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Image Credit- Facebook/ Saalumarada Thimmakka, Twitter/ President of India
Meet 110-Yr-Old Environmentalist Who Planted Over 8,000 Trees, Took Care Of Them As Mother
Writer: Shiva Chaudhary
A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication with relevant skills, specialising in content editing & writing. I believe in the precise dissemination of information based on facts to the public.
Karnataka, 19 May 2022 8:56 AM GMT
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While he is a massive sports fanatic, his interest also lies in mainstream news and nitpicking trending and less talked about everyday issues.
Creatives : Shiva Chaudhary
A post-graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication with relevant skills, specialising in content editing & writing. I believe in the precise dissemination of information based on facts to the public.
Saalumarada Thimmakka was awarded the Padma Shri in 2019 and is noted for her work in planting and tending almost 400 banyan trees near her home on a forty-five-kilometre stretch of highway between Hulikal and Kudur.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao felicitated a 110-year-old Indian environmentalist, Saalumarada Thimmakka, at Pragati Bhavan on May 18. She is from Karnataka and is a real-life embodiment of mother nature, reported NDTV.
Thimmakka is noted for her work in planting and tending almost 400 banyan trees near her home on a forty-five-kilometre stretch of highway between Hulikal and Kudur. She found solace in planting trees, and with the support of her husband, she has also grown about 8,000 other trees.
Journey To Becoming An Environmentalist
Thimmakka was born in the Tumukuru District of Karnataka and was married to Bikkala Chikkaiah, a native of Ramanagara district of the same state, at the young age of 12, as per Wikipedia.
Even though the couple led a comfortable and content life, they could not have children even after several attempts, and they adopted a son named Surya Prakash.
Chikkaiah supported her throughout the journey but so true to the nature of our society, criticisms and judgemental remarks started pouring in on Thimmakka. People began suggesting prayers and rituals make her pregnancy possible.
As a part of performing one of those rituals, Thimmakka and Chikkayya planted banyan trees, and it is said that she started to plant banyan trees in lieu of children. But what began as a ritual became her solace, thus beginning her journey as an environmentalist.
Recognition And Awards
Environmentalists around the country and the globe began recognising and acknowledging her work as the news of her planting 8,000 trees and more spread.
Saalumarada Thimmakka was awarded the fourth highest civilian honour of the country, Padma Shri, in 2019 by President Ram Nath Kovind. In 2016, the BBC enlisted her as one of the 100 most influential and inspirational women in their year edition.
The list of accolades for the 'Mother of Trees' is longer. She won National Citizen's award in 1995, the Veerachakra Prashasthi Award in 1997, Honour Certificate from the Women and Child Welfare Department, Government of Karnataka, among many others.
Thimmakka's love and dedication toward planting trees and keeping them nurtured deserves immense appreciation and are what has brought her to everyone's attention.
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