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The Weeping Willows |
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Napoleon Tomb at "Valley of the Geraniums," St Helena |
Dr.Barry O' Meara walked passed the spring and stood near the grave quietly. It was`an early morning in St. Rupert Valley, St. Helena, the tiny British island, some day in March 1823. He thought of the man buried in the grave and the efforts he had made to save his life. However, the death came silently to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1821. Dr. O' Meara thought of the great life of a Hero, a general turned emperor and then sadly recollected the last days of Napoleon in prison in St. Helena. He sighed and looked around at the trees with their drooping branches shading the generals grave. The breeze has started and were producing a whistling sound waving the branches. He loved these trees. He had planted them. Then he felt he he heard them crying. Perhaps over the pain, agony the emperor might have undergone. It was a terrible end. Then he thought, one day he too has to go. He knew what may happen. Perhaps the remains of the general will be shifted. May be these beautiful trees over the generals grave will be removed. He suddenly became apprehensive. Walking back to his quarters he made a decision. He has to talk to Rufus, his friend , the keeper of the grounds.It was getting dark when they arrived at Napoleon's grave. Getting down to the job quickly they cut the branches of the weeping trees and packed them carefully in a moist bag. Soon they were back in the quarters. Dr. Barry O' Meara knew very well where to send these cuttings to hardly aware of the fact that he is going to create another history.
And then started an arduous journey for those cuttings. Around circuitous route via Cape of Good Hope, the across the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea and finally miles and miles over land to be received by Dr. A.O' Meara, nephew of Dr. Barry and a renowned dentist at Shimla, India, the summer capital of British Government from where the British controlled the entire Indian sub-continent.
"The Weeping Willows" as they are called, took root in Shimla, survived and eventually grew into beautiful trees. The long slender branches drooping downwards which have been linked to the flowing of tears are commonly grown in the graveyards and therefore also called as "graveyard trees", providing shade below them. This is why "The Weeping Willows", a poetic name.
These trees are also grown elsewhere in the world but The Weeping Willows of Shimla, Himachal, India has a great historical significance. As the famous author Edward J. Buck puts it in his book 'Shimla Past and Present' :
"consequently, the real St. Helena weeping willows may now be seen in and around Shimla"
These trees were grown and can be seen at 'Summer Hill (now High Court), Kenilworth and Sherwood (now Faridkot House), in Mashorba near Shimla, Bentrick Castle (now Grand Hotel) and elsewhere in Himachal.
The Weeping Willows around Napoleon's grave were removed 19 years after his death to be replaced by cypress and pine but the The Weeping Willows of Shimla (also called in local Hindi as Majnu ke perh) continue to grace the gardens and forests as a remembrance to the great Napoleon Bonaparte.
The historical facts: