Hidden in plain sight

In between the sharp-edged leaves of the humble coconut tree, there lies a whole world of light and shade, pattern and symmetry. A photo-feature.

All pics by author.

All pics by author.

The coconut tree is to the Indian psyche a ‘kalpavriksha’ — a divine manifestation of nature. (Remember, Bhajataam kalpavrikshaaya …) As for its earthly presence, even a child knows that every part of the tree — from root to trunk, fruit to fibre, leaf to delicious water — helps produce a wide variety of rugged, artistic, household, and eco-friendly products.

The tree itself is a picture of grace, elegance, loftiness, and liveliness. Its smooth solitary trunk can rise up to 100 feet in height; its rigid bright green leaves stretch beyond 12 feet. Added to its charming physicality is its gift to bend and sway without actually breaking. Even when caught amid violent storms and virulent typhoons, most coconut trees survive and seldom perish.

It is common knowledge that coconut is among the most widely cultivated palm in the world. While its exact origin is still a matter of debate, it is generally accepted that the tree could well have originated in India and Sri Lanka, before float-distributing itself around the world by ocean currents.

In Covid times, when mobility got highly restricted, the safest and oft-visited place for me was our apartment terrace. I began spending extended hours on the terrace for walks, exercise, and more importantly, to simply laze around. In the process, I also began enjoying the company of birds, the blue sky, moving clouds, and changing seasons. And then I began watching the few coconut trees in the vicinity. My position on the fifth floor offered an unusual angle, perspective and view of the trees, which were slightly lower than my eye level, but just so.

In the beginning, they looked pretty ordinary and commonplace. Over time, as I trained my gaze on the leaves swaying to the rhythm of the blowing wind, a new world seemed to unfold in the expectant camera frames. This motivated me to picture the leaves at different hours of the day and divergent light conditions. As I zoomed on and between the luminous leaves, particularly on brilliant sunshine afternoons, I could perceive a unique architecture emerging in the mysterious corners and crevices of the tree and its leaves. They say there is beauty everywhere, if only one has the eye to see it. And they are not wrong.