This Inspirational Pune Couple Planted 101 Trees To Celebrate The Birth Of Their Daughter
A young couple in Pune has set a great example by planting 101 saplings, including 51 young trees for local school students, at a cost of Rs 50,000, to celebrate the birth of their daughter.
Pune based Ranjeet and Neha Naik decided to take up the cause of a better future for the next generation, as part of the naming ceremony of their 1.5-month-old daughter Alisha.
On Sunday at the baby’s naming ceremony, the new parents decided to ignore the usual social norms of an ostentatious party, and instead planted 101 trees at the Malshiras village near Bhuleshwar temple in Yavat, an area known to have faced droughts for some years now.
According to the Naiks – who were joined by friends and family for a simple ceremony – they were celebrating the auspicious occasion by committing to a social and environmental cause; they also donated 51 more saplings to students of a local village school to improve their grasp on conservation.
Ranjeet, who runs an AutoCad software training institute in Kothrud, and Neha, a professor at a Symbiosis institute in Viman Nagar, were blessed with a baby girl on August 18 this year. Thereafter, the usual expectations swirled in the air for her naming ceremony -an extravagant soiree at an exclusive venue, hundreds of guests, and a huge budget to garner the appreciation of attendees. But, the young couple decided to spend their money differently.
On Sunday, scores of friends and family members braved the heat and milled around the village plot around 55 km from Pune to plant a variety of flora, including neem, mango, chiku, bamboo, coconut palm, gulmohar, banyan, Java plum, sacred fig, tamarind, etc.
Sticks and netting were also put around the plants as a safeguard against animals; later, a cake was cut and the baby’s new name -Alisha -celebrated by the revellers.
Explaining why they came up with this innovative plan, Ranjeet said:
“Nature gives us so much, and it is high time we returned the favour. Our primary hope was to forge a new tradition for our generation – a more holistic one, to be followed by many more people. When I first mentioned this tree plantation idea to my kith and kin, they were enthused. Luckily for us, a friend suggested this spot in Malshiras, where he owns some agricultural land that happens to be open for plantation.This gave us 3.5 acres of land to plant new trees; there was no water problem either, as there is a pond in the area and we plan to deploy a water tanker.Planting may be easy, but it is more important to maintain the trees.”
“The decline of females in India’s sex ratio has been unstoppable. Women are one half of society, and equals in every respect to men. To bring about social equilibrium, it is necessary to raise awareness about saving the girl child. Ecological awareness is equally important. We felt an effort for both should start from our home, and we hope our child’s generation follows this trend. We look forward to seeing the trees grow with her,” Neha added.
Bron: IndiaTimes