Coimbatore : To provide a platform to his fans tocommemorate and celebrate his life, Siruthuli, an NGO working for recharge of underground water, created a SPB Vanam (forest) devoted to late singer, S P Balasubramaniam (SPB), Thursday which also happened to be the birthday of former president, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam.

Siruthuli had been commemorating the birth anniversary of its guide and mentor Abdul Kalam on October 15.

This year it was an extra special commemorative initiative along with the 89th birthday remembrance of Kalam, a tree tribute to the legendary singer Balasubrahmanyam who had etched a special space in the hearts of music lovers across the globe, whose loss seems almost irreplaceable and who had requested his listeners to protect Mother Nature in his last virtual music program.

Siruthuli decided to create an Urban Forest – SPB Vanam – comprising 74 trees to commemorate the 74 glorious years of SPB.

A unique feature of SPB Vanam was that saplings of trees from whose wood musical instruments were made had been chosen along with Sthala Vrikshams dedicated to the Gods that SPB sang in praise of and finally a Champak tree symbolic of his birth star – Ayilyam.

Each tree bears the name of a popular song sung by SPB.

Coimbatore’s tribute to a great artiste was front ended by all the singers of this region along with nature lovers of Coimbatore under the aegis of Siruthuli. The Tree Tribute took place accompanied by a Musical Tribute by our local artistes.

The project was virtually launched through a video clip by SPB’s son, S P Charan and sister S P Shailaja who planted a Jackfruit Tree and a
Mango tree respectively.

The wood of these 2 trees are used extensively to make musical instruments. Also A.R.Rahman and Srinivas paid their tribute through a video clip and representatives from SPB Fans Charitable Foundation also participated in the event.

Safety measures were stringently followed for the event to ensure COVID protocol norms. Therefore the number of participants had been limited to a great extent. Masks and protective shields were provided by Siruthuli as an added
precautionary measure and social distancing norms were enforced strictly.

Siruthuli Managing Trustee .Vanitha Mohan spoke about SPB Vanam besides sharing its journey with Dr.Kalam and the uniqueness of the Project.

Red Sanders, Rosewood, Neem Mahogany, Silver Oak, Sandal wood, teak, jack fruit, Mango and bamboo among the musical instruments tree are to be planted, with nine fragant trees, Vanitha Mohan said.