“Thank you trees for giving life”

“So, what do you do? Every day you roam around near trees?”

It was a very genuine question, straight from a child’s heart. The Treevellers’ Katte was all set up. We were just gathering around the trees, under the trees to talk trees. “How I wish!” said my adult brain but my treeveller’s heart brought a laugh to my face. “Yes! It is what I love to do!” – said my smile as we launched ourselves into a very fun Treevellers’ Katte.

18 fifth graders from Bangalore Steiner School brought cheer, honesty and irreplaceable humour to the Treevellers’ Katte held in Lal Bagh (celebrated in an earlier post), one of Bangalore’s invaluable green spaces and tree temples.

They saw beauty, loneliness, inspiration, peace, love, confusion, sadness and so much more in the trees, whether as images placed before them, or as trees standing in a park. They greeted the trees with mooing sounds, cartwheels, Namastes, funny faces and abundant gratitude – even thanking them for enabling them to miss certain not-so-favourite classes this morning!

Every activity was hotly debated. Suggestions were made on forming the groups. Mischief was displayed through attempts to pair up two classmates who don’t particularly love working together. Activities were participated in with the same energy with which they were thoroughly examined. The curiosity and truth they brought to every sharing was precious and refreshing.

While modelling images of themselves as trees, they lavished great details on the soft clay, twisting the trunk in the end “because this is an Olive tree;” adding few leaves “because it is almost spring now;” or letting the branches fall “because it can happen during a storm.” The little forest they created shone rich with personality and confidence.