Builder is building a temple and is cutting a lot of trees for the same.

Some friends who want to save the environment

stumble upon the construction site. The builder and the friends argue about constructing the temple, the builder says
that gods accept the making of the temple and the friends are doing a sin by not allowing the temple to be built, the
friends then explain the importance of forests and trees to the builder further explaining him forests are respected
even in the vedas and upanishads.

Narrator - Human beings find expression, fulfillment and meaning of life, in relation to the
environment in which they live. With the advent of modern civilization, development and
industrial growth, man has developed rivalry with nature. The oldest and simplest form of
nature-worship and environmental awareness finds expression in Vedic texts. Every living and
nonliving body is made up of five basic elements of Nature, called ‘Panchamahabhuta.’ earth,
water, fire, air, and space. So now let us see a story which tells us the importance of nature.

Builder
Workers (In the background)

local1
local2
local3

Friends who are environmentalists

Blah1
Blah2
Blah3
Blah4
(One or 2 of them are doctors= doc1/doc2)

Builder (to workers) - Get moving, we need to finish the construction within next year

Worker- yes sir

Builder- we have completed the blue prints, we need to clear 50 acre of the forest land for the
construction of the monument and this needs to be done within 3 months

Worker- Yes sir, but sir the locals who live in the forests are not allowing our men to cut the trees,
they have injured many of us and are planning to file a case.
Builder- Ha! They have no chance to stop us. The government has approved of this construction
after all the locals should be pleased to be living so close to a national monument. This is an
important spot and should be preserved by us as we build a monument . How else can one
remember & respect the events that took place over here? This construction will bring in a lot of
tourists, and with it will come Revenue … all of you will get hefty bonuses.

Worker- Yes sir

Builder- now get back to work, I myself will sue them for crores of rupees to avenge the loss of
health of our workers.

Narrator- After a Few weeks the government sends a group of Environmentalists to study the site
and take notes.

Builder- Welcome to the site, we are glad to see the quick response of the government towards the
matter, it was starting to get out of our hands.

Blah1- Yes Mr builder, we are here to ask you a few questions, and you and your fellow workers
must answer it honestly.

Builder- sure blah1

Blah2- So, how long have you been working on this site?
Builders- It has been 5 months of endless work sir..we have been toiling 24/7.

Blah3- Could you share the blueprints with us, sir?

Builder- yes, here it is
Blah 3(observing that there are very few plantations in the compound)- are these the only
plantations you will include in the site ?
Builder- yes sir, if you would suggest any modifications we will definitely do those.
Blah 3- yes I do suggest you add more trees to the compound as a vast area of forest land is being
cleared for the same.

Blah 4-Did you not get any other piece of land than the land that belongs to the locals, to build this
monument ?
Builder- Sir this site holds a lot of social and religious importance, and thus, we cannot change the
location. It would be a huge loss to change locations and building it on a different location would be
of no use. Sir,think of all the workers. They too would be left jobless!
Blah 4- I see...very well then, let us interrogate the locals for understanding their side of the
argument better

Narrator- they head towards the locals to understand their part of the story, and begin to interrogate
the locals

Blah2- Local1 how long have you been living here ?

Local1- We have been inhabiting this piece of land that has been passed down from generations for
more that a hundred years now, we can not think about leaving this place it holds a lot of
importance to us
Local2-this forest hosts numerous species of wildlife and many medicinal plants mentioned in the
Vedas grow here, we locals nurture them and collect the leaves, roots and parts of the plants for
medicinal uses. We are attached to the forest and will not allow the destruction of our home.

Blah3- hmm.. interesting…. I have studied in the ancient vedas that many neem plants grow here
which cure eye disorders and leprosy and are a boon to humanity.

Local2- yes sir There are also innumerable sandalwood trees in this forest, it cures many mental
disorders, liver and gallbladder diseases, the government has prohibited the cutting of the
sandalwood tree.

local3-If the forests are taken away, where will the tribals live,how will they do their vegetation ?
We earn our livelihoods from the forests.

Narrator - locals start explaining about this ancient forest...

Local 2- So this happened

Characters :
Narrator
King
Minister
Local1
Local2
Local3
Doctor
Villagers

Narrator - Human beings find expression, fulfillment and meaning of life, in relation to the
environment in which they live. With the advent of modern civilization, development and
industrial growth, man has developed a rivalry with nature. The oldest and simplest form of
nature-worship and environmental awareness finds expression in Vedic texts. Every living and
nonliving body is made up of five basic, gross elements of Nature, called ‘Panchamahabhuta.’
earth, water, fire, air, and space. So now let us see a story which tells us the importance of
nature.

Narrator -in the 1900's, A small Kingdom which was surrounded by forests was ruled by King
Amer. He was constructing a big palace in his town.

King - Minister I have a great idea, the palace is in the stage of completion. I wish to decorate
the interiors with only wood.

Minister - My lord we can but we need tons of wood for that. Which is going to be at least more
than 10 thousand ..

King - hmm you are right,we need a gigantic amount of wood .. Let me sleep on it..

Narrator - later in the village locals and villagers talk about the construction of the palace

Local1 - Do you know? the new palace of our King is going to be decorated with woods

Local2- But where will he get all these woods

Local3 - Maybe he will start importing it from other countries.

