https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Kollakkayil_Devaki_AmmaKollakkayil Devaki Amma - Revision history2026-11-04T08:49:54ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kollakkayil_Devaki_Amma&diff=510360&oldid=prevBenWunderly: Made a page2026-02-07T23:39:12Z<p>Made a page</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|Indian forester}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}<br />
{{Infobox person<br />
| name = Devaki Amma<br />
| image = Devaki Amma Nari Shakti Puraskar (cropped).jpg<br />
| alt = Woman holding framed certificate<br />
| caption = Amma receives the [[Nari Shakti Puraskar]]<br />
| birth_name = Kollakkayil Devaki Amma<br />
| birth_date = {{circa|1934}}<br />
| birth_place = [[Muthukulam]]<br />
| occupation = Forester<br />
| known_for = [[Nari Shakti Puraskar]]<br />
}}<br />
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'''Kollakkayil Devaki Amma''' (born {{circa|1934}}) is an Indian woman who began to grow a forest after a car crash prevented her from farming. The forest now covers 4.5 acres and has over 3,000 trees. She has received several awards for her work, including the [[Nari Shakti Puraskar]].<br />
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== Early life ==<br />
Devaki Amma was born {{circa|1934}} in [[Muthukulam]] in [[Alappuzha district]], [[Kerala]].<ref name="Hindu" /><ref name="ToI">{{cite news |last1=Kesharwani |first1=Sakshi |title=Devaki Amma – An unsung hero |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/sakshikesharwani/devaki-amma-an-unsung-hero-25630/ |access-date=9 January 2021 |work=Times of India |date=5 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref> A love of horticulture was inspired by her grandfather.<ref name="FII" /> She married Gopalakrishna Pillai, who was a in teacher, and worked in the [[paddy field]]s growing rice.<ref name="FII" /><ref name="KT">{{cite web |title=The woman who gave birth to a forest|url=https://www.keralatourism.org/kerala-article/2012/kollakkayil-devaki-amma-forest/194 |website=Kerala Tourism |access-date=9 January 2021 |language=en}}</ref> In 1980, Devaki Amma was involved in a serious car crash, which left her bed-ridden for three years.<ref name="FII" /><ref name="Hindu">{{cite news |last1=A |first1=Sam Paul |title=In 4.5 acres, she nurtures a dense forest |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/in-45-acres-she-nurtures-a-dense-forest/article27036160.ece |access-date=9 January 2021 |work=The Hindu |date=4 May 2019 |language=en-IN}}</ref><br />
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== Forest ==<br />
After she recovered from the crash, Devaki Amma was unable to work in the paddy fields so she began to plant trees in her back garden. Over time this project developed into a 4.5 acre forest.<ref name="Hindu" /> It contains over 3,000 trees, including krishnanal, [[mahogany]], [[mango]], musk, [[pine]], star and [[tamarind]].<ref name="FII" /><ref name="Hindu" /> There are also rare plants and the wood attracts birds such as [[Amur falcon]]s, [[bluethroat]]s, [[black-winged stilt]]s, [[paradise flycatcher]]s and [[emerald dove]]s.<ref name="FII" /><ref name="Hindu" /><ref name="TBI">{{cite news|last1=Karelia|first1=Gopi |title=Working for 40 Years, Kerala's 85-YO Devaki Amma Grew a Forest All By Herself! |url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/175425/kerala-devaki-amma-forest-nari-shakti-puraskar-inspiring-woman/ |access-date=9 January 2021 |work=The Better India |date=19 March 2019}}</ref> Devaki Amma worked for over thirty five years on the forest mostly on her own, using cows, buffalo and oxen, and harvesting rainwater.<ref name="TBI" /><br />
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== Awards ==<br />
Devaki Amma was given the Social Forestry Award by the [[Alappuzha district]] and the Bhumitra Puruskar by Vijnana Bharati. The state of Kerala bestowed upon her the Hari Vyakti Puruskar.<ref name="FII">{{cite news |last1=Adil |first1=Yashfeen |title=Kollakkayil Devaki Amma: The Woman Who Built A Forest |url=https://feminisminindia.com/2019/09/25/kollakkayil-devaki-amma-the-woman-who-built-a-forest/ |access-date=9 January 2021 |work=Feminism In India |date=24 September 2019}}</ref> On the national level she has received the [[Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra]] award<ref>{{Cite web|title=The woman who gave birth to a forest, Kollakkayil Devaki Amma, Alappuzha, Personal Forest, Attraction, Kerala Tourism|url=https://www.keralatourism.org/kerala-article/2012/kollakkayil-devaki-amma-forest/194|access-date=2021-05-30|website=Kerala Tourism|language=en}}</ref> and the [[Nari Shakti Puraskar]]. The latter was given to her by the [[President of India]], [[Ram Nath Kovind]].<ref name="FII" /><br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in Social Work}}<br />
{{Nari Shakti Puraskar}}<br />
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{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Amma, Kollakkayil Devaki}}<br />
[[Category:1930s births]]<br />
[[Category:Living people]]<br />
[[Category:Indian horticulturists]]<br />
[[Category:Indian foresters]]<br />
[[Category:Nari Shakti Puraskar 2018 winners]]<br />
[[Category:People from Alappuzha district]]<br />
[[Category:Women from Kerala]]<br />
[[Category:Women in forestry]]<br />
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in social work]]</div>BenWunderly