She regarded plants as living organisms, treating them with respect and love. That is why, Tulsi Gowda exemplified how traditional ecological practices could be applied to address major, contemporary, challenges
By Megha Bajaj
The sudden demise of the legendary tree planter and India’s pride has created a certain sadness across the country, as Tulsi Gowda bid farewell to this world at the age of 86 in Honnali village, Karnataka, due to age-related illness.
Padma Shri awardee, Gowda, an environmental icon, was called the ‘Encyclopedia of Forests’ and revered as a ‘Tree Goddess’ by the Halakki tribal community, to which she belonged. She will continue to serve as an inspiration for future generations in the preservation of nature.
Gowda devoted her life to nurturing nature, planting trees and preserving ecology, including her own habitat. Over the course of her six-decade career in grassroots environmentalism, she planted more than 100,000 trees, revitalizing vast areas of degraded land in Karnataka.
Born in 1944, Gowda came from a humble background, where traditions are deeply rooted in local ecology and matriarchy. This influenced her mindset. Despite a challenging and difficult childhood—losing her father at the age of two — and having no formal education, she started showing great interest in botany and indigenous bio-diversity.
Life was hard. She worked as a labourer alongside her mother at a local nursery. She was married off even before she could reach her teens. Nevertheless, she spearheaded an alternative, pro-ecology, ‘Green Revolution’ in her village and neighbourhood, and, later, across the state, with an unwavering spirit. Her commitment to the preservaton of nature was unsurpassed.
She earned the title Tree Goddess or ‘Vruksha Maate’ due to her immense knowledge of plants, flora and fauna, herbs and wildlife, which included the ability to identify mother trees of various species based on their age, size, and the interconnected underground network of nodes that transfer life-sustaining nutrients to saplings. This unique expertise, inherited from her childhood knowledge-systems, while living with her indigenous community, set her apart in the field of bio-diversity and earned her widespread recognition.
She worked at the nurseries of the forest department in Uttara Kannada district, particularly at the Mastikatti range in Ankola taluka. At the age of 35, she became a permanent staff member of the Karnataka Forest Department, where she was recognized and respected as a remarkable figure in afforestation efforts.
Her proficiency in gathering and extracting seeds from mother trees enabled her to regenerate a wide variety of plants and trees in the forests. Her resilience and enduring efforts in afforestation contributed to the enhancement of ecosystems and the strengthening of community reserves, forest resources, tiger reserves and wildlife sanctuaries.
Her lifelong dedication to environmental conservation played a pivotal role in preventing forest wildfires, thereby, curbing illegal poaching and restoring wildlife habitats. She combined traditional knowledge with modern conservation practices, inspiring the department to implement sustainable strategies that have been beneficial for both nature and humanity. Her relentless efforts and hard work in conservation also provided a livelihood to rural and tribal communities.
She regarded plants as living organisms, treating them with respect and love. That is why, Tulsi Gowda exemplified how traditional ecological practices could be applied to address major, contemporary, challenges.
Predictably, her work garnered national and international recognition in 2021 when she was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honors. She was photographed barefoot, wearing a simple saree, while receiving the award at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi. Her presence, thus, symbolized her life-long commitment to grassroots environmentalism.
Her simplicity at the Padma award function, attended by dignitaries, captured widespread attention on the internet, and in the media, including in her own state and village. Gowda receiving the award barefoot at the Durbar Hall prompted heartwarming reactions from social media users, who applauded her modesty and referred to her as the nation’s ‘barefoot wonder woman’.
She has received an honorary doctorate from Dharwad Agricultural University for her significant contributions to environmental preservation. She has been a recipient of the prestigious Indira Priyadarshini Vriksha Mitra Award, along with numerous other accolades.
In a country where ecology is constantly under attack by massive developmental projects, and corporate greed, her profound knowledge of plants and biodiversity, her rooted relations with indigenous communities, her understanding of community needs, and her commitment to sustainability, will continue to inspire present and future generations to preserve and nurture nature.
Undoubtedly, in her passing away, the nation, has lost an inspirational icon, and a woman of substance.