Saalumarada Thimmakka (c. 1911 – 14 November 2025) was an Indian environmentalist from Karnataka. A labourer with no formal schooling, she and her husband planted 385 banyan trees along a four-kilometre stretch of road between the villages of Hulikal and Kudur and cared for them for decades. “Saalumarada” means “row of trees” in Kannada. She went on to plant thousands more trees and received the Padma Shri in 2019.
Quick Facts
| Name | Thimmakka; known as Saalumarada Thimmakka |
| Born | c. 1911, Gubbi taluk, Tumakuru district, Karnataka, India |
| Died | 14 November 2025, Bengaluru, Karnataka |
| Known for | Planting and raising 385 banyan trees between Hulikal and Kudur |
| Spouse | Bikkala Chikkayya (d. 1991) |
| Foster son | Umesh |
| Honours | National Citizen’s Award (1995), Padma Shri (2019) |
Early Life
Thimmakka was born into a poor family in Gubbi taluk of Tumakuru district. She did not go to school and worked from childhood grazing cattle and as a labourer in a quarry. She married Bikkala Chikkayya of Hulikal village in Magadi taluk, now in Ramanagara district.
Planting the Trees
The couple had no children, which brought them taunts in the village. They decided to plant trees and raise them as their children. Banyan trees were plentiful near their village, so they took cuttings and grafted saplings, planting ten in the first year along the road to the next village, Kudur, and more each year after.
The work was hard. They carried pots of water for several kilometres to water the saplings, planted during the monsoon so that the rain would help, and fenced each one with thorny shrubs to protect it from cattle. Over the years the number grew to 385 trees lining about four kilometres of the road. Chikkayya died in 1991, and Thimmakka carried on alone.
Recognition
Her work was little known outside the area until the 1990s. She received the National Citizen’s Award in 1995, and many other honours followed. In 2016 the BBC named her among its 100 influential and inspiring women. In 2019 she received the Padma Shri; a photograph of her blessing President Ram Nath Kovind at the ceremony was widely shared. The trees she planted are now looked after by the Karnataka government, which also runs a tree-planting scheme in her name. When a road-widening plan threatened some of the trees in 2019, she appealed to the state government, which agreed to look for alternatives.
Later Life and Death
Thimmakka continued to take part in tree-planting drives into extreme old age, often with her foster son, Umesh, who runs a nursery and an environmental foundation in her name. She died in Bengaluru on 14 November 2025. Her exact age is uncertain because there is no record of her birth; she was widely reported to be 114.
Legacy
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Saalumarada Thimmakka born?
Birth details: c. 1911, Gubbi taluk, Tumakuru district, Karnataka, India.
When did Saalumarada Thimmakka die?
Died: 14 November 2025, Bengaluru, Karnataka.
What is Saalumarada Thimmakka known for?
Known for: Planting and raising 385 banyan trees between Hulikal and Kudur.
What honours has Saalumarada Thimmakka received?
National Citizen’s Award (1995), Padma Shri (2019).
Featured image: Saalumarada Thimmakka, the environmentalist from Karnataka, holding one of her citations, 2011. Photo by Arun4speed, licensed under CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
