By D N Singh
What else can exhibit the unique example of a man’s gumption and grit to conserve biodiversity all alone than what a seventy year old teacher did in Odisha.
We were on a trip to the Nilamadhava temple in a place called Kantilo about 125 kms from Bhubaneswar.
As we drove ahead we stumbled upon an elderly man who was seen pushing on a bi-cycle carrying in a basket some tree saplings and a few stumps, some of it just spilling out of the basket.
The friend, a local scribe, accompanying us got down from the vehicle and rushed towards the elderly man and touched his feet. From there he requested us to come to him.
The man in his late 70s was Antaryami Sahoo, with unkempt hair and bit overgrown beards was a school teacher in the local school and planting trees remained his passion when he was barely 12 years old when he had planted a few trees on the road side.
That was the beginning of a mission pioneered by one man, Antaryami, and his passion for trees grew more and more.
When he joined the Upper Primary school he instilled the same ideal among his students and colleagues making them understand the value of even a single tree for the environment we live in.
His mission knew no bounds. He started planting trees during his tenure; thousands of trees right from the open space behind the school to other suitable spaces Since then, every year, he has planted a couple of trees in public spaces around his village. His love for trees grew with age, and when he joined as a teacher in Siletpada UP school, he began encouraging children there to follow suit.
Sahoo’s mission touched the peak when he kept on planting trees in thousands in any available space around the village in Boudh district , even in public places thus sending a message to other villages mostly on barren lands.
When a festering sore gets to smile through green and tall trees that became a huge source of solace for Sahoo and anyone who enjoyed the nectar of cool shadow and branches swaying to the winds.
Even long after retirement Antaryami Sahoo is usually seen in and around the new grown forest and the smaller ones had their roots firm on the ground.
Not that alone, Sahoo also undertook the mission for conservation of the wildlife who slowly became friendly with the environment and their conservation became a priority for Sahoo.
Antaryami is now 75 years old, but works with the same grit and passion to conserve the environment.
“I joined the school as a primary teacher in 1973 and have since carried massive plantation drives across six schools, where I was transferred one after the other as part of the administrative process. I used to source a few saplings from the forest department and create a nursery from the seedlings as well,” Sahoo recalls.
Antaryami says that his work continued until 2004 when he individually planted 10,000 trees, as well as 20,000 more with students. He emphasised planting saplings such as sal, teak, banyan, mango, Indian beal, fig and other native species.
Age could not affect his zeal and the now the 75 plus retired teacher has been able to plant more than 30,000 trees and he emphacised that whenever he was transferred (more than to six schools) he always had his plantation kits with and there started all over with renewed enthusiasm and plantations continued without any break in which he got the help of the Forest department in providing with seedlings.
Sahoo also realised that in summer frequent forest fires lit by poachers to hunt animals remained a menace and to arrest them became an additional task for Sahoo.
He then started creating awareness through hand-made posters and banners and never ceased to instill into the minds of people how to protect the animals.
Not alone planting trees but Sahoo realised that it was a must to conserve biodiversity and wildlife for the greater goals.
Antaryami made posters of about 40 local species such as honey bees, pangolin, owl, deer, elephant, butterflies, lizards, bats, grasshoppers, dragonfly, ladybug and birds. The handmade posters served two purposes – they were interactive and helped sensitise the population.
Witnessing large-scale deforestation, Antaryami says he planted trees such as date, palm and others that serve as a safe habitat for birds and insects. Normally we mainly focus on big and exotic animals, and there are very few that care about insects, birds and wildlife; those are no less an integral part of the conservation.
If we have some more number of Antaryami Sahoos then the earth tomorrow can wake up to a better morning.
Disclaimer: This is the personal opinion of the author. The views expressed in this write-up have nothing to do with www.prameyanews.com.
