Saalumarada Thimmakka
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Saalumarada Thimmakka, also known as Aala Marada Thimmakka, is an Indian
environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...
from the
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
of
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
, noted for her work in planting and tending to 385
banyan A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...
trees along a forty-five-kilometre stretch of highway between
Hulikal Hulikal is a village located in the Hosanagara taluk of the Shimoga district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is known for its heavy rainfall. The Hulikal village lies in western ghat ( Paschima ghatta in Kannada ) region of Karnataka stat ...
and Kudur. She has also planted nearly 8000 other trees. With the support of her husband, she found solace in planting trees. She received no formal education and worked as a casual labourer in a nearby quarry.A biography of Thimmakka is provided by Her work has been honoured with the National Citizen's Award of India. Her work was recognised by the Government of India and she was conferred with Padma Shri in 2019. A U.S. environmental organisation based in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
and Oakland,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
called ''Thimmakka's Resources for Environmental Education'' is named after her.
Central University of Karnataka The Central University of Karnataka, chiefly as, CUK, is a central university situated in the Kadaganchi village in Aland taluka of Kalaburagi district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It has been established by an Act of the Parliament of ...
has announced an honorary doctorate for Thimmakka in the year 2020.


Early life

Thimmakka was born in Gubbi Taluk, Tumukuru District in Karnataka. She was married to Chikkaiah, a native of Hulikal village in the
Magadi Magadi is a Taluk headquarters located in Ramanagara district. The town is situated at a distance of 51 km from Bangalore. The founder of Bangalore, the great Kempegowda was a native of Kempapura, Magadi taluk. Magadi, having a rich cultur ...
taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...
of
Ramanagara Ramanagara is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is also the headquarters of Ramanagara district. It is approximately 50 kilometres from Bangalore. There are buses and trains as public transportations which approximately takes 90 minute ...
district in
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
. She received no formal education and worked as a casual labourer in a nearby quarry. The couple could not have children but, they had adopted a son named Surya Prakash. It is said that Thimmakka started to plant banyan trees in lieu of children.Thimmakka started to plant banyan trees to overcome the grief of being childless: The name word ''Saalumarada'' (''row of trees'' in the
Kannada language Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native ...
) is how she is referred to because of her work.


Achievement

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extendi ...
(banyan) trees were aplenty near Thimmakka's village. Thimakka and her husband started grafting saplings from these trees. Ten saplings were grafted in the first year and they were planted along a distance of 5 km near the neighbouring village of Kudur. 15 saplings were planted in the second year and 20 in the third year.Planting of tree by Thimmakka and the Chikkaiah is mentioned by She used her meager resources for planting these trees. The couple used to carry four pails of water for a distance of four kilometres to water the saplings. They were also protected from grazing cattle by fencing them with thorny shrubs. The saplings were planted mostly during
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...
season so that sufficient rainwater would be available for them to grow. By the onset of the next monsoons, the saplings had invariably taken root. In total, 384 trees were planted, and their asset value has been assessed at around 1.5 million
rupees Rupee is the common name for the currencies of India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, and Sri Lanka, and of former currencies of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (as the Gulf rupee), British East Africa, B ...
. The management of these trees have now been taken over by the
Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appointed ...
. The 385 banyan trees planted and nurtured by her came under threat of being chopped down for the widening of Bagepalli-Halaguru road in 2019. Thimmakka requested the
Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...
HD Kumaraswamy and
Deputy Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...
G Parameshwara to reconsider the project. As a result, the government decided to look for alternatives to save the 70 years old trees.


