why did thimmakka and bikkalu decide to rear 284 banyan trees ? how did the couple carry out their decision ? how did it affect their life ?
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A childless couple decides to adopt children. So what's new? Nothing, except that the 'children' they chose to rear were 284 banyan trees along a 3 km stretch of what is now National Highway 48 in Karnataka.It filled up a void in the lives of Thimmakka and her husband Bikkalu Chikkaiah of Hulikal village over the past 40 years. And just recently, brought the now-widowed lady to the capital to receive the National Citizens' Award (for social forestry) from the prime minister.
It was a Thimmakka tired of her neighbours' jibes - directed at her 'infertility' - who hit upon the plan in the 1950s. "Why not plant banyan trees and rear them like our children?" she thought. So the lonely Dalit couple planted 300 saplings, covering them with thorny bushes to guard against intruders, eventually transforming the once brown and dusty road into a riot of green.Now in the prime of their lives, the 284 that took root "provide a green canopy for 3 km, nests for birds and prevent soil erosion", says Bangalore Circle Conservator of Forests, N. Chandrasekhara Murthy. They are also worth an estimated Rs 85 crore, if anyone's interested in market prices. Thimmakka isn't. Nor was her husband.Two decades ago, when the Forest Department took over the trees, the couple continued to protect them from axe-wielding villagers and tree-climbing children. Now in her twilight years, Thimmakka spends her days in the company of her 'children'. "My greatest satisfaction," she says softly, "is seeing them grow."
It was a Thimmakka tired of her neighbours' jibes - directed at her 'infertility' - who hit upon the plan in the 1950s. "Why not plant banyan trees and rear them like our children?" she thought. So the lonely Dalit couple planted 300 saplings, covering them with thorny bushes to guard against intruders, eventually transforming the once brown and dusty road into a riot of green.Now in the prime of their lives, the 284 that took root "provide a green canopy for 3 km, nests for birds and prevent soil erosion", says Bangalore Circle Conservator of Forests, N. Chandrasekhara Murthy. They are also worth an estimated Rs 85 crore, if anyone's interested in market prices. Thimmakka isn't. Nor was her husband.Two decades ago, when the Forest Department took over the trees, the couple continued to protect them from axe-wielding villagers and tree-climbing children. Now in her twilight years, Thimmakka spends her days in the company of her 'children'. "My greatest satisfaction," she says softly, "is seeing them grow."
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