Shanerhat Bazar, a large market in a remote village, required some searching to find a man named Badsha Mia. After asking around from shop to shop, a shopkeeper named Monirul recognised him and asked in return to be sure, “Are you looking for Badsha, the friend of trees?”
Upon getting an affirmative reply, Monirul pointed to a mango tree in the mosque yard of the market and said it was planted by Badsha Mia. Describing how Badsha treats his planted trees like his own children, Monirul said he had seen how lovingly Badsha nurtured that mango tree. Whenever he comes to the market, he touches the tree affectionately.
Badsha Mia lives in Mesta village under Shanerhat union, about 15 kilometres from Pirganj upazila headquarters in Rangpur. Locals affectionately call him “Tree Friend Badsha.” Though he works as a day labourer, his passion lies in planting trees. For the past 20 years, he has been planting saplings with his own money along roadsides, in markets and village squares, near Eidgahs, mosques, and school grounds. People in the area now enjoy the fruits of the trees he planted, while travellers find comfort and shade beneath them.
Mesta village resident and union parishad member Mofazzal Hossain said many in the area used to mock Badsha, calling him “mad.” He added that Badsha never stopped despite the taunts, always explaining the benefits of planting trees. Now, everyone is reaping the rewards of what they once called his madness.
A paved road runs through the middle of the cultivated fields in Mesta village, connecting Shanerhat and Bordaorga. Rows of fruit trees line both sides of the road.
On 27 September, following that path to Badsha’s house was a delight. After walking along the long tree-lined route, there is a semi-pucca tin-shed house, with vegetables, fruit, and flowering plants on either side. However, no one was at home.
To find Badsha, this correspondent went to Shanerhat market, where he was buying saplings to plant by the roadside. Upon learning we were journalists, he led us to the Bordaorga–Shanerhat road and showed his trees planted across a two-kilometre stretch. Sitting on a bamboo bench he had installed himself under one of the trees, he shared the story of his tree-planting journey.
Badsha Mia, the son of a farmer, could not continue his studies due to financial hardship. At the age of seven, he started herding goats and cattle in the fields. As he grew older, he took up daily wage labour. He has a son and a daughter and owns no agricultural land. His house stands on four decimals of land.
Locals say that for nearly 10 years, every Friday, 72-year-old Badsha Mia sets out on his bicycle carrying saplings. After attending Friday prayers at any mosque in the union, he educates people about the benefits of trees and encourages them to plant saplings, often gifting them to promote tree planting.
Unable to buy fruit, he turns to tree planting
One afternoon in November 2004, Badsha was sitting by the roadside near his house with his two children, Milon Mia and Lovely Akhtar. A trader was passing by that road, carrying mangoes and jackfruits to the market. Seeing this, his children asked him for some fruit.
Unable to buy fruit for them due to financial constraints, Badsha felt deep sorrow. Thinking about his own children, he also remembered the children of poor neighbours. At that moment, he felt he had to do something for them. It was then that he decided to start planting fruit trees.
In July of the following year, he planted 50 mango and jackfruit trees along the Shanerhat–Bordarga road. Badsha Mia said that after planting 150 trees over two to three months, he ran into a financial crisis. He could not afford the stakes to support the trees. In the end, he sold his daughter’s gold earring to buy the stakes. After discussing with his wife, he decided that one-fourth of the money he earned from daily labour would be spent on planting trees. His wife, Minara Begum, has always encouraged him in this effort.
Shanerhat union parishad chairman Meshbahur Rahman said that by planting trees along government roads, Badsha Mia is putting fruit on the plates of poor people. He has also installed bamboo benches under the trees for passersby to rest. There is no doubt that his initiative deserves praise.
Initial resistance, now recognition
Badsha recalls with sadness that in the beginning, while planting saplings along the roadside, he faced resistance from people. In 2005, the owners of the land beside the road uprooted the trees he had planted. When he protested, he was even beaten and thrown onto the road. Because of this, he had stopped everything with a heavy heart.
But he could not stay idle for long. After 2006, he resumed with renewed vigour and has never stopped since. Now, at the age of 72, carrying the slogan ‘Not a handful of rice, but a handful of oxygen,’ he continues planting trees. His efforts extend beyond his own village to at least 15 neighbouring villages, including Hajipur, Sokipur, Swadpur, Shantipur, Nirajpur, Bajatpur, and Parbatipur, where he has planted various fruit trees. According to him, he has so far planted over 30,000 trees, including mango, black berry, jackfruit, lychee, guava, coconut and date palm. The trees planted around 2006 or 2007 have now grown large.
Rezaul Islam, a journalist from Shanerhat village near Mesta, says that Badsha plants trees without expecting any recognition. In Shanerhat Union, there are very few educational institutions where he has not planted at least one tree.
As recognition for his work, Badsha was awarded by the Upazila administration at the tree fair on 27 October last year. Upazila Executive Officer Khadija Begum said that such commendable initiatives are being encouraged to further motivate him.
His son, Milon Mia, said he feels proud of his father. He told Prothom Alo, “Now the responsibility of the entire family rests on me. My father uses the money he earns to plant trees. He rushes to help whenever anyone in the village is in trouble. We are happy with our father’s work.”
Badsha Mia never thinks about profiting from the trees he plants. What he wants is for future generations to realise that one must leave something behind for society and the environment.
He said, “Trees keep us alive every moment by giving us oxygen. As long as Allah gives me the ability, I will keep planting trees. Even if I am no longer alive, my trees will live on. They will provide shade and fruit to people. That is my happiness.”
Courtesy: Prothom Alo Online
