Hyderabad: City green body founder embarks on journey to record ancient trees

Hyderabad: To shed light on giant and heritage trees for protection, city-based environmentalist Uday Krishna initiates the ‘Big Tree Quest’, documenting India's ancient trees.

The primary goal of documentation is to highlight ancient trees' significance, such as sheltering individuals during crucial historical events like Independence. For example, a peepal tree in Haryana is believed to have witnessed the Mahabharata war, and an African Baobab tree in Hyderabad could hide 40 thieves during the day. Uday is documenting these historic trees, and the process is featured on his official YouTube channel.

Describing how he got the idea of documenting, Uday Krishna Peddireddi, founder of Vata Foundation, said, “After selling the resort at the Tipeshwar forests and wanting to take a break, I planned to visit the oldest 10 trees in the world. During my groundwork, I decided to extend my journey to visit old trees across India. During this process, I discovered numerous ancient trees across India with incredible stories, many of which are unknown to most people. This led me to the idea of bringing these ancient trees together on one platform. Since starting my journey in February this year, I have visited 40 trees in seven States, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Goa.”

During this expedition, I have also encountered a few local nature enthusiasts who accompanied me on my journey. I am also endeavouring to establish a network of tree lovers across the country. While visiting these trees, I am literally experiencing positive energy.”

Stressing two ancient trees in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, he said, “During my journey, I encountered Pillalamarri, Telangana's oldest tree in Mahabubnagar, an 800-year-old tree with fascinating history. Once spanning four acres, it has now fallen, yet its roots endure. Locals describe it as vast, resembling a green hill from afar. Another notable tree is at Osmania Hospital, which saved 150 people during floods. Equally mesmerising is Thimmamma’s Banyan tree in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. These ancient giants remain largely unknown.”

Stressing his objective, he said that after visiting all the ancient trees and documenting them, he plans to approach the government to preserve these trees as heritage trees. He suggests that the government should also take up their maintenance and appeal to corporate organisations to include them in their CSR activities. His next plan is to visit the North East States as part of the 'Big Tree Quest', which involves a total of 135 trees. So far, he has mapped out 40 trees and visited them, requiring him to cover 40,000 kilometers. He aims to complete this journey by the end of the year.