Scribd
Upload
151 views4 pages

After The Storm

Saruli and the other village children notice that many trees have fallen down after a big storm, leaving the forest bare. They learn from the village elder that resin tappers have been draining the trees of their resin, weakening them. Worried that another storm may destroy the whole forest, the children take action to stop the resin tappers by removing the containers used to collect the resin. When confronted by an angry resin tapper, Saruli bravely tells the District Forest Officer what they have done. A month later, the children are allowed to continue protecting the forest and begin replanting native tree species with the elder. Their forest is now safe.

Uploaded by

Anand Raja
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
151 views4 pages

After The Storm

Saruli and the other village children notice that many trees have fallen down after a big storm, leaving the forest bare. They learn from the village elder that resin tappers have been draining the trees of their resin, weakening them. Worried that another storm may destroy the whole forest, the children take action to stop the resin tappers by removing the containers used to collect the resin. When confronted by an angry resin tapper, Saruli bravely tells the District Forest Officer what they have done. A month later, the children are allowed to continue protecting the forest and begin replanting native tree species with the elder. Their forest is now safe.

Uploaded by

Anand Raja
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Deepa Agarwal’s

AFTER THE STORM

Deepa Agarwal’s After the Storm:


What do you do, when you feel very troubled about situations around you? Here is what one
group of children did.
The storm raged all night. Lightning crackled and the wind howled like a demon. Saruli
cowered under the covers and clung to her mother when she heard the thunder. A peculiar
crack-crack-SNAP, followed by a tremendous crash, as though a giant had fallen to the ground.
"What is that?" she asked her mother.
"The trees," her mother replied. "The wind is blowing them down.”
"The trees!" Saruli was shocked. The wind was strong, very strong. But was it powerful enough
to knock down those enormous pines — so straight and tall?
The next morning she saw it for herself. Row upon row of the lofty pines lay stretched
helplessly on the ground. Saruli was stunned. Half the jungle seemed bare. Most of the people
from the small hill village were there, foraging for branches and dragging them away. But
Saruli, a wiry girl of thirteen, stood there stunned.
Gripped with fear Saruli was thinking of the barren hillside across the valley. How desolate it
looked! A real contrast to the forest near their village, which was full of fresh grass and shrubs.
Suppose... suppose all the trees fell down ... wouldn't the forest disappear? With an effort she
dismissed these thoughts and began to collect wood. Fuel was always an important need. Saruli
gathered a large bundle. On her way back, she passed Diwan Singh's house. The old man was
seated outside. "You want some wood, uncle?" she asked. Without waiting for an answer she
dropped part of her bundle in one corner of the paved courtyard.
"So you have been to the forest, girl?" "Yes, uncle, lots of trees fell down last night.
Old Diwan Singh was the headman of her village. ''It was to be expected," he said slowly. The
trees have been totally hollowed by the resin-tappers." Saruli's brown eyes opened wide. ''I
wondered how so many trees had fallen down". Diwan Singh said, "First they only made one
cut on the trees to tap resin. Now they keep on making gashes till the trees are utterly drained.
Even a moderately strong wind can below them over, they are so dry." "Can't... can't someone
stop them?' Saruli asked, horrified. Diwan sighed. "No one can stop them, girl? The contractors
are rich, influential people. They pay a lot of money to tap the trees.’
Saruli got up go home. As she stood up, she glanced at Diwan Singh's strange nursery. He was
growing saplings. Not the baby pines which sprang up themselves in the rains, but shoots of oak
and deodar- the native trees of the hills. Diwan Singh told Saruli, 'When I was a boy this was a
forest of oak and deodar. The British Government cut them down and planted pines.”
1
Download Study Materials on www.examsdaily.in Follow us on FB for exam Updates: ExamsDaily
Deepa Agarwal’s
AFTER THE STORM

But, Why?"Saruli had asked.


