IT’S BEEN A COUPLE of weeks since we’ve been to The Examiner office in Ole Bangalore. Last time we were there, we were interested that “progress” had not decked the coconut tree plus the local lore goes that if someone chops one of these trees, there will be a death in the family.
Last time we were there, the coconut tree was intact. The building site had its own postbox. There was a shrine to Vishnu in his form as Tulsi (Basil) right next to the tree, which was home to little gilhari (squirrels) and other creatures like, er, birds, as well as butterflies and stuff.
How things have changed. And they aren’t for the better. A source sent us this picture showing sheer wanton destruction on a grand scale. The building site appears to have turned into a cesspool. And the coconut is one of the dear departed. ♦
There is one song dubbed “Progress” from the coolio Aussie band “Midnight Oil” which states:
http://www.musicsonglyrics.com/M/midnightoillyrics/midnightoilprogresslyrics.htm
“A tree that can grow no longer, a beach that has got no sand
I would pay out a king’s ransom, if we could just understand”
and the chorus goes”
“Some say that’s progress
I say that’s cruel.”
FC