THE PARK. I2C) 



Sal, tal, tamal, AND piyal are trees of classic fame 

 in India. Of these, the tal is the most familiar in Bengal 

 and Southern India. As a child the tdl tree was a great 

 mystery to me, being at once puzzling and fascinating. 

 I wondered how it was that the same tree which yielded 

 delicious tahans* and was the source of sweet cakes, also 

 supplied those hateful palmyra leaves. To be candid, 

 when the detestable village pedagogue set before me 

 the impossible task of scribbling twenty of these leaves 

 before breakfast, I secretly but sincerely wished the 

 whole race of palm trees extinct. But my troubles came 

 to an end when Janardan took me in hand, and taught 

 me to take an interest in the "how" and "why" of things 

 around me. In a few days I learnt many things, and 

 forgot that reading or writing was a task ; as for getting 

 by heart multiplication tables, I found it the easiest 

 thing in the world. The magic power of sympathy and 

 judicious guidance brought about this change, not in 

 me alone, but in all those who ever came under the 

 influence of that honest soul Janardan. The tal tree 

 still continued to exercise my mind. It was a tree to 

 be sure, thought I, but its bare gaunt stem and circular 

 head of leaves were so unlike those of ordinary trees. 

 Janardan had noticed that I looked curiously at the 

 palmyra trees and brooded over something. He asked me 

 one day if anything troubled me, and I told him what I 

 thought about these trees. He did not laugh at me, or 

 call me silly and sentimental. Oh, no, he was too good 



* Immature seed of the fruit. 