Local2- hmm maybe…..

Narrator - The next day in the palace...

King- Minister as you know our kingdom is surrounded by the forests. The best varieties of
trees are abundant. Why don't we slash down these trees?

Minister- But my lord destroying the forest is not a advisable reason uh..uhh

King- Minister do not advise me I know what to do and what not to do, do as I say

Minister- As you say my lord...

Narrator - The minister ordered that all the best varieties of trees should be slashed down.
Within a month, the forests were destroyed and only a few trees were left out. There was no
beauty in the town. Birds and animals ran away and there was no peace in the forest area
now..

Minister- My lord, we have stocked all the wood and now we have to start working on our work.

King - Go ahead.

Local 3 - Since all the forests have been destroyed, all the animals and birds have left and the
place now doesn't look lively without those beautiful birds. There are a plethora of uses of trees
for us.

Narrator - The next day all villagers visit the doctor for medicines and help.

Villagers - Doctor, we are scared because we have almost no oxygen left. Approximately 40%
of people are suffering from asthma, some people's bodies get swollen and some get bone
shaped structure of the body with no muscles.

Doctor - Exactly! There is a scarcity of medicinal plants and beneficial trees because of which,
it is getting difficult to treat patients. There is a shortage of medicinal herbs like turmeric, ginger,
basil leaves, mint and cinnamon. They help us to fight against Cold and flu,help us in a
smoother digestion, and keeps our immune system strong. Your king has made a grave error.

Local 2 - True. I am afraid of what is yet in store for us.

Narrator - A year later

Local1 - Many people are getting sick because of scarcity of food, children are getting cold and
flu too.I hope King Amer would find a solution to this problem.

Narrator - Later in the palace, the minister and king started discussing about the scarcity in the
town.

Minister- My lord since we didn't receive enough rainfall this year there is famine in our
kingdom. Also due to the deforestation of trees, there are a lot of problems we are facing like
soil erosion, fewer crops, flooding, water cycle disruption, greenhouse gas emissions, changes
in the climatic conditions, and loss of biodiversity.And all locals and villagers are stressed out
as their families are getting sick.

King- I know, I'm really stressed out ! What if all of our citizens decide to rebel and protest
against my rule or do something like that!

Minister- Precisely. For that,With your permission I would like to tell you one thing this situation
has arisen because uhh….uhhh..the thing is….

King - I know the reason it's my entire Fault, but how are we going to face the situation ? This
is really starting to destroy the town. I am really tensed now !!

Minister- need not worry , i have a plan - we have enough stock of grains and cereals for some
months and weeks , now all we need to do is to plant trees in the place of the old ones.

King- yes you are Right, do the arrangements immediately, we need to control this scarcity
right now !!

Narrator - Within a few days new plants were planted, and the town was surrounded with
greenery.

All Villagers - Thank you Amer king you are a life saviour , you saved the whole town and
rescued us from the grim fate of meeting our maker.
King- This town is saved all because the minister realised that trees are part of our life and they
are the one who keep us alive on this earth with oxygen,so you are being promoted to the post
of union minister. You are truly a life saviour.

Minister - Thank you my honour,I am honoured.

King - Let there be an announcement made that on every special occasion, at least 1 tree
should be planted by everyone, and on every year on 20th december we are going to plant 20
plants from each family.

Minister - Yes My lord, That's great news for all of us. It will be very beneficial for both the
people and the environment.

Narrator- This is a lesson for us. We should see options that do not disturb or destroy nature
and which helps us in many ways for our environment . We should love our nature and
preserve it for our future generations. If we decrease our forests, there would be an increase of
global warming; there would be an impact on the ecosystem; there would be a loss of species
and there would be harm to water and the most important thing there would be no oxygen for
us. We should give back to Mother Nature, rather than taking more and more away from her.

By- Ayeesha Ustad, Lulua Kaderalijiwala, Rishita Patel, Disha Dometi, Aashi Prasad and
Rithvik Krishnan

Blah4- You guys are right ! This is a question we need to ponder upon, but according to us we do
not support the building of the monument. It is illogical and not needed in every way possible.

Blah3- yes what is the use of a monument if it means years of endless drought,a famine, relocation
of community, Destruction of endangered species of animals and trees. This is ethically wrong.

Blah4- Do not worry Locals we will make sure that the forest is not destroyed

Blah1- oh! We didn't realise today is the day when this forest was replanted, I have an idea let's
plant more trees in this forest. Our mother earth will be more than happy!
Narrator- on the other side ,the Locals win the argument and the builder is forced to put the
construction process to halt.
{God aranya and indra are really happy as someone outside this forest came and thought about
making mother earth happy !}

[Environmental dance starts]

Narrator- The Vedas present a picturesque, spectacular and diversified range of fauna and flora.
They urge human beings to protect, preserve, nurture and nourish the environment and natural
habitation in its pristine glorious form. The Vedas attach great importance to environmental
protection and purity. With this we understand the role trees and environment play in the vedas.

By- Ayeesha Ustad, Lulua Kaderalijiwala, Rishita Patel, Disha Dometi, Aashi Prasad
and Rithvik Krishnan