Skip to main content

The CICADA


By Dr. R Sudarshan

After climbing a dozen moringa trees and spending hours looking for them, one Cicada appeared, allowing us near, and readers, to feel its impression, look at the above portrait!

SILENCE OF THE BIRDS - The CHANTING CICADAS 

Suddenly this week, hundreds of male Cicadas took up their position high in the trees and began to chant. Their combined decibel value can be over 120 and their warble is like a dozen chainsaws grinding the wood. The birds are almost silent now OR you just don't hear them. It is all the way a symposium of critters, mainly on the moringa trees.

There isn't a person on the planet that has not heard the Cicada chant. They are everywhere except on poles. And their summer rush into farms and forests indicates the health of the green. They are as common as they are exclusive. Most of them hide in the soil when born and come out only after 15 to 17 years and climb a tree to chant. Thus in many cultures, they are symbolic of immortality. Their Tymbal membranes vibrate 400 times in a second to give out that rambling sound. They don't harm, they don't bite, they simply come out once in as many years only to chant, mate, and go out of sight just in a few weeks.

It is so hard to see them. But when they swarm the farm, that's a sign that all is fine.

For any relevant query, message 81051 12990.

* * *

Padma Farms (Gaddige Road), Farmer's House, 1A, 13th Cross, Kalidasa Road, VV Mohalla, Mysore.

Labels:
Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

COMMUNITY DIALOGUE - 1

By Dr. R Sudarshan EATING CLEAN: COMMUNITY DIALOGUE - 1;  Featured Speaker - Sindhu Ramachandra;  Friday, 15 July 2022 at 5:30 PM E ating clean is a lifestyle fundamental, easily ignored and abused in the fast lane of tongue temptations. And the long convoluted tube that we call 'gut' is often turned into a gutter that is forced to process what it is not meant for - synthetic food, herbicides, pesticides, and life-threatening substances. Sindhu is a biochemist with work experience from IISc. She pursues data science and AI in the context of biochemistry. An ardent believer in organic farming, she cares for clean foods. And she knows how unclean foods can turn your life upside down. Community Dialogues at the Farmer's House are an engagement with reason to restore the dignity of life. Come, listen, interact and benefit. Attendance is FREE. Register with Gagan at 97421 62956. * * * Farmer's House, Silverfish Books, Kutz Bowl and the Farmer's Market, # 1A, 13th Cross,...
Post a Comment
Read more

SISTERS OF THE WAR

By Dr. R Sudarshan T hose of us that are born in a land and society of relative peace will never understand the pains and perils of war. The extreme sufferings people undergo for no fault of theirs and their inescapable fate of circumstances are unbelievable stories for us, as we sip from our mugs of comfort coffee. The civil war in Syria is an ongoing reality of our times. Rania Abouzeid writes the real story of two pairs of sisters, surviving the bullets, broken homes, blasted childhood, and a routine of a revolting rut.  Those are real-life stories of how hope works. A reflection on how the one earth and one time that we all share is an unequal opportunity of existence. On the shelf - a mood that grips you and makes you grateful for what you have. For any relevant query, message 81051 12990. * * * Silverfish Books, Farmer's House, # 1A - 13th Cross, Kalidasa Road, VV Mohalla, Mysore.
Post a Comment
Read more

LITTLE ANUSHKA

By Dr. R Sudarshan L ittle Anushka comes every Wednesday to the midweek mini-market, with some produce from her farm.  She arranges the vegetables and greens with a sense of elegance. She picks up pieces of paper and labels the display.  She uses freshly washed clothes to drape the greens that would otherwise fade and faint in the sun.  She is a draper, designer, and fashion maker of the midweek market display.  And as she waits for the customers to come and shop, she collects bugs, praying mantes, and insects and watches them wiggle. * * * * * ANUSHKA'S MIDWEEK MARKET ENCOUNTERS W atch video:  https://fb.watch/dxj9C0DTvC/ We earlier wrote how little Anushka brings her farm produce to the market, helps manage the floor, and sits fascinated with bugs and butterflies. Today, she helped keep away the orders, labeled them, and then sat down with a blob of jackfruit latex, playing with its elastic ecstacy. Pasting okra tops on the wall, breaking the beans with a soun...
Post a Comment
Read more