Bengaluru: Huge banyan trees line either side of the road as you drive along the 4 km highway stretch between Hulikal and Kudur in Ramanagara district.
They are a tall testimony to the dedication of environmentalist, Saalumarada Thimmakka, who planted them with the help of her husband several years ago.
Now the life and work of Thimmaka is being taken to a wider audience by Belur Raghunandan in a play titled 'Saalu Maragala Tayi Thimmakka'. Held for the third time in the city since it premiered in February, the play is scheduled for another showing in May.
Director Hanu Ramasanjeeva says Pravara Art Studio has always performed plays on environmental and social issues, but has never featured a living legend before. "When we were searching for a subject, I came across the drama written by Belur Raghunandan on the life of Thimmakka.
Eventually, we got the opportunity to perform the play," he recalls, explaining that the play is not limited to the activist's contribution to planting of trees in thestate, but covers her entire life journey with her husband.
"We had to carefully study Thimmakka and her husband's early life and study their mannerisms and dressing style," Hanu adds.
The play gives you interesting tidbits like about the snake bite that Thimmakka survived, the local ayurvedic medicine which caused her health issues later on in life and the ill treatment she suffered at the hands of her mother- in- law .
The director's best reward was Thimmaka's reaction to the premier show of the play. "She said it reminded her about her struggles as they were played right before her eyes," Hanu recalls. The 95 minute play has 44 characters, played by 26 artistes.
