‘Forest man of India’ finds his place in US school curriculum
Padma Shri Jadav Molai Payeng's inspiring feat of single-handedly planting a 550 hectares forest is now a part of school curriculum in Bristol Connecticut in the US.
Guwahati, Assam
Jadav Payeng’s four decade long resolve to create a forest on the washed and dried sandbar by the Bharamaputra, is being recognised by the US school, Bristol Connecticut. Sixth graders of the school learn about the forest man of India and his work in their ecology class.
“The students are studying about Padma Shri Jadav Payeng as a part of their ecology lesson,” said, Navamee Sharma, a teacher at Greene Hills School in Bristol Connecticut.
“The primary reason was to inspire and encourage future generations of the country on how a single person can make a huge positive impact in the world if he or she has the right attitude and determination.” Navamee, who also happens to be a native of Jorhat district, added further.
The 550 hectares Molai forest, named after the forest man himself, is located on the island of Majuli, near Jorhat, Assam.
Jadav Payeng was conferred a moniker, “Forest Man of India” by Jawaharlal Nehru University in April 2012.
Payeng has been planting since 1979 when the world’s largest river island lived through the usual flood in Bharamaputra.
“I saw hundreds of snakes that were washed up during the floods, lying dead on the sandbar in the heat once the water dried up.” said Payeng.
He was alarmed by the accelerated erosion rate and ever escalating ecological degradation. The forest man then skipped school and prioritized the forest over everything including marriage.
I was 42 when I got married,” he says. “I thought about settling down only late in life.” He is a father of two sons and a daughter. His family makes a living by selling milk, the cows and buffaloes that graze within his forest give.
Molai forest is now a place for 120 species of birds, including migratory ones; and elephants, rhinos, and tigers that visit from the Kaziranga National Park.
“His (Payeng) story is so powerful because he was inspired by an ecological problem at a young age and took action to help fix it,” said Dawn Killiany, who also teaches at Green Hills School.
While the India’s forest man was unaware about his latest laurel, but said he was delighted to know the young American minds are appreciating his work.
The Molai Forest sings a lesson: teach the younger ones to appreciate nature. “The rest will happen on its own,” as Payeng says.