KOTTAYAM: In the midst of 35 acres of land, a large pond is the abode of more than 65 varieties of fish species. A few meters away, a temple pond proclaims the rich traditions of the past. Near to it, a 'sarppakavu' (a place considered as abode of snakes) reminds about traditional culture of conservation of biodiversity.
Surrounded by them, nearly four lakh trees and plants of 4800 species make the land a unique place, perhaps, in the world. This is Mango Meadows Agriculture Pleasure Land, a biodiversity park situated in Ayamkudi, a small hamlet in the paddy-rich Kallara grama panchayat of Kottayam district.
The rare repository of a wide variety of flora and fauna is the result of two decades-long hard work and dedication of a man, who loved Nature more than anything. Meet Nellikkuzhi Kuriakkose Kurian aka NK Kurian, who dedicated his life to the conservation of nature.
Except for a few nature lovers and social media persons, NK Kurian, a native of Kallara, is not a familiar name.
The 51-year-old civil engineer carved out a niche in history by developing a bio-diversity park having 700 varieties of trees, 85 varieties of vegetables, 145 fruit trees along with fish, cattle, canines, goats, rabbits, and ducks in just 35 acres of land.
However, the road to the park was never a cakewalk for Kurian, who spent nearly 15 years in Saudi
Arabia and UAE as an employee and a businessman. It was in 1995 that Kurian, who can be termed as an earlier form of 'Cuba Mukundan' of Malayalam movie 'Arabikkatha', was sent to Saudi Arabia by his parents and party workers.
After three years of tiring jobs in Saudi, Kurian shifted to Dubai and found a better job in the field of aluminum fabrication works. His hard work and a boom in the construction field of Dubai in early 2000’s helped Kurian in finding a handsome remuneration.
He soon started his company and increased his revenue. Even then, his thoughts hung on to his native village and he bought a few acres of land having a pond in the middle in Ayamkudy in 2002. In the middle of his 30's, he relinquished his business in UAE worth millions of rupees and deposited his entire earnings in preserving nature and biodiversity by developing an agriculture park.
He traveled across the country and even abroad to collect various plants and seeds. With his concentrated efforts and hard work, he widened the area of the land and developed an unparagoned land of biodiversity soon.
For nature lovers, it is nothing but a wonder, as a vast variety of floras, right from 'Kattupoovarasu' (Rhododendron arboreum), which grows in below five degree Celsius to Date Palm, usually flourishes in around 45 to 50 degree Celsius, are being developed in a single stretch of land having comparatively high atmospheric temperature.
"Before venturing into cultivation, I widened the pond to develop an ecosystem on its banks. Now, there are four ponds in the park, having an area of 50 sq. metres to 150 sq. meters and depth up to 2.5 meters. All four ponds are interconnected with tunnels through which fish can move to all the ponds. One of the
ponds is developed as a temple pond, which is deeper to ensure sufficient water for fish even at the peak of summer season," Kurian said.
The predominant idea behind the initiative was to retain the tradition and culture of Kerala for the next generations, for them places like sarpakavu would be a thing of the past.
"The sarpakavu is primarily considered as a virtue. However, many of them were destroyed over the years. Whatever is the belief or myth, Sarppakkavu consists of particular varieties of flora, which may not have any direct use for people. A kavu is developed to conserve such species from extinction," he said.
Apart from tradition and culture, the park is also an abode of several rare species of trees and plants like Maha Vilva (Aegle Marmelos), which is considered a sacred as well as medicinal plant, Ficus Alii, facing extinction, Mangrove Apple, one of the rarest species that bears edible fruits, Beggar's bowl or Calabash, which was abundant during the period of Sree Budha, Rudhraksha and so on.
Though he invested millions of rupees for developing the park, he kept it without any commercial purposes till 2018. Later, when financial difficulties started affecting him, Kurian opened it for the public in February 2018.