Awards

For her achievement, Thimmakka has been conferred with the following awards and citations: *
Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...
award - 2019 * Nadoja Award By Hampi University- 2010 * National Citizen's award - 1995 *
Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Awards Indira Priyadarshini Vriksha Mitra Awards or IPVM Awards are given by Ministry of Environment and Forests of Government of India to individuals and institutions who have done pioneering and exemplary work in the field of afforestation and wastelan ...
- 1997 * Veerachakra Prashasthi Award - 1997 * Honour Certificate from the Women and Child Welfare Department,
Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appointed ...
* Certificate of Appreciation from the Indian Institute of Wood Science and Technology,
Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...
. * Karnataka Kalpavalli Award - 2000 * Godfrey Phillips Bravery Award - 2006. * Vishalakshi Award by Art of Living Organisation * Vishwathma Award b
Hoovinahole
Foundation -2015 * One of BBC's 100 Women in 2016 * Honoured with She's Divine Award by I and You Being Together Foundation 2017 * Parisara Rathana award * Green champion award * Vrikshamatha award


Current activity

Thimmakka's husband died in 1991. Today, Thimmakka is invited to many afforestation programs in India. She has also been involved in other social activity like constructing a tank to store rainwater for the annual fair held in her village. She also has a dream of constructing a hospital in her village in remembrance of her husband and a trust has been set up for this purpose. In 1999, a documentary titled ''Thimmakka Mathu 284 Makkalu'' was made on her work and it featured in the 2000 International Film Festival of India. She underwent a hip surgery in December 2020 and was announced to be successful.


BBC recognition

In 2016, Saalumarada Thimmakka was listed by British Broadcasting Corporation as one of the most influential and inspirational women of the world.


Alleged misuse of name

Delhi settled comedian, Vasu Ritu Primlani has been accused by Thimmakka of misusing her name. Ms. Thimmakka had filed a private complaint before the Ramanagara Judicial Magistrate First Class (JFMC) court on 9 May against a non-resident Indian, Ritu Primlani, for running the organisation named after her for at least 14 years without her consent or knowledge. In 2014, the High Court of Karnataka adjudicated in Ms Primlani's favour, stating that 'if all the charges against Ms Primlani were true, they still won't amount to a crime', and that this prosecution. See State of Karnataka Vs. Ritu Primlani. Ms Thimmakka had, in fact, met Ms Primlani in 2003, when Ms Primlani had made the effort to visit her, and Ms Thimmakka had stated she was 'delighted' that Ms Primlani had named an organisation after her to honour her. Primlani had started the non-profit organisation more than a decade prior to the allegations. Thimmakka's adopted son, Umesh has claimed that the organisation misuses her name to collect donations. Ms Primlani had visited Thimmakka back in 2003 where photos were taken of her gifting Thimmakka with a saree. Now she is said to have allegedly taken Thimmakka's fingerprints, while she says Thimmakka okayed the non-profit back than in front of a judge. Following the complaint, a policeman arrived at Alliance Francaise and Jagriti in Bangalore, venues where Ms Primlani was performing her shows, to take her into custody. Ms Primlani claims that she was taken into custody by a male policeman, after dark, which is against the law. She says that a dozen policemen had arrived at the venue though they did not disrupt her show. She claims to be harassed by Thimmakka's lawyers with written threats, which is an indication of extortion. Though Thimmakka herself was mostly available for comment, she mentioned her meagre pension of Rs. 400 and has been quoted "What if there is a misuse and my name is tarnished?". Thimmakka has been of ill health lately and the treatment has taken a toll on her financial situation.


Gallery

File:Saalumarada Thimmakka attending a Private function.jpg, Saalumarada Thimmakka attending a Kalyanotsava File:Visti App launch.jpg, While launching an App


References


External links


Thimmakka and Chikkanna were mocked - now their 300 trees serve and smile back

image of Saalumarada Thimmakka on qph.is.quoracdn.net

Saalumarada Thimmakka International Foundation.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thimmakka Indian environmentalists People from Bangalore Living people 1910s births People from Belagavi district Indian women environmentalists Women from Karnataka Activists from Karnataka 20th-century Indian women 20th-century Indian people People from Ramanagara district BBC 100 Women Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work Indian centenarians