To celebrate the beauty of the diversity of India as the country completed 75 years of Independence, an IPS officer from Telangana chose a unique way! As the whole country celebrated the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav for a year, Dr Sangram Singh G Patil, SP of Mulugu district, started a unique campaign to mark the occasion. From 15 August 2021 to 16August 2022, he planted one tree each day to celebrate the platinum jubilee of Independence.
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, Dr Patil shared about his unique celebration in detail.
A NATURALIST
Dr. Patil calls himself a naturalist, and loves to read and research about flora. Explaining his planting spree, he said, “Last year, around 15 August, many things were happening at the same time. While the takeover of Afghanistan by Taliban created turmoil in the world, many things were happening inside our country, too. It was a negative period. I wanted positivity, and to engage myself in something productive. The celebration of 75 years of Independence was announced, and I thought, why not rejoice and know a little more about our diversified species of plants and trees.”
A PLANTING SPREE
Dr. Patil started by planting a grape vine. It was followed by saplings of a variety of flowers, grains, fruits, and many more. The list is endless – tamarind, betel, jasmin, java plum, elephant ears (aravi), curry leaves, barley, rice, wheat, chickpea, hibiscus, and so on. Dr. Patil planted more than 300 species in his garden or around his office area, alone.
“I tried to plant as many as I could. When some exotic species couldn’t be grown here, I asked my friends and relatives to plant at their location on my behalf. I asked my friend in Pune to plant strawberry as it couldn’t be grown here. Similarly, my sister planted cocoon for me,” he said.
CREATING AWARENESS
After planting, Dr. Patil also shared the pictures and details about all the species on social media. “The idea was to create awareness about plants and plantation among the people, especially students. The process was a great learning experience for me and I wanted to share it with others. I always liked to know about plants and nature, but with this exercise, I got to know about it more.”
He further said that the Telangana government has already planted crores of trees under its Haritha Haram programme and his planting initiative was just to contribute to this campaign. “I started with the grape vine and ended with the national flower, lotus,” he said in conclusion.
