US President Barack Obama planted a tree in Delhi; can its state be read as a sign?

Atree, it can be said, is many things. Shade, better air quality, sort of sentinels of time and, in India, maybe some more earthy things like a substitute for a washroom. But can a tree also be emblematic of diplomatic relations?

Well, if you want to read between the leaves, or the lack thereof, the hype surrounding US President Barack Obama’s recent trip to India may be in danger of being laid rather bare by one of these large plants. Reports aver the tree Obama planted on his trip in New Delhi is not dead. By which one means that the peepal thingy, which seemed all leafy and healthy in the PR photos, seems to have adopted a rather denuded sensibility. The US president planted it at the memorial to Gandhiji, and left India with a bit of a parting shot on multiculturalism. Some were quick to perceive this as a rebuke to unsavoury elements of a saffron-hued brigade.
So, whether this ‘single lonely stem’ is an indication of a last bare note amidst the orchestra of the visit is yet to be determined. But it does seem to be giving officials sleepless nights. Experts had to come in and make statements to the effect that peepal trees do tend to lose their leaves this time of the year, and nothing by way of deliberate neglect or symbolic withering away could be imputed. Either way, this plant is being examined for feelers.