Connecting trees, faith and people

Have you heard about star trees? These trees are usually spotted in temples and are believed to give a positive impact on those who visit the holy place. You might have seen a banner in temples in Tamil Nadu that reads, Star Trees Krishnamurthy. These trees are either planted or saved by Krishnamurthy, a landscape designer by profession.

With a wide knowledge of trees, especially sthala vrikshams, Krishnamurthy plants trees because of his love for nature. He got interested in the subject after he came to know about the 27 trees that are mentioned in old scriptures. Says the eco-warrior, “These trees are considered holy; it’s believed that these trees emit positive vibrations that are good for the body and mind. Not only in temples, but I also wanted people to plant these trees in their garden as well. There is also a connection between these trees and a person’s star sign.”

So far, he has planted trees at more than 500 temples across Tamil Nadu. “Some species like vanni, kadambu and iluppai are disappearing and we need to preserve them. Planting trees and watering them were once part of the culture. I remember how religiously my parents taught me to save trees. But now, we are moving away from our tradition. Another reason is there are no fertile lands in cities. Not long back, we had a beautiful green cover in Chennai. People are cutting trees without understanding its consequences,” he quips.

To get a wide knowledge about the subject, Krishnamurthy travelled across the state and studied the writing of siddhars and saints. “Also, I read a lot on this subject and met experts in this field.”

He gives us some example. “The holy tree for Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Mylapore, is punnai maram, for Parthasarathi Temple, it is magizha maram, Koodal Azhagar Temple (Madurai) has kadambu maram, Vaitheeswaran koil (Nagapattinam) has neem and so on. Thankfully, the concerned authorities are supportive of my work. I have put in a lot of time and effort in this,” he adds.

What gives Krishnamurthy satisfaction is when he sees the plant grow to provide shelter to birds and visitors in the temples. “Rather than planting some random trees, I feel that people should plant these trees that are under extinction. Another trend that has caught up is that people are now gifting saplings as wedding and birthday gifts. This should be popularised,” he smiles.