16) Sowing seeds

Saalumarada Thimakka belongs to Hulikal village in the Bangalore rural district. She is an over 75 years old widow, illiterate and just another daily wage earner. Yet she is different as she is featured in the media – papers, national channels – for her contribution to the environment. Hers is an interesting tale of perseverance.

She and her husband realized early on in their marriage that they were not destined for parenthood. But that did not deter them from growing plants - a novel way of distracting their sorrow that beginning to hurt them so much.

Thimakka started to plant avenue tress along the stretch that connects her village to the next. She was just a poor labourer married to a man who herded the cattle. Now childless, all they wanted was to create life. The couple planted 10 saplings of Ficus (banyan) trees across a distance of four kilometer in the first year, 15 in the next and averaging over 20 in the years that followed.

Nourishing these saplings was no easy task. Her husband tied two huge pails of water to either ends of a bamboo pole that slung across his shoulders. Thimakka followed carrying a pail of water on her waist and the other on her head across 4 km distance everyday. These activities gave the couple a lot of emotional solace. Over the years, about 285 plants were sowed and these dot the national highway.

They watched as the samplings took roots and found solace when it started to sprout. There joy grew as the saplings started to tower over their shoulders while the old couple caressed them in a bonding of undiluted affection. Watering the plants is a daily ritual and this has been going on for over 3 decades now.

Thimakka continues to pay attention to her “rooted children” even after the death of her husband.

She would have been an unsung heroine but for some villagers in Kudoor wanting to fell these tress. Her well-wishers got her to lodge a police complaint and that gained the attention of the government. They wasted little time in bestowing her with awards and recognition: National Citizens’ Award in 1995; Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award in 1997; Honour certificate from the Welfare department, government of Karnataka etc.

These days Thimakka is invited virtually for every tree planting initiative in the state. She spreads her native knowledge with gusto and recommends evergreen tress for the arid climate and instills in the gathering a love for plants. She says,” the trees have given me so much joy. For me it was like giving birth to a baby and caring for it”.

She is our “believe” woman for the day. Despite all the handicaps, she proves that with courage and determination, one can still make life a celebration and contribute to society.