A high school essay: Mini Forest

There is a park near my house called 'mini-forest'. Having 4 sub-parks in all, mini-forest stretches from the outer ring road to the inner ring road. It has proved a boon for the residents of the J P Nagar 3rd phase locality, which is an otherwise not-so-green area. I have lived in this locality for most part of my life, yet never have seen a change so diverse in anything here, but this park.

The virgin park is one which had scores of eucalyptus trees. This version of the park is long gone now. The first hint of change came with the change of management of the 'tree-gardeners'. The new staff were better, and they had benches installed, a swanky green fence, and gates too. They cleared the park of the weeds, and cleared the ground for kids to play and cycle around. One could smell the fresh eucalyptus oil from the trees. This fragrance drew many old people and morning joggers. There was a time for kitty parties amongst the ladies, and a fun competition every month. We had won a rangoli competition once!

Then came a stage when the gardeners and the management got tired with the general noise. The children broke fences, some broke windows of nearby houses with their games of cricket. Vandals snapped up twigs and branches and set them afire. The paths were strewn with eucalyptus leaves, and the management had the situation out of their hands.

With the change in Karnataka's political scene came the much needed breath of fresh air for the residents of J P Nagar. Kumaraswamy's house is close to mini-forest, and his wife is an avid naturalist. She was approached by a troop of J P Nagar housewives, and thus money was sanctioned for the improvement of the park. New fences were planted, old trees cut down, ground leveled and engineered for walking, lawns grown, cobblestone pathways built, keep-off-grass signs erected... this park had had a sea of change compared to its first humble beginnings.

One fine day, the park was thrown open to the public, with an inaugurating function hosted by the residents. Cakes and lemon squash were distributed, and the children never stopped smiling. The whole area was lit up with the newly installed lamps. Since then, there has been no looking back. Innovations were continued, and the park now has a yoga-area, a gym corner, a mini stage for small functions, a well maintained lawn cover, paths with benches and well maintained signs and a children's play area.

I too go jogging there every now and then with a friend. I hope this park continues to become better every year. Maybe some day in life, I will come here with my kids, take them to the play area. Sit on the bench there with my wife, and talk of old days, when I used to go jogging with my friend, talking about all the insane topics in our lives, and fighting about Mercedes and Bentleys and iMacs!