The Pair Trees

The ‘Pair’ Trees

Along a busy road, near where I live in Melbourne, there is a section of green grass and a line of trees, each separated by about 20-30 feet. This gives a break from a series of driveways that open on to the road from houses. This is achieved by having the houses along the section open out to inner roads so that their sides or rear face this line of trees. It makes for a pleasant change as one walks along it.

When I first moved into the area, I took a long, slow, enjoyable walk along the road one evening to get familiar with the neighbourhood. As I walked along, alone, I paused to hear or observe birds chattering in the branches. Some birds came down on the mowed grass between the trees. Gum trees and paperbarks are so common in this area that normally one would not pay much attention to any particular tree. I tend to walk without distractions built into me – no earphones, not listening to the music or radio. I like to look around, be led by the sights and sounds of a new place. On such leisurely walks, I do not tend to rush or walk like I do when I have a purpose in mind to get a job done. When I go shopping or for an appointment and don’t have a moment to spare, I walk fast, straight, almost in blinkers. Then, I fail to see or recognise familiar people, friends in front of me. I fail to note even glaring sights or blaring sounds under my nose. Many times, I have been reproached by friends and felt guilty for not saying hello or waving back when they waved to me as I strode past on my way to get something done, with apparently a distracted but purposeful look in my eye.

This day, I was relaxed, trying to take in everything, to get a feel for the new place which was along a busy road with a lot of traffic. Here, it felt different from a small country town like Alex.  It was the evening time when the people returned from work, when the traffic along the road was packed and heavy as far as the eye could see. The vehicles zipped past me. When there was a break in traffic, I could hear the birds on the nearby trees real loud. In trying to look at the branches above, their tops catching the sunlight from the setting sun on the horizon, I saw an orange-red formation of clouds right above that provided a background to the trees and their branches. It was a pretty picture and I did not have a camera handy. Suddenly, I paused and looked at some birds on the grass, they were a bit far and there were was this tree between us. I thought I would edge closer to get a better look at the bird, while hiding behind the tree, and then peek around it. This way the birds would not fly away at my approach. As I went up to the tree, silently and stealthily, a sudden burst of traffic with a huge truck raced past me sending a shockwave of air and someone honked their horn. This disturbed the birds and they flew away before I could get a good look at them.

I almost cursed the traffic, but realised that they too, were full of people getting home to their loved ones, just like these birds which were already home. The birds had it easy. Their traffic was less congested and frustrating. It must be exhilarating for them to fly and I was again struck with envy at their ability to soar into the sky, see sights from an angle I will never be able to, to settle into the branch or nest, no rent, no mortgage, no upkeep and have meals or snacks at their doorsteps or wherever they please to go and look.

When the birds flew away, I looked the tree I was standing close to. Suddenly, I noticed, there were two trees, not one. There had been other trees that forked from near the ground and appeared to be two trees, but these were actually two different trees that had grown up next to each other and had been allowed to.

I had read somewhere that plants and trees had an ability to generate ‘allelopathic’ chemicals in the ground around them to keep any other large tree from growing too close and competing for the resources from the earth. This is common even between two trees of the same species. What I saw here was something that apparently breaks this rule. They belong to two completely different species.  They don’t look alike at all, but have grown together so close for many, many years, to get this tall and big. It is definitely something of the duration of a human lifetime if not more.

Almost in a flash, I saw the two trees now in a different light. They are like lovers, caught in a pose of dancing together, an embrace in frozen motion. They are beautiful. This pair of trees is in my mind a model couple. They could also be a couple of friends playing together, a parent and child dancing together – dad with his daughter. They could be a young couple or old. They belong together!! Later, when I met a lady I have grown to love, one of the first walks we took together was to have a look at these trees. This pair always inspires thoughts of love in me and teaches a lesson of growing together in love. Have a look at the pictures of the two that I have taken.

May we all find someone in life to form our own pair! May we all find someone to love and to love us!

Photos credit and Copyright  (c) Kannan Narayanamurthy 2013
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