Tree lover’s unique birthday celebrations

Manmeet Singh Gill

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 18

At a time when people of almost every class see celebrations of birthday and other occasions through the lens of status symbol, a local almirah mechanic, Narinder Kumar, takes such occasions as an opportunity to boost greenery.

Narinder has been gifting saplings to his customers and acquaintances for years to celebrate his children’s birthdays. He doesn’t spend money on organising parties.

Celebrating his son Saurav’s birthday yesterday, Narinder, as usual, had kept a large number of saplings outside his shop in Putlighar. “To celebrate a birthday, I gift 251 saplings. I believe it will bring good luck fortune to the children,” he says.

He has planted many trees at his home in Bara Makaan lane in Islamabad. It is the same lane in which martyrs Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev had taken shelter after assassinating JP Saunders in Lahore during the freedom struggle. “The martyrs had lived in the rented accommodation of freedom fighter Sohan Singh Josh,” tells Narinder with a sense of pride.

Talking about his idea behind gifting tree saplings, he says, “I always felt that happiness should be shared with others. One always gifts a thing which he thinks is precious. To me trees have been very precious.”

“People frequently come and tell me that the fruit trees I gifted them has started bearing fruits. It fills me with pleasure,” he says.

Talking about what he feels about his father’s idea, Saurav grins, “Initially, I felt strange as my friends would tell me about the cakes and toy besides parties they threw. But now I feel that my father is right. I help him prepare a small nursery at my home.”