SHIVAMOGGA: One can feel the chirping of birds, can see a small squirrel running on the branch of a tree, bees buzzing in their hive and can smell the aroma of some medicinal herbs while entering the house of B Venkatagiri, situated at Jail Road in the city.
We have seen people developing garden full of vegetables, flowers and fruits. But Venkatagiri, an environmentalist, who only studied till SSLC, developed a herbal garden in front of his house which has nearly 500 varieties of medicinal plants and also include some endangered species too.
And caring for the garden is a man who can tell the scientific name of a plant by looking at it and also list out the purpose it serves in Ayurveda. Venkatagiri has been cultivating the garden for the last 40 years. He developed the knowledge about herbs and beekeeping techniques during his school days. At the age of 75, Venkatagiri still has the zeal to teach and explain medicinal plants to Botany and Ayurvedic students by conducting exhibitions. He has also created a medicinal plant garden at J H Patel Layout, Kuvempu Badavane, Jnanadeepa school in Shivamogga and also at Ramanagara and Chikkaballapura.
Speaking to The New Sunday Express, he said that his inspiration came from his father-in-law B T Subba Rao, a virologist and herbalist. During his school days, Subba Rao, along with his brother, used to deal medicinal plants for ayurvedic medicinal companies. During that time Venkatagiri learnt the scientific names and uses of plants while packing them. So during this period an idea popped into his mind about saving and cultivating endangered ayurvedic herbs for future usage.
Over the years, many awards and lines of appreciation poured in for Venkatagiri because of his useful knowledge and service towards saving endangered ayurvedic medicinal herbs. Venkatagiri knows exactly when a plant in a particular area will produce fruit and knows the areas of medicinal herbs grow throughout the state.
“I learnt the names and information about medicinal plants by wandering the forests with herbalists and myself. I never went to college for this purpose. I studied many books related to Ayurvedic herbs in order to save them,” he says.
He opines that inculcating those herbs in our daily life will extend our lifespan and keep us healthy. “Ayurveda is not just a medical science but a way of life,” he said.Venkatagiri has grown 12 types of lotus, Rauwolfia Serpentina, Noni Plants, Barringtonia Racemosa, Simaruba, Phyllanthus niruri, dragon fruit and many more rarely available medicinal herbs.
Terrace garden
A man’s voice is heard when walking onto this terrace filled with plants. Soon, the owner descends from a ladder, holding in his hand some leaves. Kumarayya BS, a retired electricity board engineer, looks after a mini terrace garden during his free time. At 80, Kumarayya has built separate shelves and pits to grow more than 80 varieties of plants, which include fruits, vegetables and flowering plants. Three varieties of bananas grow alongside a pomegranate plant in this garden.Even at this age, Kumarayya puts in 4 hours into looking after his garden daily. “It is a passion that started when I was living in a rented house in Hassan. It brings me happiness,” he exclaimed with joy.
A homemaker’s love for gardening
You can find many varieties of colorful flowers as you enter the house of Sharada Satish. A homemaker, Sharada spends a lot of time in her garden looking after her vegetables, flowers and leafy green plants. She prepares her own compost and uses environmentally friendly methods including growbags, organic seeds and other practises. “We segregate our waste and use the wet waste to prepare compost. Plastic bags and containers are repurposed to grow small plants,” she says.