Saalumarada Thimmakka: The 113-Year-Old ‘Mother of Trees’ Who Nurtured a Forest

Saalumarada Thimmakka, who was suffering from the agony of not being able to conceive,  found her solace in nurturing the earth instead. At 113, Today, at 113 years old, she is celebrated as the ‘Mother of Trees,’ having planted and cared for over 8,000 trees across her lifetime, leaving an indelible mark on the environment over the past 80 years.

Hailing from Gubbi Taluk, Karnataka, the early life of Thimmakka was full of struggles. Deprived of an education since childhood, she worked as a labourer. She was married at 12 to Sri Bikkala Chikkaiah, and though the couple could not bear their own children, they tended to their love of nurturing in the soil. Their initiative started small, grafting and replanting native banyan saplings from Hulikal. The affection and this dedication earned Thimmakka the title ‘Saalumara,’ meaning ‘row of trees’ in Kannada.

The couple’s odyssey took root in 10 saplings planted along a 5-kilometer stretch, watered by the couple and guarded fiercely by thorny shrubs to protect them from grazing cattle. With each monsoon, they saw the light of new hope and soon their endeavours had taken shape under a sprawling cover. With very limited resources, Thimakka and her husband grew 384 banyan trees over a 45-kilometre stretch: this changed the terrain of an inhospitable place to one filled with lush greenery that has since become renowned.

Having lost her husband in 1991, Thimmakka carried on the work she had started with him motivated by nothing but love for nature. In 2019, she helped lead a campaign to stop a highway expansion that would have wiped out the trees she and her husband had planted seven decades before. For her yeoman service, she has received several awards and is also known as one of the Padma Shri in 2019 and recognition as one of the BBC’s 100 Women in 2016.

Saalumarada Thimmakka’s life is a testament to how one person can make a lasting impact on the planet. Her dedication proves that even the smallest efforts can create ripples of change, growing into a force for good over time. She continues to inspire generations to value and protect the environment, showing that true motherhood extends beyond human life to the care of the earth itself. Her story encourages us all to nurture the world around us for a better future.