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To practice and spread the message of protection of all types of natural resources for posterity

A Miracle in Transformation: Amrita’s Coimbatore Campus

Visitors to Amrita’s Coimbatore campus are often struck by its beauty. They remark about the lush greenery, the shaded walkways lined by trees, the serene atmosphere. When Wall Street  Journal’s livemint.com ran a feature on the Amrita School of Business at this campus, it wrote about the campus as being perhaps India’s most picturesque campus. Indeed, students and faculty  members also express the same feelings — to them, the campus is like an oasis in a desert.

For, just beyond the boundaries of the 350-acre campus, is a completely different terrain. Vegetation is thin, the land is dry and covered with thorny shrubs. This is how the campus was also,  when land was first purchased by Amrita, nearly eighteen years ago. For two years, before a college could be started, the land had to be first cleared. The first trees were planted then. Today there  are one lakh trees on this campus; they certainly seem as if they have been there forever. 90% of these trees are less than ten years old, however.

Over the years, students have also taken an active part in the effort. “We already have the largest collection of trees in South India,” shares Dr. Aravind. “Agricultural University arranges field trips for their students to come here and study the various species.” Planting of trees continues unabated even today. With the help of saplings donated to villagers, green cover is now slowly extending to the nearby hills also. These activities are perhaps what has led to a drop in the average recorded temperature of the region by nearly five degrees.

A majestic statue of Saraswathi Devi sits against the backdrop of the Western Ghats. “Even though I am not an engineer, I made a drawing and gave it to the sculptors. Usually the goddess of learning is shown seated atop a rock, here she sits in a lotus.” The statue has become something of an icon; now nearly every Amrita campus has one. It is easy to see that a lot of love has been poured into the making and greening of this Amrita campus. The beautiful landscaped expanses, the all-pervading tranquil ambience; this has been a labor of love.

“Amma has now asked me to help with landscaping efforts at other Amrita campuses too,” remarks Dr. Aravind. Much younger, the other campuses still have ongoing construction, in some cases. “With God’s grace, I am sure that we will be able to repeat the same miracle again and again on all of the Amrita campuses.”