thanks to my friends at work and Ver Foundation who organized this event. I am not sure if I really did good karma but I am happy today. Nature is beyond any religion, caste, and creed. I related Sai with this article only for Sai devotees. Others, just learn the value of planting trees and making the planet a better place to live in.

This event and article in StarSai is dedicated to Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam

I have a beautiful memory of Dr.Kalam

It was 2002 when the Government of India launched a website for the Prime Minister and the President. I was trying to get an assignment in the Tourism ministry to do Promo Videos. I wrote to several Tourism ministry websites of various states with none to respond. Finally, Just to see what happens, I landed on the official website of the then, President of India, and mailed him. Such an amateur mail which stated my desire to do promo videos for promoting tourism in India.

A week later, there was a surprise in my Inbox.

A reply from the P.A of the Abdul Kalam stating that the president has read my mail and conveyed his wishes to try to get an assignment. I was in Chennai those days and called up my parents to tell this news about the reply from the President of India.

You can’t believe it. I don’t even have a copy of the mail as it was my Yahoo mail ID which I never used later on.

I didn’t know its value.

I am happy India had a President so simple that he took time to reply mail of an ordinary Indian.

I Love Coimbatore.

Jai Hind.

Om Sai Ram

Venkat

Little servant of Shirdi Saibaba

Grow Trees

Saibaba’s love for birds

You are what you do, not what you say

Note – For privacy reasons, I have not revealed the name of the organization I belong to and my friend’s name too. StarSai is my treasure. Only those who are meant to come here by Sai’s will should come here. That’s my wish.