VILLUPURAM: A sudden dip in temperature hits you as you enter Aranya Forest and Sanctuary. The cool breeze blows on an otherwise hot sultry day. The forest offers an escape route for many from hurly-burly of the city life. Nestled in Poothurai village which borders Puducherry, the forest plays a key role in maintaining biodiversity. Guiding us on a tour is the 54-year-old D Saravanan. Aranya is his life’s work.
A native of Valaiyampattu village in Tiruvannamalai district, Saravanan began nurturing the forest in 1994. “I always took a special interest in plants and animals since childhood. I didn’t pursue higher education after Class 12 and instead focused on ecology. Later, however, I got a degree in Sociology. A few friends joined me to form the Eastern Ghats Mountain Resources Conservation Association,” recalls Saravanan.
In the early 80s, they started a movement to safeguard the Western Ghats. “We walked from Kanyakumari to Goa following the Western Ghats route over 100 days, meeting villagers and raised awareness regarding the Ghats.”
Soon, their effort paid off and the Union government announced a portion of the Western Ghats as protected area. “But we still demand that the whole Western Ghats be declared as a protected area as it plays a major role in maintaining the ecology of South Asia,” Saravanan adds.
When Auroville Township was being developed in the mid ’80s, Saravanan was called to be a part of Green Work Resource Center in Auroville and take classes for the students. Auroville Foundation then decided to build a forest on the barren land and made Saravanan the head to bring it back to life.“Before planting the saplings, my team and I studied the history of the place. We found it was once a forest and was later converted for farming. But, farming was done only on one portion of the land and the remaining was left unused,” he says.
It was red sand and it’s not fertile for farming. When it rains, the water dries out immediately. So, they had their task cut for them. “We first built bed dams using the red sand to stop the water to flow into the sloppy area during monsoon and instead let it stagnate for a few days. This ensured that the ground water level increased. Soon we built a check dam for a canal to flow into the forest. Only after that did we start planting trees,” Saravanan says.
However, initially many of the plants died and the growth was slow. “We soon learnt that birds and animals are necessary to ensure forest growth. So, we started leaving grains out and water pots. Soon birds and animals found a home in the forest,” he says.Saravanan wanted the forest to be self-sufficient and not depend on external watering. When he first began, he used hand pumps and then, solar-powered electric motor to water the saplings. Soon, he weaned the plants of needing external watering.
Living with his family in the forest, they wake up to the sounds of birds. “Saravanan loves trees and used to cry, if anything happened to them. He cried a whole night when a worker accidentally broke a tree’s branch,” says Vatchala, Saavanan’s wife.
During his free time, Saravanan gives guest lectures in ecology in various universities across the country. Many students also visit the forest and stay for research on the flora and fauna of the man-made forest. Saravanan had set up the Bio Diversity Conservation-cum-Education Center for classes on ecology. At the end of every hike, he always asks the students: whom does the Earth belong to? The answer is simple: the Earth belongs to future, says Saravanan.
Brass tacks