By Aakash Poonia
HERO…Well defining the word HERO is difficult. Superman and Batman are heroes to me, my sixth-grade science teacher who always believed in me is a hero to me, my mom, dad, and brother who works tirelessly to provide for the family are heroes to me. The definition of a hero is left to interpretation. Who do you think of when you hear the word hero? I believe heroes come from all walks of life. Everyone who we admire and idolize is a hero to us. We love spreading stories of our heroes through advertising, and marketing. One thing is certain: we want to believe in heroes. But I submit we’ve been going about it the wrong way.
Although Superman and Batman wear capes, not all heroes do. Some heroes fly beneath the radar. They aren’t celebrities like Tom Cruise or Cristiano Ronaldo and you won’t see them on the conference main stage. But they give of themselves for the greater good. They act nobly. Their lives inspire. It is equally important for us to know the unsung heroes of our country who are impacting thousands of lives, changing the way we think, and making India truly a better place.
Here's a story of one such hero who has achieved extraordinary feats and moved our country forward.
This man single-handedly converted a washed-out land into a 1,360-acre forest. Yes, I'm talking about none other than The Forest Man of India, Jadav Payeng. Almost three decades ago, a teenager, after noticing the deaths of a large number of reptiles due to lack of tree cover, started planting Bamboo in an area that had been washed away by floods. Today, that same land hosts 1,360 acres of Jungle called Molai Forest, named after Jadav “Molai” Payeng, the man who made this possible single-handedly!
He was 16 when the catastrophic flood hit Assam destroying crops, vegetation, and wildlife. Payeng observed that the flow of migratory birds eventually started to decline to the forest areas and wetlands near his home and snakes and other reptiles were disappearing in large numbers. When he asked his village elders, they told him that with a decline in forest cover and deforestation, animals lost their habitats. In order to restore wildlife, the only solution was to build new homes or forests for the animals. He informed the forest department but they asked him to plant trees himself. So that's what he did. He located a riverine island, on the banks of River Brahmaputra, and began to plant the saplings. Payeng visited the island and planted a few saplings every day for three decades.
Transforming the area into a forest was not a piece of cake. He experienced tough and difficult challenges. The odds were against him but he didn't give up. One of those obstacles was Watering the growing area. Watering the area proved to be vast for one man. He could not draw water from the river and water all the growing plants. But that never stopped him.
He came up with a brilliant idea. He built a bamboo platform on the top of each sapling and placed earthen pots with small holes in them. The water would gradually drip on the plants below and water them through the week. With his "never quit" attitude he conquered all those challenges and obstacles.
In 1980, he started working with the social forestry division of Golaghat district when they launched a scheme of tree plantation on 200 hectares. Payeng was one of the labourers who worked on that 5-year-long project. When the project was completed other workers left but he chose to stay to look after the plants and he continued to plant more trees on his own, in an effort to remodel the area into a forest.
Payeng was honoured at a public function arranged by the School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University on 22nd April 2012 for his noteworthy achievement.
The vice-chancellor of JNU Sudhir Kumar Sopory named him as "Forest Man of India". In October 2013, he was honoured at the Indian Institute of Forest Management during their annual event ‘Coalescence’.
In 2015, he was honoured with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India. He received honorary doctorate degrees from Assam Agricultural University and Kaziranga University for his contributions.
He started as a 16 year old boy, Today he is 57 and lives in his own forest, which is now also home to Bengal tigers, Indian rhinoceros, over 100 deer, and rabbits, besides apes and several varieties of birds, including a large number of vultures. The forest department wanted to employ him but he refused because he believed he wouldn’t be able to pay attention to the cause if he was bound by responsibilities.
Isn’t it fascinating to see the willpower of this man who fought alone and won the battle single-handedly? Where we don’t hesitate to cut trees for our luxuries, he sacrificed all the worldly pleasures to save the environment and the ecosystem. Our country needs more such heroes who are trying to make Earth a better place.
