TAXI DRIVER’S EFFORT AT PLANTING TREES NEAR THE TAXI STAND
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| Somasekharan Nair, Sasthamangalam junction, Thiruvananthapuram |
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During his 40-year-career as taxi-driver, Somasekharan Nair has been planting many trees at the place where he parks his car, and these trees have been growing robustly, providing relief to other drivers and the public.
Sasthamangalam junction at Thiruvananthapuram is his chosen area of service. During the early years of his career, it was very difficult for the drivers to sit inside their Hindustan or Land Master under the hot sun. It was then that he thought of planting trees in the parking area to bring relief to the drivers.
Over the years, the taxi stand at the junction was shifted frequently and every time he planted trees in the new locations. Thus trees were planted and nurtured at many locations by Somasekharan Nair.
“I brought these trees from different temple premises during my trips,” he says about the trees. “The soft fig tree in the middle of the park was brought from Thikkurissi Siva temple and the banyan tree opposite Hilton Hyundai showroom was brought from Neyyattinkara Sree Krishna Swami temple.”
“The significance is not just that I planted these trees. But there is an element of belief attached to them”, he says. To stress the point he adds that most of the trees at the junction belongs to the group of sacred trees mentioned in ancient scriptures.
Courtesy: B.S.Anilkumar, The New Indian Express, January 25, 2003
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