Swiss green crusader with Dharwad ties passes away

Dharwad: Markus Horlacher, 75, a wildlife photographer and environmentalist, died in Switzerland on April 9. He was airlifted from Chennai to Switzerland on April 8 as per his wish of dying in his motherland. He lived and worked in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu. Though his death was not widely reported, Dharwad is in deep sorrow. Horlacher was a regular visitor to Dharwad since he landed in Tiruvannamalai in 1987. Many of his Dharwad friends recall that Horlacher used to visit forests around Dharwad and advise locals on conserving the environment. His last visit was just three months ago. He was suffering from meningo-encephalitis and died through euthanasia.Dr Sanjeev Kulkarni, a gynaecologist-turned-natural farming expert who has developed Sumana Sangama Kaadu Thota, recalled that Markus' father Kurt Horlacher, was the first principal of NTTF Dharwad between 1964 and 69. "An entrepreneur in Dharwad offered his house, located in Saraswatpur, to Kurt. Markus often used to visit his parents. We met him in 1992. He often wandered around Dharwad and North Karnataka region. We joined him in several treks. He formed a team involving environmentalists Krishna Kumar Bhagwat, Gangadhar Kallur, Prakash Bhat, PV Hiremath and others. He used to bring seeds and saplings from everywhere and plant them here. In 1996, when I ventured into agriculture at 17 acres of barren land, he gave many saplings and seeds. He arrived with 20 special saplings once and insisted that I plant them on the same day and we witnessed heavy rains the same night. He has a major share in Sumana Sangama Kaadu Thota," he said.Harshavardhan Sheelavant, an environmental writer, noted that Markus had developed a farm around his house in Dharwad city and it had become a must-visit place for farm enthusiasts. "He was great donor of seeds and saplings of rare varieties. He did the same at Ramana Maharshi Ashram at Tiruvannamalai and Auroville in Tamil Nadu as a volunteer. He was an extraordinary wildlife photographer. He knew Kannada, Marathi, Hindi and English. He trained Dharwad children in trekking, rock climbing, cycling, rope climbing and other nature-oriented activities for three decades. He was fondly called ‘Markus Mama' by Dharwadians. He just went on conserving nature," he recalled.He also resided at Krishna Kumar Bhagwat's residence during his visits to Dharwad.