Saalumarada Thimmakka: The Mother of Trees

Saalumarada Thimmakka: The Mother of Trees

On June 5th, we commemorate World Environment Day, and the environment provides all of us with a pleasant and tranquil outlook, as well as the best medicine for stress reduction. Everyone adores nature, and living creatures are nothing without it. When we think of nature, we instantly think of Saalumarada Thimmakaa, the “Mother of Trees.”

Saalumarada Thimmakaa’s History & 8,000 Trees Planted:

The 108-year-old Padma Shri Awardee Saalumarada Thimmakaa is known as the “Mother of Trees” or an incarnation of Mother Nature herself. Saalumarada Thimmakka is a Karnataka-based horticulturist and environmentalist. She is known for planting and caring for around 400 banyan trees near her home on a 45-kilometer stretch of highway connecting Hulikal and Kudur. She has also cultivated over 8,000 additional trees with the help of her husband. She married her late spouse Bikkala Chikkaiah when she was 12 years old, but the pair was unable to produce children. Chikkaiah accompanied her on her tour, but, as is the character of our culture, Thimmakka received a barrage of criticism and condemnation. People began to suggest prayers and rituals to help her become pregnant.

Trees are Treated as Children by Saalumarada Thimmakaa:

Thimmakka and Chikkaiah planted banyan trees as part of one of those rites, and it is reported that she began planting them in place of children. Thimakka would plant the saplings along the way as Chikkaiah dug the pit. But what began as a ritual turned into a source of solace for her, launching her career as an environmentalist.

Saalumarada Thimmakaa Achievements :

President Ram Nath Kovind bestowed the fourth highest civilian honour in the country, the Padma Shri, on Saalumarada Thimmakka in 2019. She was named one of the 100 most important and inspirational women in the BBC’s year edition in 2016. The ‘Mother of Trees’ has a long list of awards. In 1995, she received the National Citizen’s Award, and in 1997, she received the Veerachakra Prashasthi Award. Among many others, she received an Honor Certificate from the Karnataka Government’s Women and Child Welfare Department. Thimmakka’s devotion and dedication to planting trees and caring for them is what has brought her to everyone’s attention.

Saalumarada Thimmakaa wish :-

She says that trees are my children First there were 10 trees and then 20 and then 25 and over time I stopped counting and just carried for them now they stand huge and strong. People need shade, birds need fruits. And finally, she wishes that everyone should co-exist and make our environment healthy.