5625. Bodhi trees in Bangladesh. A story told to me on 10 Feb 2024 (Chinese New Year).

Bodhi trees in Bangladesh. A story told to me on 10 Feb 2024 (Chinese New Year).

Bodhi trees are common in Bangladesh according to Wikepedia. I asked a Bangladeshi about Bodhi trees with large trunks in Bangladesh as there are not many seen by me in Singapore.

"There are many Bodhi trees in Bangladesh," he said. "In the 1990s, a hurricane devastated my school and neighbourhood. What remained was like desert in the middle East. It was very hot for students to study. So my teacher asked us to contribute money to buy a small bodhi plant. We planted it in the middle of the field."

"Why did your teacher ask for a Bodhi tree?" I asked.

"Its grows fast and its branches spread out like an umbrella providing shade," he said. "However we need to protect this plant from the goats and cows."

"Do you fence it with netting like a chicken hut?" I asked.

"No, no," he explained. "We used bamboo poles as fences. We have a lot of bamboo trees in the countryside."

"Now it is 2024," he extended his hands as if to encircle the Bodhi tree. "My two hands cannot even wrap round the tree trunk!"


I checked the Wikipedia. The Bodhi tree has a religious significance in 3 religions - Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. 

Bodhi (Ficus religiosa) is a large dry season-deciduous or semi-evergreen tree up to 30 metres (98 ft) tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 3 metres (9.8 ft). The leaves are cordate in shape with a distinctive extended drip tip; they are 10–17 centimetres (3.9–6.7 in) long and 8–12 centimetres (3.1–4.7 in) broad, with a 6–10 centimetres (2.4–3.9 in) petiole. The fruits are small figs 1–1.5 centimetres (0.39–0.59 in) in diameter, green ripening to purple.^{[citation needed]}