What do you do after you have single-handedly grown a forest over 30 years? If you are Jadav Payeng, you start growing another and a much bigger forest nearby.
On a recent morning, the breeze is fresh though a touch cold, trees are laden with berries and wildflowers are in bloom as birds make a racket—the Molai forest in Assam’s Majuli, a river island in the Brahmaputra river, is the living testimony to the dogged effort and determination of the 62-year-old Payeng.
“Seeds of these trees are available for plantation,” says the 62-year-old Payeng, pointing to the dense forest spread over 550 hectares that he nurtured over 30 years on a barren sandy stretch along the Brahmaputra. “The forest department of Assam gifted me 5,000 saplings on my 60th birthday. I have been planting these seeds and saplings every day,” says Payeng of the new forest he has been planting for 10 years now.
A climate hotspot, Majuli needs Payeng’s new forest. Rich in bio-diversity, Majuli is one of the biggest river islands in the world. Floods are an annual affair and soil erosion has shrunk Majuli. There are fears that over the years the island may disappear altogether. From 880 sq km in the 1950s, Majuli is not even half the size at 352 sq km. Payeng’s forest has put a stop to soil erosion in this part of Majuli.
The ‘Forest Man of India’, as he has come to be known, says the new forest that abuts Molai won’t be as big a challenge as the first one even though it is spread over 2,000 hectares. “Watering the plants is not an issue, enough water is available from the already planted forest,” says Payeng. He would know. When he started planting trees for the Molai forest in 1979, he used to carry water in pots.
The warning
Payeng was 14 when he found 100 snakes lying dead on a sandbar due to intense heat. He couldn’t get the dead snakes out of his mind, they were a warning. “I felt I would also die this same way if something wasn’t done. My uncle told me I should plant bamboo trees and gave me 25 trees. I planted them where the snakes died. I would carry water in a pot and water them once in 4-5 days,” says Payeng, who is a Mising. The Mising are an indigenous people who live along the banks of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries.
Jadabesh Barua, a scientist, saw him at work and encouraged him to keep at it. “I would take seeds from people in the village and plant here. I grew this forest in 25-30 years over 550 hectares,” he says, sitting on the edge of Molai, facing the new forest.
It wasn’t easy. People would come to cut the trees and Payeng had to keep a watch. With trees, came wildlife and complaints—lots of them.
But the attitude has changed. “Now, they protect the forest. They earn money by selling fruits. They show the forest to tourists and guests and get money in return,” says Payeng.
In January 2010, a team of botanists from Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University confirmed the presence of wild animals, birds, and trees and declared the area as a forest. Eighty percent of India’s birds can be found in the forest, including 55 migratory and 125 local varieties, he says.
“There are rhinos, deer, elephants and royal Bengal tigers. I am not afraid of them. They have plenty of food in this jungle and they would not kill people,” he says.
When asked about the name off the forest, his eyes twinkle with mischief. “My nickname is Mola, as I was white and pinkish like Mola (radish) in childhood. People started calling this as Molai forest,” says Payeng.
Need trees not lecturesMolai was his home for a long time. Payeng, wife Binita, daughter Munmuni and sons Sanjib and Sanjay stayed in the forest till 2002-03 before shifting to Kokilamukh, 12 km from Jorhat in central Assam.
In 2015, Payeng was given the Padmashri, the country’s fourth-highest civilian award, but he wears it lightly. “I take care of my 60 cows and buffalos. I survive by selling their milk. I don’t get any income from the forest,” says Payeng, who still lives in a stilt house.
His day begins at around 4 am. He cycles for half an hour to the spot where he ties his boat He takes the boat, puts the cycle in it and crosses the Brahmaputra in around 20 minutes. He has to cycle for another hour to get to the Molai forest. His day is busy as he has another forest to plant and bring to life. “It will be ready in 10 years,” says Payeng.
But his concern for the environment is not limited to Majuli. He is on a mission and visits schools, asking children to plant trees. “They should not only plant seeds but also make sure plants grow. I don’t want schools and colleges to celebrate the environment day by organising lectures—they should plant and grow saplings and seeds,” he says. And if they need help, the ‘Forest Man’ is just a call away.
(Varsha Torgalkar is a Pune-based journalist)
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