mother nature

Rambhai Charan, a 62-year-old retired primary school teacher in Gujarat’s Sabarkantha district, has single handedly planted more than 5 lakh trees in his village.

“I would remain unfit for such an award till the flesh and blood of Mother India, in the form of precious topsoil from the Himalayas, flows down to the sea due to tree felling,” says the visionary man, explaining his rejection of the Padma Vibhushan award in 1981.