KOCHI: Fifteen years ago, yoga practitioner S Ayyappan wanted to do something different for his son's first birthday. "That's when I decided to plant saplings," he says. Not just one, he ended up planting six saplings then. It gave him a sense of fulfilment. Soon, the act of planting saplings became a tradition for the Tripunithura native's family. On Tuesday, municipal chairperson Chandrika Devi inaugurated Ayyappan and his family's initiative to plant 1,001 saplings in different public places across Tripunithura, by planting saplings at the Government Boys' High School.
Since the past 15 years, Ayyappan has planted 5,000 saplings. "After my son's birthday, everyone in my family began celebrating his or her birthday or other special occasions by planting saplings. We have planted so many that there is no more space in our compound," he says. Thus began his efforts to plant saplings in public spaces such as schools, old age homes and religious institutions. "After the saplings are planted, I make sure the caretakers take care of them," he says.
After his initiative in Tripunithura, the number of saplings he planted would cross 6,000. Ayyappan, who has been teaching yoga for the past 25 years, says many still don't know the importance of trees in their compounds. "In Vriksha Ayurveda, it is said a tree is equal to having ten sons. You don't need to pay for the oxygen you get from trees. Currently, people complain about the weather and how hot it is. The long-term solution is to plant more trees," he says.
His efforts had almost got him in trouble with the law. "In 2016, I was travelling to the US for a yoga class. I wanted to plant a sapling on American soil and took a sapling with me not knowing that it is not allowed. I was stopped and the sapling was confiscated by the security," says Ayyappan. Fortunately, he was not detained. On reaching the US, he was able to buy a sapling from the local nursery and planted it there.
Green efforts