Chalakudy: Often trees are cut without a sparing a thought while any development work is carried out. Forests and farms are lost due to wanton construction.
A family at Nayarangandi here in Kerala's Thrissur district, however, was reluctant to chop down a tree while raising a kitchen.
This kitchen at Bahuleyan's house has all the necessary ware used by Keralites. But there is something that stands out in the kitchen. A tree! Right in the middle of the kitchen stands an elegant 'elengi' tree (bullet wood).
When Bahuleyan decided to expand his kitchen due to lack of space, the main hurdle was the tree in the backyard. But Bahuleyan and his family members resolved not to cut down the tree, and built the kitchen giving due space to the tree. Now, the family members wake up to the chirping of the birds on the tree and they chill out sitting on the platform built around the tree.
A sheet had been spread to ensure that rainwater doesn’t flow through the tree trunk into the kitchen.
As per the family's rough estimate, the tree is around 50 years old.
Bahuleyan is the CPI local area secretary and his wife Rema is the former vice-president of the Kodassery panchayat. They bought this property 20 years ago and had built a new home after demolishing the old house.
