For 40 years he worked like it was a single day and created a human miracle, and even a president crowned him a prince

01

That year

Jadav Payeng was 16 years old

He lived in India's most desolate place, Majuli Island

The climate there was hot, dry and short on rain

The cracked earth looked like the surface of Mars

Yet every year, when the monsoon season came

The rising river water would swallow this island

Until

Once Payeng saw a strange sight

At the same time, it also made him feel deeply heartbroken

Because of the monsoon

Hundreds and thousands of snakes were washed onto the island by the river

But because the island had no vegetation

All these snakes were baked to death alive

The young Payeng watched this scene

Yet was powerless to do anything

His heart was filled with grief and indignation

So he ran to the forestry bureau to demand answers

But the staff there

Said carelessly

“Nothing can be grown on a sandbar

There's nothing we can do……”

Payeng knew in his heart

This was just shirking responsibility

Then he ran to the elders and asked

"Will we one day die like these snakes?"

The elders laughed and said

"Don't be silly, child, we won't."

But at the same time

They still gave Payeng 20 bamboo plants

And let him try planting them himself

After getting the bamboo

Payeng immediately began to prepare

But right at the start, he ran into a problem

The dried-up land was simply not easy to plant

It took him a great deal of effort just to get the bamboo planted

After that, he did not even dare to go far each day

He came every day to watch over the bamboo

Watering and fertilizing them

And so, under his careful care

A small bamboo grove was born

Although his efforts had begun to show results

Payeng still could not feel happy

Facing the bitter fruits humanity had sown over decades

Because of floods and soil erosion, this region

Had already suffered 1.66 million hectares of affected area

To fully undo the damage

Would be a long and arduous road

In Payeng's heart

He very much wanted to restore his hometown

He had once made many suggestions to the government and villagers

But almost no one was interested

Yet watching his hometown be destroyed step by step

Payeng also felt restless and uneasy

If no one is willing to come

Then I will do it alone

Starting from a single seed

A single small tree

02

In the summer of 1979

This young man began his plan

Every day he sowed seeds on the dried-up land

At first it was bamboo

Later he gradually introduced other trees

Of course

Payeng also did not forget to bring back some insects

He said: "Ants and earthworms are great helpers

They can make the soil fertile."

But gradually

The more trees he planted

The more difficulties he faced

The first problem was irrigation

There was not only little water here, but the area was vast

It was hard to irrigate all the saplings by himself alone

Payeng thought about this for a long time

Until one day, when he saw the bamboo grove

An idea popped into his head

Why not use bamboo to make a water-diversion system

As long as a bamboo channel was made between each sapling

And connected together

Letting the water flow along the channels

It could slowly flow to the saplings

In order to watch over this forest

Payeng also gave up a lot

He gave up his original life as a farmer

And also gave up the comfortable home he once had

The family of five all followed him to settle in the forest

In daily life

In order to make a living

He could only rely on selling milk to get by

And he even had to use this meager income

To buy large numbers of saplings

And so it went, over and over

Payeng bore the hardship without complaint

Hoping that his labor

Could turn this place green again

03

40 years passed in the blink of an eye

Payeng went from a boy to a middle-aged man

While everyone sighed that time flies

This middle-aged man used his time

To create a miracle

The originally 550 hectares of dry sandy land

In the blink of an eye became a miracle of life

There are now more than 100 species of trees in it

Including flame trees, crape myrtles, silk cotton trees and others

As well as large stretches of bamboo groves and grass

Those vanished animals also returned home

For example, for 3 months each year

115 elephants come here to dwell

After 46 years, the vultures

Also returned here again

Next

Payeng also saw rabbits, deer and rhinos

Even tigers began to appear in the forest

This place became a paradise for wild animals again

While Payeng felt joy

He also began to worry

Because the appearance of large numbers of animals

Damaged the houses and livestock of the surrounding villagers

They began demanding that Payeng reduce the size of the forest.

Some even proposed cutting down the trees he had planted.

In response,

Payeng said,

“If you want to cut down my trees, you will have to cut me down first.。”

But

he could not simply ignore the villagers' demands either.

Payeng thought it over.

It would be better to plant more banana trees in the forest.

They could attract animals to stay in the forest

and keep them from going out and causing trouble.

And so

Payeng, all on his own,

quietly protected the forest and the animals

until 2008,

when the appearance of 115 elephants

led officials from the forestry department to discover

the existence of this forest.

What followed

was a flood of honours for Payeng.

His story spread as well.

In 2012,

the vice-chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University in India called him

“the Forest Man of India.”

In 2013,

he received an award of recognition from the Indian Institute of Forest Management.

In 2015,

he was awarded the "Padma Shri”

This forest was also named Molai after his nickname.

Yet to Payeng, these honours

are not worth mentioning at all,

because people only focus on his story

and ignore the environmental proposals he has put forward.

He even began to worry more.

Before, when no one knew,

he could still look after the forest alone.

Now, with so many trees and animals,

if poachers appeared,

one person's ability would be very limited.

He said: "Once the trees are big and the forest is dense,

the greatest threat we face is humans.

To grow cash crops, people cut down the forest,

and then the animals are harmed.

Even tigers and elephants

cannot escape this fate.

In nature there are no monsters

except humans.

Humans will exhaust everything

until there is nothing left.。”

Payeng hopes that with the government's help,

this forest and the animals here can both be protected.

Only then could he move away with peace of mind

and go create a second forest.

“I will keep planting trees

until the last moment of my life.······”

In a person's life,

how many 40 years can there be?

Looking back,

Payeng's 40 years

with his own perseverance

broke open a garden of life more beautiful than paradise.。

As the saying goes,

the strong save themselves, the saintly save others.

The world is so big,

there is always someone giving everything

quietly for this planet.

If you also enjoy growing flowers, then follow us!