Caretaker of 'Sudarshan' tree has mixed feelings

BHUBANESWAR: Somnath Behera, 76, broke down when he was told that the neem tree he had been looking after since 1999 would be chopped for Sudarshan's idol. The feeling of nostalgia soon gripped him.
"My devotion towards the tree grew when I found it unscatched after 1999 Super Cyclone. From then, I took care of it. I placed small idols of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra near the tree and worshipped them," said Behera, a resident of Gadakantunia village."I am happy that the tree will be used for Sudarshan's idol, but I am going to miss it," said Behera, who is unable to walk now due to a paralytic attack a few months ago.
As soon as the news broke, he crawled to the place with the help of two villagers. Police, who had put up barricades to control the surging crowd, allowed Behera in after some locals told them about his connection with the tree.
Behara, a retired employee of water resources department, sat under the tree and recollected the struggle in setting up a small temple there. "I collected donations and invested my savings to build the temple. I protested when some temples and ashrams wanted to take away the tree. Now, I cannot say no to Jagannath," he said.
After Behera fell sick, he engaged two priests to worship the deities every day.
Behera urged the state government to turn the place into a 'pilgrim site'. "The government should build a temple, in memory of the tree. The tourism department should promote religious tourism for overall development of the area," he added.
A local resident donated Rs 1 lakh to Behera, but refused to be identified.