A pathway shaped like treble clef laid out amidst 74 trees denoting 74 years of the late musical legend SP Balasubrahmanyam’s life — this is SPB vanam , an urban forest coming up in Coimbatore in memory of the singer. It is developed by Coimbatore-based Siruthuli, an environmental NGO, and Perur Chettipalayam Village Panchayat at a 1.5 acre reserve site in Pachapalayam.
Actor Vivek (third left) and Siruthuli’s Managing Trustee Vanitha Mohan (second right) planting a sapling at SPB Vanam
While Siruthuli already has Kalam vanam (a Miyawaki forest with 80,000 trees on a 25-acre spread of land) dedicated to the late former President of India, they wanted something similar for the iconic singer. “How else do you remember a legend?” asks Vanitha Mohan, managing trustee of Siruthuli, adding, “A career spanning 50 years and 42,000 songs in 16 languages is a phenomenal feat. The singer advocated people to care for Nature at his concerts, especially during COVID-19 outbreak. It touched an instant chord with us.”
- Actor Vivekh and SPB share something in common. Both made their acting debut with K Balachandar’s Manadhil Urudhi Vendum . “He was an established singer but a newcomer to acting. Both of us spent time together on the sets discussing nuances of acting. I would list my favourite SPB songs and he would sing them for me. SPB would recall his student days when he would cycle to his engineering college and stop at a tea shop to listen to Mohammed Rafi’s song and invariably tear up every time. Then, he would joke how the shopkeeper mistook that he cried because of poor quality tea and stopped serving him tea!”
- His favourite SPB song? “There are so many gems...I will pick ‘Mannil Indha Kaadhal...’”
Once the idea took shape, they chose trees that have a musical connection. There are rows of trees whose wood is used to make a tabla, violin, veena or tanpura, sharing space with shenbaga trees known for its fragrant, orange blossoms, and trees that bear scented flowers like pavizha malli , paneer pushpam , and manoranjitham . “We wanted the vanam to bring back memories of the singer’s musical journey. We researched on native trees and zeroed in on teak, red sanders, ebony, rosewood, bamboo, and neem that are used to make Indian musical instruments,” says Vanitha Mohan.
SPB Vanam has 74 trees denoting 74 years of the legend
The banrutipala, a special variety of jackfruit tree that is used to make mridangam, occupies a pride of place at the SPB vanam . To pay tribute to the devotional songs he has sung for deities in places like Thiruvannamalai, they have added sthala vrikshams like nagalingam , marutham , punnai and mahilam that can be seen at ancient temples. Every single tree is named after a popular SPB song. For example, the first tree, the fragrant shenbagam is named after ‘Aayiram Nilavey Vaa’, his first song for the MGR-starrer Adimaipen.
“In another three years time, the green canopy will become the venue where birdsongs fill the air with a musical orchestra,” says V Chandrasekhar, convener – afforestation, Siruthuli. Drip irrigation is in place for the trees and stakeholders like the Perur Pachapalayam Panchayat and the Officer’s Colony Association have come forward to maintain it.
An aerial view of SPB Vanam
The treble clef pathway also serves as walker’s track. Soon, there will be Miyawaki forest along the borders too. A raised platform will be added in the middle where artistes can have musical concerts. Actor and comedian Vivekh who planted the saplings of Shenbagam and Punnai trees at the vanam is all praise for the green initiative. Vivekh is also the founder of Green Kalam and as an ambassador of late president Abdul Kalam’s green movement, he has been planting saplings in several parts of Tamil Nadu over the last few years. He emphasises, “What a beautiful way to remember an international legend... much better than erecting a statue.”
