It’s a unique love story rooted in nature and a wife’s poignant tribute to her late husband, enveloped with an unparalleled depth of sentiment that words can scarcely capture. Though her beloved husband is no more in this world in his physical form, the couple’s eternal togetherness is commemorated in a truly touching manner — through a sapling they once planted together.
This is the story of Kotrika Vijayalakshmi, former chairperson of Tandur municipality in Telangana, who celebrates the birth anniversary of her husband by decorating the tree, conducting pooja, and distributing saplings to symbolise the endurance of their love, forever interwoven with the fabric of nature.
She recalls how a sapling planted by both of them months before he passed away has turned out to be her emotional quotient. “It was the last sapling that was brought home after participating in the Green India Challenge, started as a part of Haritha Haaram programme, Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao’s dream project to turn Telangana green. Instead of giving it to someone, we decided to plant it at our home,” Ms. Vijayalakshmi recalls, adding, “It has been six years but the love affair continues.”
Every year, she celebrates her husband birth anniversary — July 29 — decorating the tree and conducting pooja for his soul to attain eternal peace. However, this year, it caught the attention of several nature lovers including Rajya Sabha MP J.Santosh Kumar, who shared her story on social media platforms.
When the growing tree was to be cut off as part of a road widening project, she translocated it to another place by spending money out of her own pocket. “I realised the importance of it once he had passed away and how beautiful it is to keep the love growing in the form of a tree,” she says.
Mr.Santosh Kumar, who started the Green India Challenge, tweeted: “Heartwarming scenes. #KotrikaVijayaLaxmi garu, a strong, determined lady searching for her lost husband amidst the tree he planted on his birthday as part of the #GreenIndiaChallenge initiative. Let’s applaud the dedication and the power of love that unites them with nature”.
