Delhiwale: And the dead earth yielded life again

Monday’s evening sky is full of clouds, with sunlight still finding its way through them

Monday’s evening sky is full of clouds, with sunlight still finding its way through them. People lie scattered across a wide lawn. At its far end stands a stone edifice, its dome dark against the light. In the middle of this view is a small, unruly gathering of leaves.

A dead tree had stood here for decades. Birds would settle on its bare branches, and many people would photograph it with the monument behind it. At different times, the tree famously appeared in posed portraits of writers Anita Desai and Annie Ernaux. Then, one Saturday in June last year, it fell on its own accord. (HT Photo)

This is Lodhi Garden. The edifice is the centuries-old Sheesh Gumbad monument, and the leaves occupy a spot that once had a far more conspicuous resident. A dead tree had stood here for decades. Birds would settle on its bare branches, and many people would photograph it with the monument behind it. At different times, the tree famously appeared in posed portraits of writers Anita Desai and Annie Ernaux. Then, one Saturday in June last year, it fell of its own accord, although a tempest did pass through the city around that time. A visit weeks later revealed a patch of brown earth and a wooden stake with a frail vine wound around it. The patch looked like the part of a wall from which a fresco had been taken away. It stayed that way for a long time.

There are flowers, too. Red flowers hang low among the leaves. The other side has clusters of orange and yellow flowers, some in bud. One flower lies flat in the grass.

Around the spot, the garden life carries on. Visitors are strolling across the lawn, and the stone dome is changing shade as the light fades. A young man is playing guitar and singing a Krishna bhajan. No one appears to be paying attention to this little patch of wild.

To be sure, somebody here might still be missing the dead tree. It had a regal presence that matched the monument behind it. But after the long sight of bare branches, and then the brief sight of bare earth, this dense growth of green plants and colourful flowers is a pleasing thing to find. Perhaps one day writers yet to come will again pose here, beside whatever in this lush shrubbery manages to grow to a great height. Meanwhile, the dead tree has finally earned its right to be forgotten.