In an era when everyone is concerned about pollution and climate change, there are only a handful amongst us who have actually dedicated their lives for a better environment. When a question is posed to any one of us, how many trees have you planted? The answer would normally be like one, five or ten maximum. Well our inspiration today is a person who is said to have planted over 10 million !!
Daripalli Ramaiah is an extraordinary story of an ordinary man's love of nature. So much so that he is also known as Chettla (trees) Ramaiah and also Vanajeevi (forest being) Ramaiah. Ramaiah is a social worker who has dedicated his life to social forestry initiatives and is on a mission to plant trees and bring back green cover to mother earth. Whenever he sees any barren spot, Ramaiah instinctively pulls out a seed from his pocket and plants it into the soil. It is estimated that he must have planted over a crore of trees over the last six decades in his mission.
Ramaiah was born in 1937 in a small village in Khammam district in Telangana (erstwhile Hyderabad State). Ramaiah has studied till 10th standard but since childhood was attracted to nature. Ramaiah cannot recall when he actually started planting trees but as a child he remembers his mother collecting and saving seeds for the next season's harvest. His mother was his first teacher. Ramaiah was fascinated with this idea and developed the love for collecting seeds for different trees and plants and planting them. Since his childhood, he collected seeds of native trees like Sandalwood, Peepal, Wood apple or Bael, Teak, Neem, Sacred Fig and many more. Slowly his love for trees became a mission and he set out to cover every barren land with trees. Such was his love that he even sold his about 3 acres of his land to buy seeds and saplings. Paddling on cycle, holding handle on one hand and spreading seeds on the road with other hand is what he has done for many years since the start of his journey for greening.
"Of all the species that consider the Earth as their home, the most exalted is the human being. He supposedly has intellect, can think, can do and can get things done. Nature has bestowed her choicest blessings on this form of life. Therefore, we have a duty towards nature. Protect the nature; protect everything created by God, for the posterity", believes Daripalli Ramaiah.
His modus operandi is simple. Everyday he starts off with a bicycle overload of seeds and saplings, travelling miles looking for land / place to plant them. Sometimes he is even accompanied by his wife and/or children from local schools in this mission. He recognises the need to plant trees to save environment and is desparate to do so. But th mission for having green cover does not end with planting seeds for Ramaiah, he also makes sure that they survive and grow big. He equates plants with children and professes that they both need care and protection in their initial years till they grow big to take care of you. In his journey, his wife also played a very important role. She stood by his side through thick and thin and helped him in fulfilling his passion.
Though educated only till 10th, his knowledge and awareness of trees and their habitat is astonishing. He has read countless books, borrowed or purchased from many second hand shops or raddi, on trees and on different ways for planting them. It would be only appropriate to acknowledge him as a walking encyclopedia on trees. His understanding and love for the mission can be gauged from his own words “seed is the secret of evolution. God has given life to it and it proves to the world its existence by giving birth to a plant when wedded to soil, during monsoon. The plant then withstands several onslaughts by the humans around her, finally to grow into a mighty tree and save the same people who tormented her. Not satisfied with just her own survival, she strews seeds on the ground to create the future generation and continue with her good work.”Even today, Ramaiah adorns himself with crowns and scarfs with slogans written on them and parades his area on his cycle like an emperor, spreading the message of nature. Those who mocked him as mentally unstable, today respect him for his work.
So what does he get in return? One may ask. But Ramaiah is beyond materialistic considerations. For him the sense of contentment, satisfaction and peace is what he considers as his rewards. Seeing his millions of saplings grow, take deep roots to stand erect as huge and mighty trees, is a happiness one can only understand if one plants a tree. “There is no proxy when it comes to praying to a God or planting a tree. You should do it all by yourself to get the benefit,” he adds. His relatives often advised him to cut some of the commercially valuable trees in market and make some money. Needless to say, Ramaiah did not give it even a second thought. “I do not believe in people who cut trees but prostrate before a stone. For me, Nature is God and God is Nature.” is his belief.
Ramaiah was forested large parcels of land extending kilometers on road sides, banks of rivers and canals in addition to planting trees in local schools, campus premises and so on. As a mission, he gets any dignatory / guest visiting his district to plant trees and spread the message. As social worker, he also uses his trees and walls of village homes to carry slogans and messages for saving environment and the need for trees. Further more, he event collects waste materials like plastic, metal wastes, etc. thrown around his trees and approriately disposes them off. His main slogan is “Vrikshio Rakshati Rakshitah”, which means if you save the trees, they will save you. Ramaiah also has a nursery in which he collects seeds every season and raises saplings of valuable trees which he distributes to anyone who asks for it, for whatever price they are ready to pay. Though he has received many awards and recognitions, including a Padma Shri in 2017 and a honorary doctorate by the Academy of Universal Global Peace for his astonishing work, he still continues to be very humble.
His green philosophy can be understood from his own words where he says, “instead of giving a fruit to a child, give them a plant. Let them nurture the plant into a tree and enjoy its fruits forever. This way, they learn to love nature. Today children are tomorrow’s citizens. Similarly, today’s plants are tomorrow’s trees.” The couple also made it a habit to gift saplings as gifts in marraige.
There are many who have done their job with passion and have reaped many rewards for same. But Ramaiah chose his passion without any consideration or reward. He is a great model of humility, love and devotion to work and a great model for humanity. Ramaiah has taught us that one does not need money to do good for society but only needs love and passion to do so. We salute Ramaiah and wish we all too develop empathy for nature and take actions to protect and nuture it.
The government of Andhra Pradesh gave him special recognition for his relentless drive and contribution towards the country. After the formation of Telangana, he continued to receive support from the Chief Minister Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao's flagship programmes such as Telangana Ku Haritha Hāram (Green Garland). The objective of Haritha Hāram scheme is to increase the green cover from present 24% to 33% of the total geographical area of the state.
