Pohon Mangga

English version is available below.

Flipped (2010), film jadul yang ga bosen gua tonton. Kali ini rasanya agak beda karena tersadar ada potongan film yang bikin gua relate. Adegan di mana Juli mempertahankan sebuah pohon besar yang mau ditebang di depan rumahnya. Juli menentang habis-habisan dan membela mati-matian karena pohon ini punya makna tersendiri buat Juli.

Di seberang rumah gua, juga ada pohon besar. Sebuah pohon mangga yang umurnya lebih tua dari gua. Pohonnya gede, daunnya rimbun, batangnya udah menjalar sampe ke rumah gua, dan menjelma kanopi alam buat jalan depan rumah. Gua kurang tau ini mangga jenis apa, tapi tiap tahun dia selalu dermawan ngasih buah yang manis dan melimpah.

Buat gua pribadi, kehadirannya lebih dari itu. Pohon mangga ini nemenin gua dari kecil. Tempat gua main sama temen-temen, tempat kumpul sama tetangga, dan tempat beli jajanan yang lewat karena abang gerobak seneng mangkal di bawahnya yang super adem. Waktu awal pandemi, hampir tiap pagi gua dan bokap main badminton di bawah pohon ini. Walaupun koknya kadang nyangkut dan susah diambil, tetep happy karena hawanya adeeem.

Tahun 2021, pohon mangga ini mau ditebang sama yang punya rumah. Gua. Syok. Banget. Jadi, yang punya rumah itu udah ga tinggal di situ, cuma ada IRT yang jagain rumah. Si anak pertama, sebut saja teh I, mau nebang pohon ini karena katanya akarnya udah menjalar kemana-mana, batangnya udah keropos, dan takut roboh dan membahayakan. WHAT NONSENSE IS THAT?!

Di lain sisi, adiknya, sebut saja bang A, ga setuju sama keputusan kakaknya. Kelihatan nih adiknya bisa lebih “mikir” dan rasional. Gua denger semua update ini dari nyokap. Gua bilang ke nyokap, jangan ditebang, itu akarnya ga ganggu sama sekali, ga keropos, kalo ditebang nanti malah panas. Tapi siapalah gua, itu bukan pohon gua, ga ada hak sama sekali lah awak. Walau dalam hati gedek mampus, like, kalian kan sehari-hari ga tinggal di sini ye, ngapain sok ngide buat nebang sih!

Saat itu gua udah WFH. Pas siang, dari meja kerja gua bisa denger sekelompok orang dateng. Ternyata petugas yang disuruh teh I buat nebang pohon. Ditebang lah itu pohon mangga besar. Dimulai dari batang yang kecil-kecil. WAW hati gua hancur sehancur-hancurnya. Ada perasaan marah yang begitu besar, tapi tidak berdaya. Gua cuma bisa nangis bercucuran sambil tetep kerja.  Kanopiku…

Beberapa jam kemudian, bang A dateng, lalu marah-marah, siapa yang ngasih izin buat nebang?!!! Nah lho mamam! Turns out, ada miskom antara bang A dan teh I. Katanya sih mereka memang rencana nebang tapi belum fix gitu, masih didiskusikan. Kayanya teh I main nyewa orang aja. Mendengar bang A se-value sama gua, gua mutusin ke luar rumah, masih dengan bercucuran air mata, dan mohon biar pohonnya jangan ditebang. Gua ngomong sambil sesenggukan. Gua yakin mereka semua kaget dengan kemunculan gua. Nangis-nangis pula.

Akhirnya, kegiatan disetop atas instruksi bang A. Pohonnya udah gundul, tapi batang besarnya masih berdiri, belum ditebang, dan sampai seterusnya ga ditebang. Tapi ya tetep aja daunnya udah ilang semua! Yang paling bete, si IRT bilang kalo gua kerasukan arwah pak Haji (bapaknya teh I dan bang A), makanya sampe nangis-nangis gitu karena ga rela pohonnya ditebang. HAHAHA bangsuy emang. Mau ngelurusin tapi udah capek sama yang model beginian, jadi yaudah lah.

Setelah ditebang, sesuai yang gua prediksi, JADI PANAS KAN. Yang paling kerasa adalah, di lantai 2 rumah gua jadi lebih banyak debu. Pohon ini kerasa banget fungsinya sebagai penyaring debu. Ga lama, gua pindah sementara ke Depok. Dan merasa lebih tenang sedikit. Karena, jujur, sulit banget jadi orang kaya gua di society ini; peduli tinggi sama alam, tapi lingkungan sekitar bodo amat.

