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Meet India’s inspirational 109-year-old Mother of Trees

4 min read

Good Stuff
Source: Femina.in

In her lifetime, Indian environmentalist Saalumarada Thimmakka has planted over 8000 trees, including 384 banyan trees along a four-kilometre stretch of highway between Hulikal and Kudur.

India’s inspirational mother of trees

Padma Shri award (2019) recipient Saalumarada Thimmakka planted 384 banyan trees with her husband Bikkala Chikkayya along a 4 km (2.5 miles) stretch of what is now a highway, in Magadi Taluk of rural Bengaluru, Karnataka. Silviculturist, environmentalist, and ‘Mother of Trees’ are all titles bestowed upon her so far since the media and accolades started following her in 1995 when she received National Citizen’s Award. However, despite all the laurels, awards, media coverage, organisations honouring her and foundations or groups named after her, Thimmakka’s fame never translated into fortune and this inspirational woman has lived most of her life in poverty.

She began to plant trees, hundreds of them, in rows that stretched on for about four kilometres along the road between her village and the next.
After 25 years of trying unsuccessfully to conceive a child with her husband, Sri Bikkala Chikkayya, Thimmakka found a different way to bring life into the world. She began to plant trees, hundreds of them, in rows that stretched on for about four kilometres along the road between her village and the next. Source: HerZindagi.com

Thimmakka began her environmental crusade during World War II

When life doesn’t give you children, plant hundreds of trees and save the planet. At least that’s what Saalumarada Thimmakka, a poor woman living in an arid region of southern India, did after she was unable to conceive a child with her husband almost 80 years ago. Thimmakka, now 109 years old (or perhaps 110, but nobody is quite certain), began her environmental crusade during World War II and has not showed many signs of slowing down. She’s responsible for planting and tending to 384 Banyan trees — and her environmental activism has gone a long way toward sparking large-scale change in India. 

Source: GlobalCitizen 

The President, Shri Ram Nath Kovind presented the Padma Shri Award to Saalumarada Thimakka, at an Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on 16 March 2019
India’s President receives a blessing from Saalumarada Thimmakka. The President, Shri Ram Nath Kovind presented the Padma Shri Award to Saalumarada Thimakka, at an Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on 16 March 2019 Source: LifeLance.in

Thimmakka’s husband was supportive of her desire to plant trees

According to the Saalumarada Thimmakka International Foundation, Thimmakka grew up in Gubbi, a small, rural area in southern India. Because her town did not have proper educational facilities, she began working as an unskilled labourer at age 10, and eventually married into another poor family.  

After 25 years of trying unsuccessfully to conceive a child with her husband, Sri Bikkala Chikkayya, Thimmakka found a different way to bring life into the world. She began to plant trees, hundreds of them, in rows that stretched on for about four kilometers.  

Despite the fact that an estimated 15% of couples worldwide are affected by infertility, according to the World Health Organization, many women who are unable to bear a child face discrimination and stigmas throughout their lives on account of a natural occurrence they are unable to influence. 

Luckily for Thimmakka, her husband was supportive of her desire to plant trees, and faithfully helped her in her endeavor until he passed away in 1991

Source: GlobalCitizen 

Saalumarada Thimmakka seen here with mystic, spiritual teacher and outspoken environmental activist, Sadhguru. Sadhguru is currently an advisor to the government on agricultural and forestry matters.
Friends in high places. Saalumarada Thimmakka seen here with mystic, spiritual teacher and outspoken environmental activist, Sadhguru. Sadhguru is currently an advisor to the government on agricultural and forestry matters. Source: LifeLance.in

The Saalumarada Thimmakka International Foundation was founded in 2014 in her honour

Though fame was not what she sought by planting trees, she became a bit of a legend in India and throughout the world, winning at least 50 awards for environmentalism and receiving international press coverage for her work. 

Thimmakka herself is no longer planting trees, but her protege and foster son Umesh B N, is now the president of the Saalumarada Thimmakka International Foundation, which was founded in 2014 in her honour. 

Along with focusing on preserving the environment, it serves as an educational resource for poor Indians, provides poverty-relief programs, and even aims to establish a maternity hospital in the region.

Thimmakka’s environmental activism falls in line with the direction the country of 1.25 billion people has headed in recent years. India has placed a renewed focus on environmentalism, formally signing the Paris Agreement in October of 2016, and pledging that at least 40% of its energy will come from renewable sources by 2030. 

Source: GlobalCitizen 

She even has a foundation in her name and frequently gets invited to tree planting ceremonies all over the country. The woman who had herself never attended school, now has a poem dedicated to her in Indian National curriculum.
Thimmakka has been hailed as an Environmental Hero and has been conferred with several awards. She even has a foundation in her name and frequently gets invited to tree planting ceremonies all over the country. The woman who had herself never attended school, now has a poem dedicated to her in Indian National curriculum. Source: LifeLance.in
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