Manish Tewari, 45, widely known in Lucknow as Pedwale Baba (Tree Baba) or Bicycle Baba moves about in Lucknow on a bicycle, carrying with him saplings, Khurpi for digging, and bags made of clothes. He plants on any available space. Besides, he goes door-to-door in residential localities handing out saplings and bags to residents. The cloth-bag goes with a plea, asking them give up using polythene bags.
Our own Gurukar,68, plants saplings on roadside; he is better equipped than Tewari for heavy-duty planting on hard soil - shovels, pick axe, and even plastic pots to bring water to the planted saplings.Tewari: 'People think I am out of my mind...(doing such thing)... say its is a futile exercise".
Gurukar: Evokes similar comments from passers by seeing him digging at the roadside.
Tewari: "I regularly visit the places where saplings have been planted"
Gurukar :Does the same.
Tewari: A graduate; has been planting since 1998 . Does not rely on government or any NGO help.
Gurukar:Diploma-holder in electrical engineering, worked in Karanataka Electricity Board, and later joined the Union Labour Dept. as training officer in Bangalore;has been planting for the past 25 years,in Bangalore and Mysore (after his retirement in 2003)
Tewari: Collects small plants - banyan, neem, tamirind etc - from the wild, nurses them into saplings at home.
Gurukar: Buys saplings - mainly honge - from the forest dept. nursery, at Rs.20 a plant, spending from his govt. pension.
Tewari: Visits local schools and colleges to spread the green message.
Gurukar: Goes to Bangalore, for a week or two at a time, as 'guest' lecturer for Labour dept. training institute for electrical and other trades.
Tewari: Written about in Deccan Herald Spl. Features page.
Gurukar: Has gone unnoticed by newspapers, even those published in his own town of Mysore.
3 comments:
Nice comparison. I met him last week on my way to office, near the ORI, mentioning how I had heard about him - GVK's blog.
I think it is wonderful Tewari is planting the trees. I hope they all survive and live to be big trees.
Good Comparison, I have heard about Manish Tiwari Ped wale Baba. He has devoted his full life to planting the tree. He has decided that he will not go for marriage. He is doing not only plantation but also sensitizing to school, college and university students about the importance of tree. In my opinion it is the best and sustainable approach toward save our earth. My good wishes to Ped wale Baba.
Manoj K. Rai
Ex. President, DAV PG College, Lucknow, U.P.
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