SALEM: For most people in Sangagiri, it was just another tree. For N Palanisamy, the lush and sturdy banyan tree beside the temple in his hometown had been a steadfast presence, remaining rooted through the test of time. As a boy, the rustling leaves and sprawling branches would shield him from the harsh sunlight, where he spent countless afternoons playing under the cool canopy. As a young man, it continued to be a comforting presence as he passed by it often. The tree was a timeless landmark stretching across the various chapters of his life. In 2013, this tree was felled to make way for the temple’s expansion.
“I could not accept it,” recalls Palanisamy, now 55. “When it was cut, it felt like I had lost something close to me.” The loss of the banyan tree came at a time when another event had also deeply affected him – the passing of renowned environmentalist Dr G Nammalvar. Palanisamy only studied up to Class 10 in a government school. For many years, he followed Nammalvar’s ideas through magazines, radio programmes, and books, fascinated by his message of living in harmony with nature and protecting native species. This interest eventually led him to meet Nammalvar one day. So, when he died, it brought a pause in Palaniswamy’s life. “If people like us don’t do something, who will?” he recalls asking himself. The same year, he began planting saplings in the grounds of his alma mater.
At the time, he used part of his income, around Rs 250 a day as an auto driver, to plant trees. Soon, he realised that planting saplings was the easy part. “Planting is just a beginning. It only matters if the tree survives,” he said.
Protective cages had to be purchased. Nets and bamboo supports were needed. The saplings had to be watered regularly and protected from cattle and other hazards. Most of his money went not towards planting, but to maintain the saplings with discipline. In those early years, his wife Gomathi was his anchor. “Without her encouragement, it would have been difficult,” he says.
After three years, Palanisamy’s efforts caught people’s eyes. One of the organisations that reached out to help him was the Sangagiri Lorry Owners Association. When asked what they could provide, his answer surprised them. “Not money but protective cages,” he had said. Members stepped in and began helping with cages and also offered water tankers free of cost whenever he needed them for large-scale watering.
In 2016, friends and nature enthusiasts, who had been following his work through Facebook and WhatsApp, came together to form a group called ‘Pasumai Sangagiri’. What had begun as the effort of one man gradually became an association with 25 active volunteers. Every Sunday, while many spend the day resting, members of Pasumai Sangagiri gather at schools, roadsides, temples, hospitals and public spaces. Some water trees. Some clear weeds. Others plant new saplings.
During the Covid pandemic, with public movement restricted, the group paused regular plantation drives and took up community activities such as sanitising streets and residential areas using water tankers and pumps.
One of their proudest achievements is at Vadugapatti and Sangagiri Model School campuses, where hundreds of trees planted over the years have transformed the landscape. “When we first came there, there was hardly any greenery,” says Palanisamy. “Today, you see trees everywhere.”
The group’s work extends beyond planting. Over the years, it has distributed more than one lakh saplings free of cost across Tamil Nadu through a nursery run by Palanisamy. Volunteers have also planted more than 50,000 palm seeds along lakes, ponds and irrigation canals. In addition, they have worked to save mature trees facing the threat of being cut down for development projects. The group carefully replants them using cranes and heavy equipment and monitors them until they recover. Around 10 large trees estimated to be over 50 years old have been saved through these efforts.
Yet, when asked about his biggest achievement, Palanisamy does not bring up numbers but beams with joy when he says, “Wherever we travel in and around Sangagiri, we see the fully-grown trees. People tell us they have eaten fruits from those trees. Children often sit under them. Some places that were once barren are now filled with greenery. The trees feel like our children. When they grow well, it feels like our family is growing too.”
More than a decade after the loss of a banyan tree changed his life, Palanisamy continues to spend his Sunday afternoons tending to trees, knowing every sapling cared for today will grow to be shade and shelter for generations of tomorrow.
(Edited by Rohith Sony)