The Banyan Tree Summary

 

The Banyan Tree Summary

The author was at his grandparents' house and claimed that he owned the banyan tree, although the owner of the house was his grandparents. He said this because his grandfather was 65 years old and unable to climb the tree.

The author felt very happy and delighted to see the opened branches of the tree which hung from the tree to the ground in bunches. These roots formed the ends. Various animals such as squirrels, snails and butterflies were living in the bend of those ends. The tree was much older, older than the house and grandfather. It was as old as Dehradun city.

At first, the writer became friends with a small squirrel. He bowed his back and melted into the air. Initially, he did not like the invasion of writers in his own privacy. But when he realizes that the writer is not equipped with anything to hurt him, he becomes friendly. Soon the author started bringing him tidbits of food such as cakes and biscuits. The squirrel started eating small morsels with his hands. Very soon the squirrel started digging into the writers' pockets for what he found. She was a young squirrel and her family would have considered her foolish to believe in a human.

In the spring, the banyan tree was in full bloom. It was filled with small red figs (a fruit). Various birds like bulbul, parrot, myna and crows kept fighting each other on small matters. Their voices together made noise in the garden during the fig season.

On the tree, the author created a stage of primitive style. In the afternoon, when it was not too hot, he used to spend his time here. He put a padlock there that he had picked up from the drawing room and was able to read at this place while he was leaning against the tree. He had founded a small tree library and books read there: Treasure Island, Huckleberry Finn and The Story of Dr. Dolbittal.

Everyone was inside the house due to the scorching heat. The writer was also feeling sleepy and lazy. Rather, he was deciding to visit the pond to swim with Ramu and the buffalo, when he saw a cobra and a mongoose coming out of the bushes from a coop of cactus. Mongoose came out of the bushes and went straight to the cobra.

Under the banyan tree both the cobra and the mango came before each other. Cobra was well aware that Mongoose has excellent fighting skills. But he himself was also an experienced fighter and had deadly poisonous long sharp teeth. Therefore, it was a fight between two champs.

Creating a hissing sound in defiance of it, moving his tongue in and out rapidly, the cobra raised itself from the ground and spread its hood to fight and attack. Mongozzo also showed his readiness by brushing his tail and extending his hair.

The participants in the fight were not aware of the writer's presence in the tree but the two spectators were clearly watching a myna and a crow. They saw everything and settled on the cactus to see the results. But they were not satisfied instead of just participating in the fight.

The cobra was trying to unleash the mongoose with its antics, but the mongoose was well aware of the power of its opponents. So he focused his attention on attacking the cobra at a point just below the cobra's hood and started attacking.

Mongoose made false quick steps very close to Cobra. Cobra attacked and lowered his hood so fast that it seemed that Mango would not be saved. But this little creature was quick to jump aside and move. It also binds the snake on its back and again takes it away from its reach.

At the time the cobra attacked, the crow and Maina threw themselves to get into conflict. They came back to the cactus plant after the low noise of the attack. Droplets of blood were flashing on Cobra's back.

Cobra attacked but he missed. Mongoose again jumped to one side. The birds tried to attack the cobra again, but collided with each other. So they came back to the cactus and started crying.

For the third time again the birds tried to attack the cobra in the same way but this time there was a change. They did not clash with each other. Maina went back to her shelter but the crow tried to continue fighting in the air and come back. In the second trial, the cobra also went abruptly and attacked the crows with full force.

The writer saw the bird falling twenty feet away. It kept shaking its body for some time but then it stabilized and died. Myna was on the cactus plant and did not interfere in the fight after that. The cobra was weakened and defeated. Mongoz attacked fearlessly. This ended the Cobra with his clever and swift attack and eventually killed him. It caught the cobra from its hood and pulled it, pushing it into the bushes.

Maina falls to the ground and she reaches into the bushes. She flew away, giving a high pitched sound of congratulations.