The Cherry Tree

1. Unit at a glance

• The unit contains the prose piece “The Cherry Tree” by Ruskin Bond and the poem “Harvest Hymn” by Sarojini Naidu.
• Both pieces are placed under the overarching theme of Environment (Unit 4).
• The prose traces the growth of a cherry tree planted from a seed and the boy’s changing relationship with it over three years.
• The poem is a hymn of praise offered by farmers to the Sun, Rain, Earth and the Supreme Being for a successful harvest.
• Common thread: the interdependence between humans and nature, and the need for care, rest and gratitude.

2. Prose

Summary

A six-year-old boy, Rakesh, plants a cherry seed given to him by his grandfather in Mussoorie. Over three years the sapling faces neglect, a goat eating its leaves, a woman’s scythe cutting it in two, snow and drought, yet it survives and finally bears fruit. Rakesh grows up alongside the tree and realises its special value because “We planted it ourselves.”

Setting

Outskirts of Mussoorie in the Himalayan foothills; stony soil, oak and deodar forests, monsoon rains, winter snow.

Main characters

• Rakesh: curious, observant boy who plants and tends the tree from age six to nine.
• Grandfather: wise, storytelling elder who advises Rakesh and appreciates the tree’s shade.
• The cherry tree: central living character that endures damage yet keeps growing.

Sequence of key events

1. Rakesh buys cherries, keeps the last seed and plants it on grandfather’s advice.
2. The seed sprouts; Rakesh waters it and circles it with pebbles.
3. Monsoon helps growth; a goat eats the leaves; tree regrows.
4. A woman cutting grass severs the tree; it sends out new shoots.
5. Tree survives winter snow and reaches Rakesh’s height; blossoms appear.
6. Tree grows taller than both Rakesh and grandfather; bees and birds visit; small sour cherries form.
7. Grandfather rests under the tree; Rakesh realises the tree is special because they planted it.

3. Poem

Central idea

Farmers offer songs, garlands and their labour in gratitude to the Sun (Surya), Rain (Varuna), Earth (Prithvi) and the Lord of the Universe (Brahma) for the gift of harvest.

Stanza-by-stanza sense

• Men’s Voices (Surya): thank the bright lord of the morning for prospering their sowing and ripening their corn.
• Men’s Voices (Varuna): praise the lord of the rainbow for sending rain and dew that foster the grain.
• Women’s Voices (Prithvi): hail the omnipotent mother Earth whose bosom feeds them and whose womb gives birth to riches.
• All Voices (Brahma): acknowledge the Supreme Being as both Seed and Scythe, Hands, Heart and Home; they offer their lives and seek continued care.

Tone/mood

Reverent, celebratory and devotional; the mood is one of joyful gratitude and communal praise.

4. Themes and messages

• Patient care and perseverance allow life to flourish (“cherry trees are tough”).
• Humans and nature share a reciprocal bond; we must give back what we receive (“We planted it ourselves”).
• Gratitude to the forces of nature sustains both the land and the people (“We bring thee our lives and our labours for tribute”).

5. Literary devices

• Simile: “glowing crimson like fire”
• Personification: “the cherry tree had no intention of dying”
• Imagery: “V-shaped formation streaming northward”, “pale pink blossom at the end of a branch”
• Metaphor: “Thou art the Seed and the Scythe of our harvests”
• Alliteration: “gold of our fields and the gold of our fruit”
• Repetition: “Thine is the bounty… Thine is the mercy…”

6. Vocabulary

• stunted: stopped from growing to full size
• outskirts: areas at the edge of a town
• haunches: position of sitting on the heels
• plodded: walked slowly and heavily
• foliage: leaves of plants
• munificent: very generous
• omnipotent: all-powerful
• ineffable: too great to be described in words
• succour: help and support

7. Exam pitfalls

• Mixing up the order of events (goat damage occurs before the woman’s scythe).
• Forgetting that the tree is cut twice yet survives both times.
• Treating the poem as a narrative instead of a hymn of praise.
• Missing the symbolic link between Rakesh’s growth and the tree’s growth.
• Confusing the four deities addressed in the poem.