Sarjom Dare

Rupi lived with her grandmother at the edge of a great sal forest. The villagers called the forest Sarjom Dare—the forest of sal trees—and treated it as an elder. They gathered fallen branches for fuel, collected leaves for plates, and visited the oldest trees before weddings, journeys, and festivals.

One year a merchant named Jadu arrived with carts, axes, and promises of quick money. He told the villagers that he would buy the sal trees and make them rich. Some people were tempted, especially after a poor harvest. Rupi's grandmother warned them that a forest could be sold in a day but would take generations to return.

Instead of arguing, the villagers examined the problems troubling them. Their old spring had become clogged with stones and roots. The paths had eroded, and the shade trees near the fields were disappearing. They decided to repair the spring and protect the forest before accepting Jadu's offer.

For several days they worked together. Rupi carried water and gathered small stones while the elders cleared the spring. When the water began to flow again, the villagers saw that the forest was already giving them more than timber: it held the soil, cooled the air, fed the streams, and sheltered birds and animals.

Jadu grew angry. One night, some of his workers set a fire near the dry grass, hoping to frighten the villagers into surrendering the trees. The flames spread toward the oldest part of Sarjom Dare. Rupi saw the red glow and raised the alarm.

The entire village hurried into the forest. They beat the fire with wet branches, dug breaks in the dry grass, and carried water from the repaired spring. By dawn the fire was out. The oldest sal trees still stood, blackened but alive.

The villagers then made a promise. No living sal tree would be cut without the community's consent. Fallen wood could be collected, the spring would be maintained every season, and children would be taught the names and uses of the forest plants.

Jadu left with his empty carts. Rupi's grandmother placed her hand on a sal tree and said, “A forest is not merely a place where trees stand. It is a place where a people continue to live.”