WHEN he was a young boy, Mr Kartik Paramanik's father would tell
him stories.
"What's the use of going on a pilgrimage? Just going to a sacred
place won't make you clean and pure. If you just plant a tree, that
will bring you far more blessings than any pilgrimage," his father
would say.
His father's words left a deep impression on him.
When he was just 10 years old, he planted his first tree at the
intersection of three roads. Mr Kartik, who is now 75 years old, is
still tirelessly planting trees.
He lives in the village of Tarapur Thutapara, right on the
border with India, about 40km from the district town of
Chapainawabganj.
There was a time when blisters would break out on people's feet
as they walked in the burning heat of this treeless area. They
would unwrap the gamchas from their heads and use the cloth to
protect their feet from the scorching earth. That was where Mr
Kartik started his tree-planting mission. The bare, arid stretch of
land gradually began to fill with trees.
As he grew up, his enthusiasm for planting trees grew.
Mr Kartik, who used to work as a barber, would set aside a small
amount from whatever little he earned. With the savings, he would
buy seedlings and plant them in different places.
Some thought he was a madcap, but he turned a deaf ear to the
snide remarks and gradually filled the surrounding villages with
trees.
The bare land turned green - with some 20,000 trees he has since
planted in the area.
The trees he planted - banyan, shimul, neem and a variety of
fruit trees - can be found by the roads, in marketplaces, on school
grounds, and along the border camps.
These trees have been a blessing to his village. Needy parents
could sell the trees in front of their homes to pay for their
daughters' weddings. The weekly market spreads out under the shade
of the leafy trees.
But Mr Kartik, who became famous after the media reported on his
efforts, has not taken a single cent for himself.
In 2013, the story of his endeavours, A Man Who Loves Trees, was
included in the eighth-grade English textbook.
Shopkeeper Serajul Islam is among those who have benefited from
the tree-planting efforts. His shop sits under the expansive shade
of a banyan tree Mr Kartik planted 40 years ago by the roadside in
Sahapara. He said: "We are deeply indebted to Kartik."