V Thayammal (75), upon retirement, wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her life amidst the lush vibrancy of trees.
Amidst heavily publicised plantation drives and green revolution projects, here is one woman quietly contributing to the expansion of green cover in her village. In the confines of Pongalur, this former government-aided school teacher has dedicated her verdant eight-and-a-half acre to hundreds of trees. The moniker Marangalin Thayar (Mother of Trees) is not without cause, you find.
V Thayammal (75), upon retirement, wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her life amidst the lush vibrancy of trees. Even before it was time for retirement, she broke her savings (against everyone’s well-intentioned advice to the contrary) to purchase this piece of land and begin the arduous process of cultivation. Now, after years of patience and toil, her land now boasts a huge collection of coconut, forest neem, perumaram, tamarind, marudhamaram, white apple, aathi maram, pomegranate and lemon trees, besides maize, onion, pavazhamalligai and a few medicinal plants.
Residing in Solipalayam, she now frequently visits her land to check on her trees. This is the one thing that brings her peace amidst a fast-moving life, she says. Thayammal recalls how all her colleagues had advised against investing money on agricultural land. However, it was the support of her husband Narayanasamy (now deceased) that helped her stick to the plan and fulfil her dream, she explains. The coconut trees (numbering at 310) along bringing her an income of Rs 6 lakh per annum through the sale of the fruits.
The villagers who once told her it was a bad idea would now be eating their words, she remarks. However, it has not been all smooth sailing to develop the land and make it profitable. She first had to equip herself with information on growing and nurturing trees. She talks about how she went through every book on trees she could find in her school library. When the district witnessed unprecedented drought a couple of years ago, the wells in her land too dried up.
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