The past two monsoons have given steady soaking rain and a new least of life to the parched landscape of the denuded mountain, Arunachala, the embodiment of Lord Siva. Luxurious waterfalls have resulted in overflowing tanks for two consecutive years so we have enormous optimism for our task of Greening of Arunachala. 

During this 2006 season, members of the Village Forest Committee of the Arunachala Kattu Siva Plantation realized that eleven streams flow down from the slopes within the area allocated for our responsibility.  After nearly twenty five years engaged in fostering the return of a forested natural lingam, I feel confident that the Greening process will surmount all difficulties; it is too strong for defeat now. 

A sure sign of an awakening within the community to the value of the forest is in progress presently near to our site: the renovation of three previously neglected Vediyappan shrines, carried out by the Panchayats of two adjacent villages and by ourselves.

This indicates that the wilderness is being recognized as valuable once again, as it was in antiquity. Vediyappan is the god of wilderness.

This means it is much more likely that the plantation on the mountain will be respected; now it will be protected by the psychological involvement of the community at large. Moreover our Forest Department Conservator in Vellore and the Principal Chief Conservator in Chennai are determined to put a stop to the illegal grazing, wood cutting and burning which have so thwarted our efforts until recently. We have not had a fire for two seasons now.

In dry months we need to assist some saplings on exposed slopes, but now the International Tree Foundation has donated us a tank for wildlife with a bore well and hand pump near the nursery which saves us walking all the way to and from the Kattu Siva Thirta. Deer footprints can be seen almost every morning near this new tank and a herd of perhaps twenty spotted deer are sometimes seen, they seem to have settled here. The more plants survive on the eroded rocky slopes, the more support they have from each other and the higher their survival rate.

We are beginning to notice the fruits of our labours.

Our group is much stronger now. We are a small group because we are determined to remain small and trusty. Seasonal workers join us each monsoon, they are becoming our regular seasonal workers. Two friends with seventeen years experience with the first project on which I was engaged (the Annamalai Reforestation Society), have joined us now to manage the nursery: a husband and wife team, Jayalaxmi and Rajumanikam. And a friend with a particular interest in Botany, Chennimalai, has also become a member. We are fifteen members now.



This Navararthri we performed a lovely Durga puja in thanksgiving for all the encouragement and support received during these early years. This was a prototype puja we intend to perform every year now, so that we can send those persons who have contributed a token of our gratitude: a photograph, a description and some Prasad. Being humble rural persons, it is very important for us to express our appreciation in this manner, and our ancient Vediyappan shrine area is beginning to transcend the neglect of half a century since we have planted sacred trees there and ordered a big clay horse, two dogs, a watchman and a sheltered lamp for this site.
 

We are honoured indeed to take part in this work and invite you to share in the auspiciousness of this task of returning the forest of ancient times to the body of Lord Arunachala Siva, thereby replenishing the underground water table so that the ponds and thirthum surrounding the mountain remain, as they did even thirty years ago, full all through the hot dry summer season.

Arunasamudaram!

Sobeit.

Apeetha Arunagiri
 

apeetha@hotkey.net.au