There was a small hilly village Nidoya. Nestled quietly among hills, forests, and a river, this little village had very few inhabitants. Yet nature there was vibrant, filled with birdsong, the rush of waterfalls, and the fragrance of the woods.
Aranya Sen was a schoolteacher by profession. A son of this village, he had lived away due to work. After retirement, he returned permanently to his hometown.
During his years in the city, he began to feel that people had forgotten whom they were deceiving. He used to say:
"We’re not protecting nature; we’re destroying it, we are standing in her way!"
Every morning, he would walk toward the forest. He never dropped anything, never picked anything up. He wouldn’t even disturb a single dry leaf. He believed that loving nature meant letting her be.
One day, a group of outsiders arrived in the village. They saw the entire area as perfect for a tourism project. A luxury resort near the waterfall, an adventure park in the forest, speedboats on the river. At first, some villagers showed enthusiasm. It meant new jobs and income.
Aranya Sen's face remained strangely calm. He only said:
"If you try to sell nature, one day nature will buy you instead. Then she’ll name her price."
But who listens?
One by one, trees were cut down. Roads were built by digging up the riverbanks. The birds stopped coming. Monkeys came down into human settlements. Snakes and other creatures started appearing in courtyards. That’s when people began to sense something was wrong.
Then came the night of disaster.
After three days of continuous rain, a landslide came down from the hills. The source of the waterfall was blocked. The river overflowed and swept away the half-built resort. Electricity was lost. The village became cut off from the outside world.
Only those who were living higher up on the hill survived. And those who had set out to conquer nature, became defeated warriors themselves.
Terrified, the villagers came to Aranya Sen. He was sitting on the stump of an old tree, wet hair on his head, holding a dry leaf in his hand.
He listened quietly for a while, then said very gently: "You thought nature wouldn’t say anything. That she doesn’t have feelings. But tell me, how would nature speak? She doesn’t take revenge. She only restores her balance. It is we humans who declare war on ourselves."
Then he said one more thing— "You don’t need to do anything. Just stop interfering. Let her be. That is enough."
A year later, the birds returned. Wildflowers bloomed. The river’s water became clear again.
No one cut down trees anymore. The river reflected shimmering faces in its pure water. Aranya Sen spent his days with the village children. The village grew into a model of harmony.
Three years later… Aranya Sen was no more.
On the wooden plaque he left behind, these words were carved:
"Loving nature means letting her be."