ANKOLA: Legendary tree planter and Padma Awardee Tulsi Gowda (also spelt as Gawda) passed away at her residence in Honnali village of Ankola Taluk in Uttara Kannada district on Monday evening. She was 86 years old.
Tulsi Gowda started working in the forest department's plant nursery at a young age. As a child, she frequently visited nurseries and developed a deep interest in growing saplings.
She is credited with planting thousands of trees in Ankola and its surroundings, many of which have grown tall over the years. She was the recipient of the Padma Shri and Indira Priyadarshini Vriksha Mitra awards.
Known as the Encyclopaedia of Plants, Tulsi Gowda belonged to the Halakki community of Uttara Kannada district. She is survived by her three children and numerous well-wishers. The Karnataka forest department recognized her exceptional talent in nurturing saplings, granting her a special status as staff and allowing her to continue working even after retirement.
A.N. Yellappa Reddy, a retired forest officer who helped Tulsi Gowda gain recognition, expressed his condolences. “It’s a big loss for the state. As a nursery worker, she had a unique talent for growing saplings. She had magic in her hands when it came to growing trees."
"She knew exactly how deep to plant each seed and the right mixture of soil, sand, and fertilizers. The saplings nurtured by Tulsi Gowda showed significantly better growth compared to those from other nurseries,” he recalled.
Dinesh Holla, a noted environmentalist from the Sahyadri Sanchaya organization in Mangaluru, who had long been associated with the Halakki community and Tulsi Gowda, praised her unparalleled knowledge of plants and forests.
“She had immense knowledge about plants and the forest. More than planting, she was known for nurturing saplings and caring for plants as they grew. Her famous line wash: ‘It’s not important how many plants you have planted; what matters is how much care you’ve taken of those saplings.’”
Tulsi Gowda had been unwell for the past few months. After suffering a stroke, she had been bedridden. Her last rites are expected to be conducted at her native village in Ankola on Tuesday.