"Because pine trees can be tapped for resin and resin has many uses. But they forgot that oaks
bring rain and trap the water. Pines dry out the land.”
It was a holiday for school. Saruli took her cow to graze in the forest. The sight of the fallen
trees-trunks was depressing. Many of the other village children were there too, with their goats
and cows. "Come and play hide and seek" Jaman called.
But Saruli shook her head. She sat on a rock, thinking and thinking. How could they save their
forest?
'What is the matter?" Jaman asked after a while.
"I am scared," she replied, after a short pause. "Suppose another storm comes along and all the
trees are blown down. What will we do then?”
"The contractors pay money to the Forest Department to tap the trees. They are allowed to do
it," said Jaman in a low voice.
But Saruli was rushing to the nearest pine tree. There she found several gashes which had gone
dry. At the end of one, there was a conical tin cup, into which the sticky resin fell, drop by drop.
She wrenched off the tin cup and threw it away. "That is what we can do!" She cried
triumphantly. Jaman put some clay to seal the gashes.
The other children gathered around curiously. Saruli cried excitedly. "Come on, help to save our
forest!”
She raced around pulling the tin cups off the trees. And Jaman followed with the clay. The
others joined in enthusiastically.
A week passed. The little group managed to remove the tin containers from a large portion of
the jungle. Then, one morning, four men entered the forest to collect resin. Saruli's heart
thudded suddenly. The showdown had come. But she had to stay calm. She could hear their
muttered exclamations of surprise which turned into anger to find the trees devoid of the resin
containers. Finally, they came up to the children who were swarming up around a tree. "Do you
know who has done this?" one of the men demanded. Saruli had seen him around. He was
called Lai Singh.
The children looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Then Saruli jumped down from the
/cafe/ tree. "We did it," she said.
"Wha-at?" the man seemed unable to understand.
"Yes," Saruli said quietly. "We threw away the containers".

2
Download Study Materials on www.examsdaily.in Follow us on FB for exam Updates: ExamsDaily
Deepa Agarwal’s
AFTER THE STORM

"You brats! How dare you!" Lai Singh exploded. His companions swore and muttered angrily.
"Now we will have to put them again," Lai Singh continued. "Don't you dare touch the trees
now?" exploded: words came out in a loud burst.
He produced a chisel-like tool and began to scrape off the mud plaster the children had applied.
"Stop!"Saruli cried, hurling herself at him. He pushed her aside roughly but Jaman and the
others joined in too.
"Run, Radha!" Saruli cried. ''Get help from the village. We have got to save the forest!”
Radha ran fast. But the taller man caught up quickly. He was about to grab her. Suddenly, a jeep
jerked to an abrupt halt. "What is going on?" a voice spoke from inside.
Lai Singh sprang forward eagerly. Jaman followed. Then his eye fell on what was written on the
number plate. The D.F.O. Sir" he muttered nervously.
The District Forest Officer jumped out of the jeep. One of the men had Radha by the arm was
gesticulating and pointing to the trees. Radha looked terrified!
'What is the meaning of all this?" the D.F.O. asked.
"She is the ring leader," Lai Singh said accusingly.
"Sir we are only trying to save our forest!" Saruli said vehemently.
Taken aback by Saruli's impassioned outburst, the D.F.O. followed her to the edge of the forest.
He stared at the fallen tree-trunks and frowned.
we do?
"It is the resin-tapping. Sir," Saruli repeated. ''If all the trees fall down, what will happen?”
But the D.F.O. was lost in thought "I shall have to think about it," he said finally. "Our job is to
prevent the forests. Tell your contractor to talk to me.”
Lai Singh's eyes almost fell out with shock, but the children clapped gleefully. The D.F.O. got
into his jeep and drove away.
A month went by. The resin-tappers did not come again and the children continued to remove
the containers. They had almost finished when the first monsoon showers came down. That
evening when Saruli went home, Diwan Singh called out to her, "Girl, the rains have come.
"Let's plant the deodhars.”
She smiled happily up at him. Just then, they saw the familiar jeep. "D.F.O. Sir!" said Diwan
Singh.
The D.F.O. got off the jeep and smiled at Saruli. "Keep it up/ he patted her back. The resin
tappers will not trouble you again.”

3
Download Study Materials on www.examsdaily.in Follow us on FB for exam Updates: ExamsDaily
Deepa Agarwal’s
AFTER THE STORM

Thank you, Sir, thank you!" chanted a chorus of voices. The jeep sped down the road. A breeze
rustled through the trees making them sound like a distant waterfall. Saruli sighed happily. They
would continue to hear that sound. They had achieved their goal. They had saved the forest.
Nothing would destroy their forest now.

Join Us on FB :

For English – Examsdaily For Tamil – Examsdaily Tamil

For WhatsAPP Group - Click Here

4
Download Study Materials on www.examsdaily.in Follow us on FB for exam Updates: ExamsDaily

You might also like