One woman’s quiet mission turned a barren Karnataka road into a banyan corridor

Karnataka: Every morning, travelers passing through the dusty stretch between Hulikal and Kudur in Karnataka walk under the shade of hundreds of banyan trees. Many don’t know who planted them. There were no government projects, no large campaigns, and no environmental movement behind this green corridor — just one woman, her husband, and years of quiet, unwavering care.

That woman was Saalumarada Thimmakka, who turned a barren roadside into a living legacy that continues to shelter generations.

A humble beginning amid hardship

Born in 1911 in a small hamlet in Gubbi taluk of Tumakuru district, Karnataka, Thimmakka grew up in widespread poverty at a time when education was a distant dream for many. She never received formal schooling.

Thimmakka worked as a casual laborer in a quarry and, like many women of her generation, entered early marriage, tying the knot with Chikkayya, a local laborer from the nearby Hulikal village.

Despite poverty and personal loss, Thimmakka found purpose in nurturing life through trees. Together with her husband, she began planting banyan saplings along the roadside, watering and protecting them daily for years until the barren stretch transformed into a shaded avenue.