Meet the tree goddess of Karnataka who spent a lifetime shielding a 4.5 km highway with banyans

Every day, thousands of travellers journeying along the Hulikal to Kudur stretch in Karnataka, India, find themselves driving beneath a magnificent canopy of banyan trees. It is a striking green corridor that offers a cool, welcoming sanctuary from the otherwise harsh Indian sun.

However, very few of those passing through realise that this sprawling paradise of shade owes its entire existence to the determination of just one remarkable woman. Long before environmental activism and climate campaigns became mainstream, Saalumarada Thimmakka was busy transforming her local landscape with her bare hands.

Fondly known across the nation as 'Vruksha Mathe'—or the Tree Goddess—Thimmakka’s story is a moving testament to how personal grief can be channelled into a legacy of environmental conservation.

Grief turned into growth

Born into extreme poverty in 1911 within the Tumakuru district, Thimmakka never had the opportunity to receive a formal education. Instead, her early life was defined by gruelling manual labour in local quarries. She later married Chikkayya, a fellow labourer, and though they shared a deep, harmonious bond with the natural world around them, they faced the immense personal sorrow of being unable to conceive children.

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In a society where childlessness often brought social stigma, the couple made a beautiful, defining choice. Rather than allowing heartbreak to dictate their lives, they decided to adopt the earth, nurturing trees as if they were their own flesh and blood.

Engineering a green masterpiece from nothing

The transformation began in earnest during the 1950s. At the time, the local highway was a stark, dusty, and completely barren stretch of road, baked relentlessly by the summer heat. With absolutely no government funding, no modern machinery, and no external support, Thimmakka and her husband set to work using whatever modest resources they could scrape together.

They began by planting hardy banyan saplings along the roadside, choosing the species for its sprawling canopy and historical significance. To keep the young plants alive, the couple would walk long distances to fetch water from faraway wells, carrying the heavy earthenware pots back to the highway day after day in the scorching heat.

Protecting the vulnerable guardians

Planting the saplings was only half the battle. In a rural landscape, grazing cattle and goats posed a constant threat to the tender young shoots. To counter this, Thimmakka and her husband carefully constructed thorny fences around each tree, monitoring them constantly.

What began as a handful of saplings quickly blossomed into an extraordinary, decades-long mission. Along that single 4.5-kilometre stretch of highway, the couple successfully raised around 385 majestic banyan trees. Even after the tragic passing of her husband, Thimmakka refused to let their shared dream wither, continuing the gruelling upkeep entirely on her own.

A quiet crusade achieves national recognition

For the vast majority of her life, Thimmakka’s incredible crusade went entirely unnoticed by the wider world. She did not plant for praise, nor did she expect financial reward; she did it purely out of an innate duty to the earth.

Eventually, she expanded her efforts far beyond the highway, planting and overseeing nearly 8,000 trees across various villages in Karnataka over the course of her incredibly long life.

As the saplings matured into giant, ancient guardians of the road, the local community began to marvel at her achievement, rightfully bestowing upon her the title of 'Mother of Trees'. Her quiet impact eventually reverberated far beyond her home state, capturing the attention of national leaders.

From the roadside to the presidential palace

In 2019, her immense contribution to grassroots conservation was officially recognised at the highest level when she was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India’s most prestigious civilian honours. The image of a tiny, sari-clad centenarian walking barefoot into the presidential palace to receive her award touched hearts globally.

Her inspiring journey also captured international attention, earning her a spot on the BBC’s list of the world's most influential and inspirational women.

Despite the late-life fame and the flurry of dignitaries wishing to meet her, she remained fiercely humble, always redirecting the conversation back to the urgent need for everyday people to plant and protect nature.

An enduring legacy of hope

Saalumarada Thimmakka passed away on 14 November 2025 at the incredible age of 114, but her spirit remains vibrantly alive in every rustling leaf of the canopy she created. In an era dominated by anxieties over deforestation, rising global temperatures, and political gridlocks surrounding climate change, her life offers a simple, powerful antidote.

She proved that monumental environmental change does not always require massive corporate budgets or sweeping institutional policies. Sometimes, it simply requires the patience, compassion, and dedication of a single individual willing to plant a seed and care for it.

Today, the towering banyans of Karnataka stand as a living monument to human kindness and an enduring symbol of hope for future generations.