50 years on, a man looks back at the hundreds of trees he planted for the one that was felled

V Karuppaiya doesn’t know how many saplings of trees he has planted so far because he has been doing it near his home in Kizhapuliyur village in the Perambalur district of Tamil Nadu for the last 50 years. Today, we see NGOs and environmental organisations conduct ‘plantation drives’ across the country to increase green cover and also to preserve nature from further deterioration and global warming. However, it is important to note that Karuppaiya started planting saplings more than 50 years ago, when there were no serious environmental concerns as of today.

Why did he plant saplings? There was a reason. A tree was cut when the committee members of a temple in Kizhapuliyur wanted to make a wooden chariot to be used for procession and other offerings as part of the temple festival. Karuppaiya was the manager of the temple, but he had to go with the decision of the majority. The tree felling disappointed him and he decided to plant a sampling on the spot from where the tree was cut. And that’s how it all began. The journey that Karuppaiya started 50 years ago is still on. The saplings of trees that Karuppaiya planted have grown. There are more than 100 of them in and around his village. “I don’t know much about environmental issues, I am concerned about birds who can use these trees as their shelter. They also provide us shade from the sun,” says the 78-year-old.

Many environmentalists in the locality say Karuppaiya is a one-man-army. Once a sapling is planted, he takes care of it regularly. “I don’t want any recognition or publicity. I love trees, and I know that trees play an important role in our day-to-day life,” says Karuppaiya, standing beneath a banyan tree that he planted four decades ago near the Pachaiamman temple in Kizhapuliyur village.

As a devotee of the 19th century Tamil saint-poet Ramalinga Adigal, Karuppaiya has been doing this service since a long time without expecting anything from anyone. “He would spend money from his pocket for the initial expenses and the rest of the work such as watering and care that he did himself. He is teaching us a lesson on how to preserve nature at a time when we are all facing issues due to climate change. Karuppaiya is doing a great service to his native village,” says Ramesh K, a Perambalur-based environmentalist, who is pursuing his research studies at Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, West Bengal. “The place has to be developed as a biodiversity hotspot in Perambalur. The government should come forward and encourage people like him,” he added.

Karuppaiya’s wife who his active supporter of him died nine years ago, and today, he is not able to plant saplings because of age-related illness. However, he takes a walk every week to see the trees that he once planted in and around the village. “I don’t plant any new saplings of trees these days, mainly because I am not physically strong enough to take care of them. I am happy to see many saplings of trees that I planted decades ago are giving shade and shelter to birds and other creatures,” says Karuppaiya.

As a manager of the Pachaiamman temple, Karuppaiya is not aware of the environmental issues such as climate change and global warming that we face today. He is rather not familiar with urbanisation as well. But he knows one thing that today people don’t have great regards for trees. “My parents had great regards for trees. Everybody loved trees those days, not only my parents. They were aware of the role that a tree played in their day-to-day life. We lack that traditional knowledge and wisdom today,” he says.

When Karuppaiya walks from the shade of one tree to the other, he reminds us of one thing: how to preserve the green cover for a better tomorrow. Even though there are many plantation drives that take place every other day, only a few materialise. “Once planted, a sapling needs proper care. We see many organisations conduct plantation drives and forget the initiative. Karuppaiya is different. He is least bothered about publicity. He is doing it because he loves trees. He is a role model for us today,” S K Subramaniam, a retired teacher and tree-lover based in Trichy.

Even though the 28-acre premises where the Pachaiamman temple in Kizhapuliyur village is situated is the main area where Karuppaiya mostly focused on. “Three decades ago, the area didn’t have the green cover that it is having today. It has trees like banyan, neem, tamarind and peepal. We were not aware of what Karuppaiya was doing. It was only a decade ago that we literally got to know about the role played by him. He was silently doing it, without taking any claims. And that’s the greatness of Karuppaiya,” says S Selvarajan, a long-time devotee of the temple.

Kizhapuliyur is a remote village, and it will be active only during the annual festival at the temple. Once the rush is over, Karuppaiya will be left alone. However, he doesn’t feel lonely. “I have my trees for my company. There are others. Birds, monkeys, squirrels etc. I am happy for its (the village’s) remoteness. Let it be like this forever so that no 'outsider' will come and disturb the trees,” he says.