Plant Zeal

All for a Banana!

Recently a cousin visited us. The family had settled in the west for a number of years and the kids knew the language of the adopted land much better than the mother tongue. Having a strict diet plan for kids she wanted to buy bananas. We went to the nearest super market. I was a bit surprised when she picked just one banana (don't we buy in bunches). Probably this is as per the diet plan! However the gesture at the counter made me remember another incident that happened when we travelled recently. BTW the lady at the counter just slipped the banana with the rest of the stuff and said it was ok, no need to pay for one banana.

When we were travelling recently, we took a walking tour in an exotic famous city. Just like in any walking tour you walk for around 8 to 10 kms and then you are tired and hungry. We were tired and were happy to spot a small fruit shop (like a kiosk) on the roadside. We picked a bunch of bananas and the person weighed it using a pair of hand scales. The precision with which he measured was amazing. He slid the 100 grams weight, and then replaced it with 50 grams, then with 20 and then 10 grams. A banana measured to a precision of 10 grams - it was the first time I ever noticed anything like that.

Back home, bananas are considered pretty common fruit - very inexpensive, often the altruistic and animal loving buy this fruit to feed it to the stray cows.

A banana is a banana but strikes various connotations in different parts of the world.

Plants are truly inspiring - It is said that they feel and live life like any of us. Dr Jagdish chandra Bose, one of pioneering Indian scientists proved through his experiments that plants have Nervous system. Ironically, he did not get recognition  and this fact is much more acknowledged by todays scientists . He invented an instrument called the crescograph that recorded the reaction of plants to stimuli such as plucking a leaf. The pulsation of the plant stopped when the leaf was plucked.

An article about a farmer in Australia is about using taped sound of crickets to stimulate growth in crops. The theory behind this being - crickets usually chirp right before a rain, the chirping sound tricked the plants to open their stomata’s (the breathing pores) on the underside of the leaves and enabled them to absorb more mist that helped them grow. Can plants actually hear sound?  Thank God, nobody knows and we can conjecture and debate upon this as we wish.

Another Plant physiology journal had an interesting observation. "Plants not only seem to feel, they can even communicate to their fellow plants”. This research was done in Africa. When animals chew the leaves of Acacia tree, firstly the tree pumps a chemical to make the leaf taste bad. It then sends out a gas through its leaves. As the gas drifts to other Acacia trees, the other trees start their defence mechanism of pumping the chemicals in their leaves. These trees communicate with each other, signaling danger and marshaling defenses against perceived threats.

 This research prompted the Swiss government to pass the first-ever Plant Bill of Rights. This bill states that plants have moral and legal protections, and citizens have to treat them appropriately. Hence in Switzerland, be wary; unnecessary and careless acts such as decapitating flowers is considered an offence. In short, this law re-iterates that all living things should be treated with respect.

Plants have tremendous zeal , their perseverance to survive against odds is truly inspiring . A seed tries its best to sprout and a sprout tries its best to grow. They bend towards light and bend away from things that are harmful (like this one in the pic below).

 

 

This plant at home has been steadily moving away from the TV during the past 2 years. It was a pretty straight plant when it first arrived 2 years ago and it's reaction,  provides more evidence than the reports that CRTs/ LEDs may (or may not) have gamma or any other electromagnetic rays that will harm cellular life. 

The following 2 kurals emphasize the need to have Zeal in life, something that we can learn from plants if we watch them carefully.

Ullam Utaimai Utaimai Porulutaimai (Kural 592)
Nillaadhu Neengi Vitum

There is no lasting wealth like Zeal. All riches can fade away, Zeal is the true wealth that without it, he is really poor, despite all his other possessions.

Vellath Thanaiya Malarneettam Maandhardham (Kural 595)
Ullath Thanaiyadhu Uyarvu

The stalks of water-lilies are proportionate to the depth of water; the life of a person will flourish in proportion to the Zeal of his mind.

 

Plant Thuje Salam