A Single Tree, A Single Crow and A Single Rooster

How does it feel to remain single, especially in this day and age? First of all, as a former inhabitant of the singledom, yours truly can say that it is not an easy question. Secondly, I fear that I may not be able to do justice to this serious question, given that years have passed me by since I left that station of life.    

Nonetheless, lemme try to deal with this difficult question, drawing from personal experiences and thoughts. 

Being single definitely means more breathing space and more freedom, but GB Shaw's mantra on freedom -- Your freedom ends where my nose begins -- applies in this phase of life too. For many, it means stress, sense of not belonging, identity crisis and a lot of uncertainties. Many of us enter this phase with a lot of potential but a very limited capacity (financial or otherwise) to tap it. 

There was and still is a kind of social stigma attached with single individuals that are also known by terms such as #spinsters (which is considered a derogatory term), #bachelors and #bachelorettes, etc. Charles' Lamb's essay 'A Bachelor's Complaint about the Behaviour of Married People'  throws ample light on how an unmarried male feels out of place when he is in the company of married couples. At work settings, yours truly has come across comments that define single colleagues as short-tempered, emotionally unstable and not so social.        

While singlehood is just a passing phase for many of us, there are a lot of people in the US and many other parts of the world, who choose to remain single all their life.  

This much for singlehood of humans, for now. 

Exploring the #Single Tree

While walking around the neighbourhood of Nagarjun municipality one lazy Saturday afternoon (Saturday is a weekly holiday in Nepal), yours truly heard members of a family on an outing mentioning the word Single Tree. Not that I had not heard about the vantage point point from which you get a good view of the urban jungle that is Kathmandu, but this time this word induced in me a desire to scale the heights and meet and greet the tree that for yours truly has become a living symbol of #singlehood.  

The visit could surely have been more meaningful if yours truly had known about and visited this 'lonely' tree during his stay at the #singledom. That was not to be and so be it. 

Ready to mingle: The lonely crow seen on the 

way to the #Single Tree.

Leaving the past behind and walking into the future, yours truly  found on the way quite a number of people headed to the local pilgrimage of the single souls. 

Interestingly, on the way, yours truly also found some creatures that seem to be single and not all of them appeared satisfied with their status, like the crow (on the left). Surely, a bit of company won't do it any harm, or will it?

A granny in her ripe old age talking to a pet dog and seeking to unite it with her mummy was indeed heart-touching. Indeed, in Nepal, senior citizens hardly have any of their children around when they need them the most. What do the young ones, driven by prolonged political instability, do save head abroad to make a living and provide for the rest of their family members back home?

Moving on, yours truly found that the trek to the #Single Tree from Nagarjun is not that difficult. 

Swayambhunath and the sprawling urban jungle 

seen from a bend on the way to the #Single Tree.

It is part dirt and part asphalt road, and there are two stairways to pass through if you are heading to the tourist destination through the Sanobharyang-Rato Gumba-Ratmate route. Of the two stairways, the one on the last leg is rather long (see picture below) while the other one is quite short. 

The final stairway to the #Single Tree.

The trek offers your lungs fresh air, which has become a rare luxury in the cities. It soothes your senses  by offering panoramic views of the Urban Jungle, Swayambhunath, Halchowk and Ichangunarayan, where the temple of one of the four Narayans are located.   

Afforestation and bio-engineering can surely help conserve the hill and the tree for generations to come. 

Development works are putting the hill,

on whose the tree stands, under threat.  

Sadly, yours truly found that development work is putting the hill, on whose bosom the solitary tree stands, under threat, given that the landmass devoid of big tree is susceptible to landslides. Afforestation and bio-engineering can surely help conserve the hill and the tree for generations to come. Hope local authorities will pay heed and swing to action before it's too late.  

The ever-blowing breeze was cool, but the pleasure of breathing in fresh air was somehow diminished with smokers smoking freely. It would be good to declare the spot a no-smoking zone. 

Howdy, #Single Tree?

A Khaja Ghar close to the #Single Tree. 

On the way to the #Single Tree, yours truly saw some interesting spectacles. Businesses seemed to have grown around the spot at #Ratmate, which offers spectacular views of the clean, green Ichangunarayan municipality and Halchok; even the concrete jungle of Kathmandu looks tolerate from there. At the last stairway leading to the #Single Tree, yours truly found a good number of people heading to and returning from the spot, indicating that the business is good. 

When yours truly finally came to the tree, to a little wonder, he found swarms of people giving each other and the #Single Tree constant company, making him wonder if the living thing needed some breathing space of its own.

With humans comes pollution besides many other things. Non-perishables like plastic bottles lay scattered on the spot, with the notice pasted on the tree to not litter around making little difference to the milling humanity. How about making the polluters pay? 

The ever-blowing breeze was cool, but the pleasure of breathing in fresh air was somehow diminished with smokers smoking freely. It would be good to declare the spot a no-smoking zone. 

Yours truly would not be surprised if those responsible for the upkeep of this spot, including local communities, chose to act on this advice, sooner than later. 

A single rooster wandering at the #Single Tree.

By the way, on this site, the tree is not the only single thing that you may come across if you choose to visit it soon. During his visit, yours truly came across a single rooster looking for company. Quite close to the tree stands a single toilet, which is a rarity at many scenic spots.

With increase in the number of visitors, authorities concerned, including local bodies, may soon choose to build more toilets at the spot from which one can get an eyeful of not only the valley but also the beautiful countryside of Ichangunarayan and Nagarjun.    

By the way, #Single Tree is not a place awaiting for adventure seekers to conquer it and declare: I knocked that bast**rd off. Rather, it is a very easy journey that you can embark on whenever you want to leave the concrete jungle, soothe your senses and fill your lungs with some fresh air. 

So, when are you coming to the #Single Tree? Apart from the tree, the lone rooster is also waiting for you to give some company along with many other living, non-living things. Be there soon, for no one knows when the rooster will be taken to the kitchen and the #Single Tree will become history, thanks to bulldozer-led national development overdrives going on unabated with scant regard for environmental fragility. 

Text and pictures: Devendra Gautam