COIMBATORE: Bharathiyar’s ‘kuyil paatu’ might still resonate in every Tamilian’s heart, but groves like the ‘kuyil thoppu’ from where he penned the song over a century ago have faded into the repository of things long past. For this same reason, recent reports of the Bharathiar University (BU) in Coimbatore signing a deal to recreate a ‘kuyil thoppu’ on the university premises were welcomed by one and all. But, there’s more to it. The person who has been entrusted with this onerous task is a riveting story himself. Many of us might have seen him or bought tickets from him on TNSTC buses.
M Yoganathan is now over 50 years old and has been planting tree saplings for the past 36 years. Half of the salary earned from his job as a bus conductor goes into plantation works. He has already planted more than 5.5 saplings over the decades and the man cheerfully says that over 3.5 lakh of them have grown to become natural abodes and fruit-bearers.
He also runs a plant nursery at Kaduvettipalayam on the city outskirts. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauding Yoganathan’s efforts during the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ radio address on March 30 this year, the man has become a star among his TNSTC colleagues.
“Apart from planting trees and gifting saplings to all, I train students on how to find suitable places for planting, digging varying sizes of pits for sapling varieties, and what organic manure to use when. Pungan trees should be planted along playgrounds so that children have shade to play under and an abundance of oxygen. Likewise, neem trees can tackle hot temperatures, and Ashoka trees can filter dust and even sound pollution to some extent,” says Yoganathan.
The environmentalist in Yoganathan was born in 1986, after getting deeply disturbed over the indiscriminate axing of trees at Kotagiri in The Nilgiris for establishing tea estates. Over the decades, the man has inspired many and planted lakhs of saplings at over 9,000 schools, colleges, universities and other lands.
“I have never taken money from anyone for this. Yes, it’s true that with my income it is hard to do so much and at the same time take care of my family. Actually, my eldest daughter Monisha works at a nationalised bank branch and she sometimes helps me financially. As for the moral support, my wife and younger daughter couldn’t have been dishing out more,” he gleams with pride.
The laurels that have come Yoganathan’s way over the years include the Eco Award from the President of India and the Sutru Suzhal Sevai Veerar Award from the State government. Recently, the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) entrusted Yoganathan to plant 75 tree varieties on the campus to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Independence.
However, recreating the ‘kuyil thoppu’ at BU is now his dream project. Around 2,000 saplings of native rare and fruit-bearing trees will be planted here. Finally, the cuckoo from ‘kuyil paatu’ can resume singing its love for the monkey.