It was the afternoon of the month of Ashadh. The black asphalt of the Moulvibazar-Shamsernagar road was wet with rainwater in some places, and sparkling dust was flying in others. It was clear that the rain was not falling evenly. A semi-paved road ran west from Kachari Bazar on this road. That road went towards the Hamidia tea plantation in Moulvibazar Sadar Upazila.
Last Friday afternoon, while walking on that path, I came across a tree. The tree’s vine body spread out on a hill-like place. However, despite its name, it is not like any other tree. It has no upward trunk, no branches. From the base, all the huge vines, like big ropes, are hanging and entwined with nearby mango, jackfruit, and banyan trees. Even though it looks like a vine, everyone has come to know it as a tree. They continue to preserve it as such. No one knows in which century the tree was born here. The tree is now a part of folk history.
Huge vines, like large ropes, hang from the roots, sheltering nearby mango, jackfruit, and banyan trees.Photo: Prothom Alo
The tree is in the Salamitila area of Hamidia Tea Garden. There is ‘Hazrat Shah Ghazi (R.) Mokam’ there. This Mokam is also very old. There are some other trees in the Mokam area. Many of them may be close to its age. However, it is different from other trees. It does not stand upright like other trees and raise its head upwards. It is difficult to guess where the roots of the tree are unless someone shows it. It is rooted near a banyan tree. From there, it climbed like a vine and went to all the other trees. From that place, it dragged its body like a python and took shelter in the banyan tree, various mango and jackfruit trees nearby. The body of the vine-like tree is spread out and hanging like that.
The monsoon is now underway. All the trees have turned more or less green with leaves. This tree is also the same. There are no leaves anywhere on the creeping part of its body. However, on the tip hanging from other trees, a few long, flat leaves have grown in clusters. The leaves have a light, dark green hue.
I met a man named Md. Muhibur Ali. He was sitting alone on a bench made of bamboo. His house is in Salamitila. From word of mouth, it was learned that he was a devotee of the Pir and Murshid. He spent his days visiting shrines with the Pir and Murshid. He was no longer involved in worldly illusions, and he did not live a household. He wrote poetry. He also recited a few lines of poetry orally. However, now he sees less with his eyes, so he does not write anything new.
Soon after, Bimal Dev of Baracheg village in nearby Kamalganj joined Muhibur. He said that the tree must be 400 to 500 years old or more. They narrated the folk history that they had learned from their previous generations. There was no Chalamitila or Hamidiya tea garden here before, there was a forest. There was a palace next to the residence. Although there is no trace of the palace now. At one time, Ghazi Kalu, while wandering around, came to this place to sit and rest. Later, Shah Ghazi’s residence was here.
It is said that once upon a time, when the tree was cut, a blood-like substance would come out. For many years, people have not cut or injured the tree. The local people have been preserving the tree with respect. However, these two said that the name of the tree is ‘Jirbat’. They also gave an explanation, that the local people know the tree by that name because it looks like cumin (earthworm).
The local people call the tree ‘Jirbot’. The tree now survives as a part of folk history.Photo: Prothom Alo
Muhibur Ali said, “There were no tea gardens here before. The trees we saw in our ancestors’ gardens are still like this. The trees are no less than 400-500 years old, and will be even older. The tree is surrounded by a banyan tree, six mango trees, and two jackfruit trees. No one cuts any of the trees.”
Whatever the folklore, this tree named ‘Jirbat’ along with Mokam has now survived as a part of folk history. The trunk of the tree does not rise upwards from the root but moves back and forth like a creeping plant. During the dry season, the leaves fall off. Then only the huge vines are visible. When the rainy season comes, buds start to bloom at the tip of the vine, the leaves grow. The tip of the tree turns green. Although its age, name and identity are not confirmed, the tree has been quietly and quietly respected and loved by the local people for a long time.
Source: Prothom Alo
