By Sanjida Jannat Pinky

The spring breeze of Falgun brings the first message of the season. When nature comes back to life after the lifelessness of winter, a tree standing under the blue sky at Gono University seems to light a fire across the campus, its red and orange blossoms swaying in the wind. But at the roots of this tree there is more than soil: there is love, memory and the history of a group of dreaming young men and women. They may not have known that one day it would not only give shade but become a witness to time and a messenger of spring.

On 20 October 2015, the law department's 5th batch was busy preparing for its graduation ceremony. They wanted to do more than observe formalities; they wanted something that would stand as a witness to time. That idea took shape when a group of enthusiastic students planted a memorable palash tree. It was then a tiny sapling with soft branches, waiting to grow with care. Students of that time may have stood beside it after class, between chats, or on a spring afternoon, imagining the future: some dreamed of becoming leading lawyers, some judges, some university teachers. In time they all set off on their paths, some spreading across the country and some settling abroad. But the tree they planted stayed, standing like a sentinel to welcome new generations and recall the old days.

When winter ends and the reign of bare branches is over, this palash tree announces the arrival of spring. Bright red-orange flowers burst out on every branch, like lines of fire painted on nature's canvas. The campus takes on a festive air and students' faces glow with joy. When palash petals drift on the spring breeze, it is as if the stanzas of a poet's poem were taking their place in the sky.

How many stories students have woven sitting beneath this tree! Some have read books there, some have been absorbed in debating practice, and perhaps someone made a first confession of love standing in its shade. This tree is not just a tree; it is a feeling, a name for love, passed from one batch to the next over the years.

Much changes with time. Old buildings get new paint, new names join the list of teachers, syllabuses change, new students arrive and old ones leave. But this tree does not change. It remains the same, holding the touch of that 5th batch in its roots. It is like a museum of time, where every year the fire of spring brings back pictures of the old days.

For the campus's current students, the tree is not just something beautiful but a token of their predecessors' love. Those who planted it may today be busy in the courts or fighting for human rights, but the tree they planted remains, announcing their existence without their names.

Every spring the tree seems to come to life anew. Every branch is covered in flowers and a faint fragrance floats on the air. Students crowd round, take photos, write poems, or simply gaze at it in wonder. It seems to remind them that time passes and people change, but some memories live forever.

The writer is a student and journalist at Gono University.

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