The birth of a child is celebrated by people showering the newborn with gifts, from expensive clothes to toys. The celebrations in Ranmala, a small village near Pune, however, are silent but impactful with a tree being planted for the birth of each child in the village.
People in Ranmala mark celebrations such as birth, marriage and even occasions such as death by gifting the family with a sapling. In 15 years, Ranmala has gone from being drought-hit to being water sufficient, with nearly two lakh saplings being planted on open land in and around the village.
Ranmala owes its transformation to retired school teacher P T Shinde, who embarked on the project in 2003.
"The village has received several awards for its model, but the state government adopting it has been its greatest achievement and the villagers are extremely proud of their contribution," said P T Shinde.
Read more of this in a report by Bhavika Jain published in The Times of India....
