We all wish for an ideal world. But making changes that count is often just too much for ordinary people. Some of us fall back on the trite and excuse themselves with a “… what difference does a single person make?” excuse. But one man, Jadav Payeng didn’t think about that – he just did what he thought was right. And created a forest. By Prerna Shah.
Assam, India. July 2020. Jadav “Molai” Payeng, also known as the Forest Man of India, was horrified when back in 1979 he saw hundreds of snakes lying dead on a sandbar in Majuli, the world’s largest river island on the Brahmaputra in north-east India. They had all died due to excessive heat and lack of shade. Deeply moved by the sight of the dead animals, Payeng decided to take matters in his own hands.
Over the last 40 years, he has single-handedly planted a forest. Not just a wood, or even a hillside. A massive forest, equivalent in size to more than 750 football fields. It all started after he saw the dead snakes; each morning he woke up at 3 am, took a two hour boat ride, and then rode his bicycle for another hour to reach the sandbar. He started by planting resilient bamboo, as it is an ideal habitat for the survival of snakes and wildlife. As time went on he planted all kinds of other trees, gradually expanding the green island. His relentless devotion to nature went unnoticed for decades until in 2007 a journalist, Jitu Kalita, wandered into his world and revealed his secret.
After 40 years, the area is now large enough to be designated the Molai Forest, named after its creator. Today the green and vibrant area – that was once just a barren sand patch - is home to 120 species of birds, hundreds of rabbits, deer, wild boars, reptiles, rhinoceros, elephants, and even the royal Bengal tiger.
Before Payeng started planting, most of Majuli looked like this. Courtesy Jadav Payeng.
Payeng is not keen to take credit for the transformation, however. He says the forest is a work of nature. "It's not as if I did it alone," he says. "You plant one or two trees, and they have to seed. And once they seed, the wind knows how to plant them, the birds know how to sow them, cows know, elephants know, even the Brahmaputra River knows. The entire ecosystem knows how."
Belonging to the Mishing tribe, Payeng makes a living by selling milk from his herd of cows and buffaloes that graze in the forest. He has lost more than 180 of his animals to tigers, and has even come face to face with the these kings of the jungle, but is unaffected by them. "I never feel danger in the forest,” he says. “It is my biggest home." When villagers suggest he should cut down parts of the forest to deter the tigers, he disagrees vociferously, "You will have to kill me first before you kill the trees!" he warns. On top of that and despite his best efforts, he faces incessant threats from poachers and illegal loggers who don’t share his view of nature.
Now the sandbar is covered in rich jungle. Courtesy Jadav Payeng.
“Humans consume everything until there is nothing left. Nothing is safe from humans, not even tigers or elephants,” he says with exasperation. And while many villagers complain of the elephants trampling their fields, Payeng prides himself on providing a home for them. He calls the trees his ‘sons and daughters’ and believes man should instead adjust to the demands of the wild.
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Payeng has won numerous awards for his incredible achievements including the Padma Shree, one of the highest civilian awards in India. He has also been featured in a highly-acclaimed documentary film called Forest Man that has amassed 2.8 million views online, and also been popularised in an illustrated children’s book. But he remains impartial towards these laurels.
“What purpose will these awards serve if we are not able to safeguard the earth?” he asks. “That is more important. There will be nothing without the earth,” he says. He emphasises the need to restructure the education system right from elementary school in order to sensitise people to the harmful effects of deforestation and climate change.
“Children always remember what we teach them early. We must guide them to plant one tree and tend to it with patience for the next five years,” he asserts.
While the world grapples with one of the worst pandemics in human history, habitat and biodiversity loss continue unabated, with half-hearted and short-sighted measures continuing to cloud the political landscape, accompanied by tedious lectures and seminars that merely continue to pitch solutions that hardly see the light of day.
But in distant Assam, Jadav Payeng continues to do what is needed without waiting for guidance from the past or hoping for accolades in the future. His next goal is to reforest another sandbar, and after that to plant another 2000 hectares on Majuli Island. Giving life, cool shade and a home to yet more flora and fauna. He firmly believes the trees talk to him.
“They call out to me saying ‘Come, now, enough of walking. Come sit in our shade. Rest for a bit’ ,” he says. But he keeps on planting.