Teacher who molds eco-friendly engineers

Dr. Thankamony of the Environmental Engineering Division of College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram (CET) has gathered ecological wisdom from her mother Devaki Amma.
Dr. Thankamony's life as a student and later as a teacher at the CET has found her green sheen waxing through years. Her persistent efforts have transformed acres of barren lands of the campus into an abode of varieties of heaving flora and fauna. Her motivation and guidance has inspired generations of engineering students to script glaring models of eco-friendliness even within the arid spheres of technologies.

Here is an excerpt from an interview, K.P. Sivakumar had with Dr. Thankamony last month at the premises of CET.


Environmental conservation inside an engineering college?

Why not? See, one who loves the nature loves everyone. If everybody loves everybody else, all the problems of the world will be solved. I'm catching them (students) young. Unlike the situation while I was a student, these days our pupils – even school students - are more interested towards the cause of conservation. I have hope in the generation. The Earth is not something we have inherited. It's a thing we have borrowed from our children. We have the commitment to return it to our children in a better condition. In order to keep it least in the present condition, environmental messages, studies and solutions should get a prominent place in the campuses. (In the photo, sitting in the first row, third from left is Dr. Thankamony)

How are the students led towards a sustainable environment?

My way is to inculcate environmentalism through the syllabi itself. We have M.Tech. Environmental Engineering and I’m taking Industrial Waste Engineering mainly, treatment of the waste water. I give practical type of problems for my students to investigate. Oxidation pond principle or the natural treatment is my favourite. This means cleaning the system with the help of water plants, fish and so on. My students have proved it successful by treating MILMA's sewage by growing the water hyacinth. The growing hyacinth plants were regularly removed from the system and were used either for mulching or as manure.

Another thing was the waste water treatment of the campus canteen. A model was set up and one third of the waste water was treated. As a result, the dissolved oxygen level was raised to 4mg/litre from 0, a level enough to grow fish. It was as part of their study that my students renovated the local pond Anathaichira – a very big pond. We have also studied on the potentials of Vellayani lake to be used as a water resource for Thiruvnanathapuram city and about the excess water that flow through the Karamana river. In 1999, our B.Tech. students have done a project on the menacing floods of Thampanoor during rains. They have identified some places where this water has to be stored and later to be pumped out. See, even as the authorities make much din over rainwater harvesting and all, a modest rain leaves Thampanoor in a bad shape.

While teaching architecture students I stress on water conservation. Kerala soil, except in waterlogged Kuttanad, has the capacity to store whatever amount of rain water that fall. My recent assignment for them is to identify places within this campus from where water is wasted. Our ultimate aim is to ensure that the whole rain that falls in our campus will be conserved in our campus itself.

Left: The front view of CET in 1964 lacks any plantation in its premises. Right: Dr. Thankamony's effort has successfully changed the picture. The campus is now as green as a jade.

About building a green blanket for the CET campus?

It was in 1975, during our time that we started greening the campus. When I joined here, there were only a few trees and a conspicuous biodiversity was absent. In front of our staff room was a courtyard, devoid of any vegetation. I felt it bad to keep a courtyard as bare as it was, because at my home, we had a traditional Nalukettu and Ettukettu with a central courtyard that had the cooling freshness owing to many trees and plants. This kindled me the idea of planting trees in the campus. Exquisite traditional plants including Paarijaatham, Pavizhamalli, Gandharaajan were grown. Soon the courtyard turned into a green corner. Since the soil was hard laterite, earlier the rain water used to collect here for days. But now, the thickly populated plants have offered a spongy top soil that absorbs water even during torrential rains. This canopy now attracts so many birds too and even has a nest of the tailor bird. It's the second time the tailor bird is building the nest here. [Dr. Thankamony pauses for a while to enjoy butterflies zigzagging from one flower to the other.]

Left: The campus without a green cover during Dr. Thankanony's studentship in 1975. Rght: Same spot with ample trees as in 2005.

Your students have even published a book on the birds?

Surely. Titled, 'Feathered friends of our campus', it is indeed a very beautiful book and so many people have appreciated it. The production was something very professional. The photos were taken by our own students. Many people couldn't believe the quality of the book's production. Somebody even wondered whether our campus was really an abode to this much varieties of birds. Success with the bird census has now prompted us to start a butterfly survey. A checklist for 52 types has already been prepared. We have also identified trees and labeled them. It is now gratifying for us to see that several other campuses are following our suit.

About modern landscaping, architecture?
These days, landscaping means only few palm-type trees which don't shut their leaves and the carpet grass. This lacks the biodiversity concept. Birds, butterflies and other natural system would be attracted to your lawns only if there is a biodiversity concept in landscaping. Even a weed has got it's own significance - I believe.

It is a treasured memory for Dr. Thankamony that she could win Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award a national honour for tree lovers, for the year 2002 and accompany her mother Devaki Amma (Right), who bagged the same title for 2003, for receiving the award from the same function held in New Delhi in the year 2005.

Mother has been an inspiration?

My mother has shown me that environmental conservation need not require scientific knowledge or technological backup, if we have the traditional wisdom. With the lore handed down by the past generations, she has been doing her best to keep our home and its surroundings as green as possible. The national recognition, Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award was conferred to me and my mother respectively in 2002 and 2003. Both these awards were issued in 2005 in Delhi. It was a sublime experience for me to accompany my mother – my first environmental master – for receiving this top recognition. It was a proud moment.

To the latest, in recogniton of the valuable models established by her in the CET for better rainwater harvesting, Palathulli Award instituted by the largest circulated Malayala Manorama daily was presented to Dr. Thankamony by the Kerala Chief Minister, V.S. Achuthanandan.

Response from colleagues, students, others?

Good response, good response. Earlier we had got two awards from the Friends of Trees – one for our sandalwood and the other for Asoka tree. But the national award could catch everyone's eye. Even those who were cynical of my love for flora and fauna changed their approach. With this award, I got students of different conservational tastes together. This marked the beginning of our environmental club. There are still a section of people who frown on our plantations. They want this forest-like appearance to be cleared. Nonetheless there are magnanimous individuals like poetess and unflagging environmentalist Sugathakumari, who wrote an article praising our humble efforts. Once while sitting at our eco-corner, she told she didn't want to leave the cool of our campus. Our national award inscription also has a reference to the cool micro climate of our campus. And what we have observed is that this eco-corner is much cooler than other localities of our campus.

Photo: Seeking the same green shade: Poetess Sugathakumari (left) was an unforgettable visitor to the Environmental Club at CET.