Fast forward ke hari ini, Februari 2025, pohonnya udah mulai tumbuh daun lagi, dan sekarang udah lebat. Tapi tentu batangnya belum sepanjang sebelumnya, jadi belum kaya kanopi yang dulu. Tapi tetep kagum sama pertumbuhan pohon ini karena tadinya gua pikir udah ga mungkin tumbuh lagi.

Sebenernya, udah lama mau cerita ini di blog. Draft-nya ngendap bertahun-tahun karena tiap mau cerita, rasanya masih tertusuk dan marah. Waktu nulis pun, ternyata perasaan sedih itu masih ada. But, today is the day. Gua coba sedikit demi sedikit. Mungkin dengan nuangin di sini, bisa bantu nyalurin semua bentuk emosi yang masih terpendam.

Grow big again, dear Mango Tree! Thanks for all your goodness 🌿

The only pic I have, before the storm :(

A Mango Tree

Flipped (2010) is an old movie that I never get bored of watching. This time, though, it felt a little different because I realized there was a scene that really resonated with me. A part where Juli fights to save a big tree in front of her house from being cut down. She goes all out, defending it with everything she has because the tree holds a special meaning for her.

Across from my house, there was also a big tree—a mango tree older than me. It was huge, with lush leaves, and its branches extended all the way to my house, forming a natural canopy over the street. I don’t know exactly what kind of mango it was, but every year, it generously produced sweet and abundant fruits.

To me, its presence was more than just that. This mango tree had been with me since I was a kid. It was a place where I played with friends, gathered with neighbors, and where I bought snacks from passing sellers who loved parking their carts under its cool shade. During the early days of the pandemic, my dad and I played badminton under this tree almost every morning. Even though the shuttlecock sometimes got stuck in the branches, we still had fun because the shade made everything feel so refreshing.

Then, in 2021, the owner of the house decided to cut it down. I was shocked, extremely. So, the owner didn’t live there anymore, only a housekeeper stayed to take care of the place. The eldest child of the owner (teh I), wanted the tree removed, because she was thinking that its roots were spreading everywhere, its trunk was rotting, and she was afraid it will fall and cause danger. WHAT NONSENSE IS THAT?!

On the other hand, her younger sibling, bang A, disagreed. He seemed more rational to me. I got all these updates from my mom. Then I told her, don’t cut it down please, the roots aren’t a problem, the trunk isn’t rotting, and if you remove it, the place will just get unbearably hot! But who was I? It wasn’t my tree. I had no rights over it. Even though deep down, I was absolutely furious, like, you guys don’t even live here every day, so why are you suddenly making such a dumb decision?!

At that time, I was already working from home. One afternoon, from my desk, I heard a group of people arriving. Turns out, they were workers hired by teh I to cut down the tree. They started with the smaller branches first. My heart was broken, shattered into pieces. There was an overwhelming sense of rage, but I felt powerless. I could only sit here, crying a river, while still trying to work. My beautiful canopy…

A few hours later, bang A arrived and was furious, who gave permission to cut it down?! Well… karma strikes! Turns out, there was a miscommunication between him and teh I. Apparently, they had a plan to cut it down, but nothing had been finalized yet. It seemed like teh I just went ahead and hired people to do that task.

Hearing that bang A shared the same values as me, I decided to step outside—still in tears—and begged them to stop cutting down the tree. I was sobbing as I spoke. I’m sure everyone was shocked to see me suddenly appear like that, crying my heart out.

In the end, bang A ordered the workers to stop. The tree had already been bald, but its main trunk was still standing. And from that day on, it was left alone. But still, all the leaves were gone! The worst part? The housekeeper said I was possessed (kerasukan) by the spirit of pak Haji (the father of teh I and bang A), which is why I was crying so much and refusing to let the tree go. HAHAHA ridiculous. I wanted to correct her, but honestly, I was too exhausted to deal with this kind of nonsense. So, I just let it go.

As I had predicted, after the tree was cut down, it became unbearably hot. The most significant change was my second floor became way dustier. That tree had clearly acted as a natural dust filter. Not long after, I moved temporarily to Depok. And honestly, I felt a little better. Because, honestly, it’s tough being someone like me in this society; someone who cares deeply about nature while everyone else seems indifferent.

Fast forward to today, February 2025, the tree has started growing leaves again. Now, it’s lush once more. Of course, its trunk isn’t as long as it used to be, so it hasn’t formed a canopy like before. But I’m still amazed by its resilience as I really thought it wouldn’t grow anymore.

Actually, I wanted to write about this on my blog for a long time. The draft had been sitting there for years because every time I tried to write about it, I was still in pain and rage. Even as I type this now, I realize the sadness hasn’t completely gone away. But today is the day. I’m trying, little by little. Maybe pouring it all out here will help release some of the emotions I have been holding onto.

Grow big again, dear Mango Tree! Thanks for all your goodness 🌿