The 82-year-old Kame Gowda, a shepherd from Dasanadoddi village of Karnataka’s Mandya district, has recently been in the limelight when Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded Gowda’s deeds of digging about 16 ponds in his village. For close to 42 years now, he is working with these ponds.
“Between Ugadi and Shivaratri, there should be dampness in the earth. In the dry earth, there should be greenness. That is how I know where to build the pond. Otherwise, the water won’t stay,” he explained how he used to determine where to dig.
On the Sunday broadcast of PM Modi’s Mann Ki Baat dated June 29, the Prime Minister referred to him as a “water warrior” while narrating the story of this ordinary village shepherd diminishing the problem of water scarcity in his village. Already hailed as ‘the lake man of Karnataka’, Gowda is now being honored with a lifetime free bus pass to travel in all classes of Karnataka State Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses.
On July 2, the Chief Minister of Karnataka B. S. Yediyurappa took to Twitter to announce this in a series of tweets, one of which shares the photograph of Mr. Gowda’s bus pass. The announcement has likely been made followed by Mr. Gowda expressing his wishes to travel in an interview with a local television channel.
Alongside, the Chief Minister also guaranteed to approve Rs. 25 lakhs for building a house of Mr. Gowda’s choice and assured a job for his son at the forest department of the state. Besides, he also expressed concerns over Gowda’s other needs and health conditions.
“I lived like a wild animal from the age of 5. My mother had 10 children and showed me no affection. The sheep and other animals – I was close to them. What do the birds, the snakes do? I understood what difficulties animals faced? All animals suffer a lot in summer. They want water. I have seen this from the time I was young. And I felt that if I don’t do something about this suffering, aren’t I a rakshasa (demon)? That is why I organized these ponds,” he mentioned in an interview with NDTV in 2018. Neglected in a family of many, since childhood Kame Gowda grew close to nature.
ತಮ್ಮ ಪ್ರಾಮಾಣಿಕ ಪರಿಸರ ಕಾಳಜಿಯಿಂದ ಪ್ರಧಾನಿಗಳ ಗಮನ ಸೆಳೆದ ಮಂಡ್ಯದ ಮಳವಳ್ಳಿ ತಾಲ್ಲೂಕಿನ ದಾಸನದೊಡ್ಡಿಯ ಶ್ರೀ ಕಾಮೇಗೌಡರಿಗೆ, ಅವರ ಅಭಿಲಾಷೆಯಂತೆ ರಾಜ್ಯ ರಸ್ತೆ ಸಾರಿಗೆ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಯ ಜೀವಿತಾವಧಿ ಉಚಿತ ಬಸ್ ಪಾಸ್ ನೀಡಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಯಾವುದೇ ಪ್ರತಿಫಲಾಪೇಕ್ಷೆಯಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಪರಿಸರವನ್ನು ಪ್ರೀತಿಸುವ, ಸಂರಕ್ಷಿಸುವ ಇಂತಹ ಆದರ್ಶ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳು ಹೆಚ್ಚಾಗಲಿ. pic.twitter.com/ro7P0Wwwj6
— B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) July 2, 2020
The ponds, dug by Gowda, were primarily meant for providing water for the grazing cattle and the wild animals on the barren hillocks of his village. But gradually, not only these ponds helped in increasing greenery in the hillocks as soon as the water level stabilized but also partially contributed to resolving the water crisis in the area. Especially, during the summers when the water crisis gets aggravated with dried patches, the ponds could be the source of water supply round the year.
On the familial front, his work involving substantial spending of resources and time did not bring him much appreciation and endearment. He spent almost all his earnings for the purpose, including the contributions he received as award money in praise of his work.
Still, he expects to encourage the love of nature in the generations to come in the family. He has named some of the ponds after the names of his grandchildren and considered it a gift for a lifetime.
“I use a JCB to dig this. For a day, that costs Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000, or Rs 700 an hour… have called two ponds Pooja and Purvi. Why? If I give them gold, cash, they will waste it. This service will always be there for them,” he said.
“After the water came, the animals drink from here and are happy. And seeing them, I am happy. For as long as the Earth and sky last – I have built such strong ponds. I have made things good for animals. Whatever people say, I have done the right thing. Even if I die, plants, animals, ponds I, Kame Gowda, have served them,” he said. The year-round availability of water elates him and fills him with hope.
In November 2018, the then Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had bestowed him with the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award acknowledging his contributions. But no amount of recognition and fame matters to him, so far as he remains true to his purpose which transgresses even his material needs.
“My work is helpful for the animals of the forest. If I die, my name will always be there. It will be there as long as the sky and the Earth. Money may go tomorrow, does it stay?”, he said humbly.
“We should not be heavy in this world. We should be like flowers. That should be our weight on the Earth,” he philosophized. Though he has barely been exposed to the modern education of the environment, his innate love for nature is both unfathomable and insurmountable.
It is true that no amount of money and institutional education is enough to buy one an inherent consciousness and selflessness towards nature. Kame Gowda sets a perfect example for that!
If all of us can manage to pull off even a tiny portion of what he does for his love of nature with limited resources, we may be able to provide our future generations with purer air to breathe, cleaner water to drink, and a better life to live.
If he can, can’t we?