It was a cloudy, windy morning when they cut you down.
I watched from a distance as they removed your branches.
You still looked majestic as they stripped you of your crown.
Each branch looked like a tree in its own right.
You must have seen so many things over the past 80 years.
Countless vehicles. Maybe even Japanese tanks during World War II.
The cemetery behind you made way for a housing estate.
The greenery next to you gave way to a junior college.
The changes must have been amazing.
Did you wonder if you might have to go too?
When they put the concrete barrier around you, you must have felt safe.
Protected.
Little did you know that it was to become your tomb.
What were the motorists thinking as they drove past?
A funeral procession.
I stayed for about an hour and a half, witnessing your slow demise.
It was painful to watch.
The workers were not even close to cutting you down when I left.
That’s how big you are.
Or were.
The next time I go by, there will be nothing but a stump.
Eventually, your tomb will be removed so that the forked road can be rejoined.
Which is the point of all this.
Also read Braddell Road Angsana cut down this morning at Habitatnews and Poor thing at Lekowala.
More photos here and a short video, taken from inside a bus, of the removal crew.
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boohoo.. murderers!
You know, I always felt that the cars diverging round the tree was something interesting and different: I never knew which side of the road that taxi was going on or what view I was going to get, until the taxi driver was on that side of the road. A tree in the middle of the road, added a new dimension to things. I guess not everyone appreciated its aesthetics as much as I, you and some minority of Singaporeans did.
*hahaha* Yes, I read his comments on your other Angsana posts. No, the taxi was not going too fast, neither was he going too slow. I think the people that voted for the removal of the tree was just used to seeing a tree in the middle of the road.
Anyway, I have become a little sanitised to such actions by the LTA, URA or other government bodies, especially after previous trees, cemetaries, centuries-old buildings etc. were cleared for more housing, more commercial buildings, more more more new stuff. Like someone (was it Siva or Anand?) said, anything more than 10 years is considered old, while in Italy, anything less than 100 years old is considered new!
That is one major reason why we have little heritage - the quest for new, newer and brand new stuff makes people think that old is not good enough. They fail to see the soul and charm that these ‘old’ things possess.
Sorry about the rant, but I just have a love for ‘old’ stuff: people, buildings, plants, stories. More soul, as I said.
A very touching tribute to the old Angsana. Wow, can’t believe that you spent an hour and a half watching it being massacred.
My colleague didn’t notice until I told him.
How easily we forget.
BOOOOOOOOOOO…………………..[quote comment="16624"]You know, I always felt that the cars diverging round the tree was something interesting and different: I never knew which side of the road that taxi was going on or what view I was going to get, until the taxi driver was on that side of the road. A tree in the middle of the road, added a new dimension to things. I guess not everyone appreciated its aesthetics as much as I, you and some minority of Singaporeans did.[/quote] I agree to this person. I think that it is really nice to have new homes but we should try to keep our heritage as much as possible. Also, I have been open to new ideas to prevent this from happening. The tree should not be cut down but be left at it’s own place. The tree is a tribute to Singaporeans. By the way, anyone has any bright ideas to prevent the tree from being chopped down, please e-mail me at visser102@hotmail.com. It will help me with this research of mine.THX