He planted a tree daily to create a 1,360 acre forest: The story of Jadav Payeng retold

The 1965 deluge wrecked Aruna sapori and forced Payeng’s family, among others, to move 12 kilometres away to Majuli.

Now here is a story that has been told, but needs to be re-told. It is the story of a man who plants a tree in the same place every day and 37 years later, the world was amazed by its result.

In the year 1978, Jadav Payeng, a Mishing tribal teenage boy returned to birthplace at Aruna sapori, a river island on the Brahmaputra. His heart broke as he saw hundreds of snakes lie lifeless on a deserted island. There was no nature, it was all destroyed.

The 1965 deluge wrecked Aruna sapori and forced Payeng's family, among others, to move 12 kilometres away to Majuli on the other side of river. He wanted to do everything he could to save the reptiles. He had learnt that the snakes had been washed away and had died without tree cover. In distress he ran up to the villagers and sought help. They handed him 50 seeds and 25 bamboo plants.

In the summer of April 1979, he set out as a lad of 15 to plant the shoots and sow the seeds. He did that without fail every single day and three decades later, the results were amazing. Jadav had created a forest.

Today Jadav aptly known as the 'Forest Man' can proudly claim that he created a 1,360 acre dense forest. The video below tells the story of the man.

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