The tree

Its more like the peepal or the banyan.... which grows out of the earth that created it..... grows fast and restless desperate to see the outer world... rustling with the wind becomes a habit and its warmth and presence is shared by all. Watching the birds nest on it, feeding and protecting their young..... all selfless deeds make it feel proud. Strange enough but theres a feeling that questions the false pride which is taken from the deeds which appear all so selfless.

Whatever be the acts, the tree shares a special relation with the fig wasps. The bond between the tree and the tiny wasp is unique, as if made for each other. True, the insect cannot reproduce without the fig and the tree cannot produce seeds without the insect.
The small wasp sees many trees around but the peepals are rare. Some wasps would treat the peepal the same even if it were a bonsai. Such wasps are even rarer.

After growing enough it feels like clinging back to the roots..... now it start growing downwards embracing the very reasons for its search outwards, making it stronger from within as well as from out. In the process the trunk expands and embraces all the near and dear ones which it shared the days of its life with.

The peepal is also sacred to Buddhists, because the Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment under it. Hence it is also called the Bodhi tree or 'tree of enlightenment'.
Though I am agnostic till religion is concerned but then the fact that it binds so many together in a strange bond of social solidarity is something that always fascinates me.