'My sons have been very generous'

Breaking the stereotypical image of a typical environmentalist or a landscaper comes Revathi Kamath, who is a veena player by passion and landscaper at heart, balancing both. Speaking at the recent Sinhasi Social Impact Initiative’s conference on Wetlands Conservation & Climate Change, on Sunday, Kamath’s words underscore her thoughts on the current state of wetlands in India, the challenges of maintaining them, and how people can do their part to bring back the green. Reflecting on her family’s support of her works, she proudly shares how her sons’ understanding of her commitment to change reflects the values she instilled in them from a young age. “Since childhood, they [sons Nithin and Nikhil Kamath, CEO and co-founder of Zerodha (an online brokerage platform), respectively] have been very generous. It’s in their genes,” Kamath notes.

Her approach to parenting was always rooted in values like empathy and compassion. “I have brought them up to contribute,” she says, adding, “My sons, especially Nithin, tell me – ‘You do it with your own money and don’t depend on any organisations, only then people will recognise you.’ Nikhil at times will transfer money for a project to me without asking anything,” she shares, highlighting her sons’ approach to supporting her causes.

One of the significant challenges while doing environmental conservation, according to Kamath, is the widespread planting of non-native species in the city and forest areas. “Apart from existing old trees in Bengaluru, new saplings are not growing which is very alarming. Along with that, non-native species like Tabebuia are being planted in our forests, disrupting local ecosystems,” she explains, adding, “I have not seen Conocarpus planted in forest areas but in public areas like public parks. Conocarpus is not a bio-friendly plant. It may cause lots of allergies to human beings.” She also points out the issue of trees that fail to thrive and die due to a lack of maintenance, stating, “They plant thousands of trees, but without proper care, they don’t grow. We need to focus not just on planting,but on nurturing.”

Balancing her musical pursuit which she terms as a ‘puja’, a relaxing time, and environmental conservation, Kamath also points out how she supports herself for her philanthropic works. “I am also an entrepreneur. It’s not like I am in this for money; whatever income I get, I keep half of it for the philanthropic works.” Further, reflecting on her future projects, Kamath says, “As a landscaper in India, I know I can rejuvenate a lake with lesser cost. So now I have three to four projects in my hand. If you make a group of 1,000 and contribute `5,000, or if one lakh people contribute `50 each, we can regenerate one lake,” she says.

“We must contribute something to the world. Even though I’m a grandmother, I still believe in this. If something happens to me tomorrow, I won’t have any regrets because I’ve done so much. One person can’t do everything, but I’ve done my part,” she concludes.