Saalumarada Thimmakka, an
environmentalist, is one of the well-known personalities of Karnataka. She has
earned recognition due to her untiring efforts in planting and tending to 284
banyan trees along the highway covering a distance of four kilometers. Her
persistent work has earned her several national and international awards.
She has been honored with the
prestigious National Citizen’s Award of India for her selfless works in the
field of environment. She also has a U.S. environmental organization called
Thimmakka’s Resources for Environmental Education named after her.
Saalumarada
Thimmakka-A Brief History
Saalumarada Thimmakka was born in a
village named Hulikal that falls under the Magadi taluk of Bangalore Rural
district. She was known as Thimmakka then. She did not go to school or get any
formal education.
From an early age she worked as a
laborer in a quarry near her home. She was married off to Chikkaiah, a cattle
herder. The couple wanted children but were unable to get any even after 25
years of their married life.
One day the husband-wife duo decided to
plant trees to overcome the sadness and empty feeling of their lives. That was
around 50 years ago. From there started a journey of untiring love and selfless
service of an ordinary couple towards an extra ordinary mission: a mission to
raise as many trees as possible with love and care and as their own children.
Her journey to become Saalumarada
Thimmakka
Thimmakka and her husband decided to
plant trees along the roadside and they selected the road to the next village,
Kudur to fulfill their plans. This particular
road was one that did not have a single tree and caused immense hardship to the
travelers on the dry and hot days.
They started grafting saplings from
Ficus (banyan) trees as there were plenty of Ficus trees near her village. They
grafted ten saplings in the first year and planted them along a stretch of 4
kilometers on the road that led to Kudur. They increased the number to 15 in
the next year. They continued with their efforts and increased the number of
saplings with each passing year.
They not only planted the saplings, but
also tended to the young saplings. Each morning they started from their home
with four pots filled with water and watered the saplings. When the pots
emptied out they refilled them from the nearby ponds and wells and continued
watering the saplings while covering the whole stretch on feet and returned
home doing the same thing.
They treated the saplings as their own
children and each day followed the same routine. They also protected the
saplings from the grazing cattle by fencing them with thorny shrubs. Their
tireless efforts began to bear fruit when the saplings grew into large and
strong trees.
The couple planted the saplings mostly
in the monsoon season so that the plants would get the rain water for their
growth. The couple planted more than 300 trees in total and today the asset
value of the trees stands at more than 1.5 million rupees. Thimmakka’s husband
passed away in 1991 but she continued with her mission alone and undaunted. The
Government of Karnataka has taken over the management of the trees now.
Thimmakka was referred to as
Saalumarada Timmakka after her work got popular among the people. Salumarada
means the row of trees in Kannada language. She was given the name to honor her
dedication towards planting the saplings and preserving the environment despite
the numerous hardships that she and her husband had to face along the way.
Other
Social Activities of Timmakka
Salumarada Timmakka did not stop at
only planting trees. She got involved in various social activities like
construction of a tank to store rain water for the annual fair of her village.
She has plans of building a hospital in her village and has set up a trust for
the purpose.
She is an active crusader for spreading
the message of afforestation. Her simple philosophy of life is that every
person on this earth must leave behind some asset for humanity.
She still lives in economic crisis and
just manages to somehow make a living from the various awards and a monthly
pension. But this has never managed to kill her spirit or her passion for doing
good work for humankind.
Awards
and Recognition for Timmakka
Saalumarada Thimmakka is the idol of
every environmentalist today. She has shown the world
how one illiterate woman
can make a huge difference to the society through her hard work and patience.
She has been honored with titles like
Vanamitra, Nisargaratna, Vrikshapremi and Vrikshasri. For her uncompromising
efforts towards saving the environment she has been conferred with several
awards and citations like:
Godfrey Phillips Bravery Award – 2006
Karnataka Kalpavalli Award – 2000
National Citizen’s award – 1995
Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshmitra Award
– 1997
Veerachakra Prashasthi Award – 1997
Honor Certificate from the Women and
Child Welfare Department, Government of Karnataka
Vishalakshi Award by Art of Living
Organization
Certificate of Appreciation from the
Indian Institute of Wood Science and Technology, Bangalore
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