"Look, look, see how that tree is hanging with bunches of pomelos," one young woman told another while shopping inside New Market in the capital.

Her companion at first looked on in disbelief, then, seeing that the tree really was full of pomelos, stared at it for several seconds. "It's amazing to think there's a tree full of pomelos inside a market in this mechanical city of brick and stone," she was heard saying.

This reporter overheard the conversation around midday on 23 July. The Government New Market in Dhaka, some seven decades old and known to everyone simply as New Market, is where the tree stands: walking west from Gate No 1, a pomelo tree in front of a salon has become something of a spectacle.

Men and women who come to shop are stopping in front of the tree. Some take photos, some shoot video, and others reach out to touch the fruit. Some ask, "Is this real?" Others say in surprise, "Even the trees in my village don't bear this many pomelos!"

The tree's origins are something of a mystery. Neighbouring shopkeepers said that many years ago someone brought a pomelo sapling on a whim, perhaps then a potted plant. Over time its roots spread in search of soil and the tree grew. Now it bears dozens of pomelos every season.

Such a fruit tree in a completely paved place like New Market is hard to imagine. Shopkeepers proudly point it out. "It is part of the beauty of our New Market," they said.

For many, the tree is a breath of cool air in tired urban life, easy on the eyes and calming to the mind. Many stand and say, "Where else in Dhaka will you find a green scene like this!"

Shamim Haidar, a student at Dhaka University, told this reporter: "New Market is a place of memories for us. School and college life, friends, first shopping trips, all of it happened here. Now there is a tree like this in New Market that seems to remind us that nature is still alive."

The pomelo tree is more than a tree; it carries a message that room can be kept for greenery even in the heart of the city, if we want it. If such a large fruit tree can grow in a place like New Market, it should be possible to plant at least one tree at home, in markets, at offices or on vacant land.

Whether the tree was someone's personal hobby or a plan by the New Market authorities is not known, but it now has everyone thinking along the same lines.

A young man standing beside the tree perhaps summed it up best: "Green is very precious in this city, and this tree is its silent witness."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.