Take a leaf from an Odia’s ‘green’ wedding

‘For every happy occasion, plant a tree,’ is the motto of the Maiti Andolan of Uttarakhand, that has led to this becoming an integral part of wedding ceremonies in the Kumaon hills. Every bride plants a fruit sapling before she leaves her maternal village for her marital home, as a sweet memento and growing gift. The recent wedding of an Odia schoolteacher has certainly kindled hope that this excellent idea will also take root in places further away, as he ‘demanded’ 1,001 saplings of fruit trees as ‘dowry’ — to be distributed to wedding guests from both sides. Families that are planning weddings in the near future should note that unless Odisha has to weather another super cyclone, this teacher’s ‘dowry’ will continue to grow exponentially and literally bear fruit. Of course, this green option is easier to source — and plant — in the rural areas than in urban centres, but it is worth a try.

In fact, just as governments always promise to plant 10 saplings for every mature tree they raze in the name of development (or redevelopment, as in the case of the 16,500 trees now headed for the chainsaws in Delhi), weddings and other happy occasions all over India could also mandate compulsory planting. That may well be a better way to guarantee greening, as private citizens will surely ensure that their sapling money is correctly spent.