Woman 4 - saalumarada Thimmakka Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon

At the age of hundred and seven,
She is still a power house of energy,
An amazing woman of courage and determination,
An inspiring environmentalist for all generations.

Saalumarada Thimmakka, a self-taught woman,
Hailing from Gubbi, Tumkur district in Karnataka.
Married Bikkala Chikkayya, at an early age.
The couple had no children for long,
But then, they adopted a boy named Umesh.
At fifty years, generally people begin to retire from life,
But Thimmakka and her husband Chikkayya were spirited,
They picked up the threads of their life with fresh fortitude.

The sprightly, energetic couple began to plant trees.
They planted little saplings of Banyan on either side of road,
On a four kilometre stretch from Hulikal to Kudur,
In the southern Indian state of Karnataka.
They planted three hundred and eighty five Banyan trees.
Besides, eight hundred trees of various other kinds as well.
These trees became their doting children.
Every day, they walked miles carrying buckets of water,
Nurturing, guarding and watering them,
With such love and care.

Today, after over fifty years, the trees stand tall with pride,
Green, majestic, benevolent, magnificent canopy of trees,
An astonishing shade for the whole humanity,
A humanitarian contribution par excellence!

When Thimmakka turned hundred years old,
It was a big celebration for the whole village!
But for this dedicated woman, it was no resting on her laurels,
Once again, she began her relentless toil
With super commitment and zeal,
To get up at 3 am and reach her farm before others,
To cultivate, harvest and sell her produce,
To teach the new generation the power of perseverance and persistence,
To give her whole and soul to the cause of environment and mother earth,
To live an admirable life of great glory and honour!