On Monday, Tulasi Gowda, famous as the “Encyclopedia of Forest” was presented with the India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, Padma Shri, by President Ram Nath Kovind. She is among the 61 Padma Shri awardees for the year 2020.
Gowda, 72, received the award in the Rashtrapati Bhavan barefoot and received huge praise on social media for her simplicity. She walked barefoot in the historic Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan, stopped briefly to greet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, before going to receive the award from the President.
Tulsi Gowda belongs to the Halakki indigenous tribe in Karnataka and hails from a poor and disadvantaged family. Throughout her formative years, Gowda never had access to any formal education, but despite all odds, she began expanding her knowledge in the field of plants and other fauna.
Ever since she was a teenager, she has been actively contributing to protecting the environment and has planted thousands of trees.
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Today, even at the age of 72, Tulasi Gowda continues to nurture plants and share her vast knowledge with the younger generation to promote the importance of environmental conservation.
The Padma Awards have been presented in various fields, such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service and so on.
(With inputs from ANI)
