Blending Two Cultures: Anglo-Indians

August 1, 2024 ~ millennialmatriarchs ~ Leave a comment

What do Ben Kingsley, Engelbert Humperdinck, Cliff Richard, Sebastian Coe and Derek O’Brien have in common? While they have each made a name in different spheres from entertainment to sport, they are all described by a common word ‘Anglo-Indian’.

This word which was more often heard when we were young, as compared with today, was used to refer broadly to people who were ‘anglicised’ in the way they looked, and the way they lived. They were often better English-language speakers, wore ‘western’ clothes and ate food that combined local as well as ‘foreign’ flavours. They appeared in literature as ‘gora memsaabs and sahebs’.

The term Anglo-Indian commonly refers to people with British and Indian parentage. Legally, it means Indian citizens who are of European descent on their father’s side – which means that their paternal ancestors could be British, French or Portuguese. Thus the history of this community is tied with the history of colonialism in India. It goes back to the 16^th century when the Portuguese colonised parts of India. It is believed that the Portuguese encouraged their soldiers to marry local women to “create a community that would be loyal to the colonisers, yet comfortable living in the colonies”. The offspring of these couples were called Luso-Indians, and then Eurasians. Later, the Dutch and British traders and colonists also adopted this strategy. In the early years East India Company employees and British officials who came to India left their families behind. The men had relationships with Indian women resulting in mixed-race children.

The East India Company directors in the seventeenth century paid one gold mohur as family allowance, for each child born to an Indian mother and a European father. Children with British or European fathers and Indian mothers were called “country-born” and included those with Portuguese, Dutch or French fathers. These offspring grew to become what was called the Anglo-Indian community, which was a kind of middle population between the British rulers and native subjects.

The term “Anglo-Indian” was first used by Warren Hastings in the eighteenth century to describe both the British in India and their Indian-born children. Once English women also started accompanying their men and living in India, the racial lines became more defined. In the nineteenth century the British in India still separated themselves from coloured people but accepted fairer (and often wealthier) people of dual heritage as “Anglo-Indian”. Darker (and usually poorer) people were given the name “Eurasian”. From 1791 the Anglo-Indians were debarred from the East India Company’s armies and many trained the armies of the Indian princes.

The Anglo-Indian identity originally developed out of this fusing together of eastern and western cultures. But this blending of cultures over time also became a source of discomfort and alienation. Historically, the community was discriminated against by the British for their skin colour and mixed race. They were also viewed with suspicion by native Indians because of their loyalty to the crown.

In the Indian census of 1911 the term ‘Anglo Indian’ was used as a category denoting persons of mixed ethnicity. Being defined as a separate group from both white Europeans and Indians had its advantages and disadvantages. They were put in a superior group from the general Indian population, but remained inferior to the white-skinned British. Within the group itself those with lighter skin had better access to white spaces and privileges. Many secured jobs on the British civil service, trade and industry. They were described as the wheels, the cranks and the levers of the Empire-building machinery. They were employed in large numbers to work on the railways, working in many associated fields from engine driver to fire-fighter. These “railway people” as they were called, lived in railway towns built for them by the British. Later it was the Anglo-Indian girls who were the forerunners in a number of professions, from being one the first air hostesses, to teachers, nurses and secretarial assistants who were skilled at their work. They also evolved their own culture with distinct style, cuisine, and music.

In the early 1930s Ernest Timothy McCluskie, an Anglo-Indian businessman from Calcutta, approached the erstwhile King of Ratu for a 10,000-acre land to establish a settlement, or ‘mooluk’ for the Anglo-Indian community. He was granted land about 65 km from Ranchi in what is now Jharkhand, on a perpetual lease. It was a beautiful location amidst forests and rivers and more than 400 Anglo-Indian families from across the country moved to settle there. Here they created a ‘mini England’ and lived a luxurious life. This continued till the mid-1960s. The lack of livelihood options, and adequate facilities for education and healthcare led to most of the people moving out, and McCluskieganj or the “Gunj” as it was called became a ghost town. Today this almost forgotten town has some educational institutions and is an out-of-the-way tourist spot.

In 1926 Henry Gidney, who had an Irish father and Indian mother founded the All India Anglo-Indian Association to represent and campaign for the interests of this mixed-race group.

The Government of India Act of 1935 defined an Anglo-Indian as “a person whose father or any of whose other male progenitors in the male line is or was of European descent but who is a native of India.”

When India attained freedom from British rule this community was placed in a dilemma. Those with lighter skin returned to Britain and gradually integrated into British society. Many also chose to migrate to other countries of the Commonwealth, especially Canada and Australia where they set down roots. Most of these immigrants went on to marry the within the population of those countries, and in a couple of generations were completely absorbed within the culture of the country where they had settled. However a section of the Anglo-Indian community continued to remain in India and like their immigrant fellows went on to marry Indians and gradually merge into the mainstream. However they also retained some of the characteristics of their distinct culture.

Meanwhile the All India Anglo-Indian Association, headed by Frank Anthony since 1942, lobbied for an official recognition of the group in India, and secured special provisions for Anglo-Indians in the constitution of the newly independent country. Article 366 of the Constitution defined Anglo-Indian as “a person whose father or any of whose other male progenitors in the male line is or was of European descent”. The key points of this definition were retained when Anglo-Indians were listed as an official minority group in India’s constitution in 1950. Two seats were reserved for Anglo-Indians in the Lok Sabha, and in the Legislative Assemblies of the States. These members were to be nominated by the President of India. The reservation continued until 2020 when the clause was amended, and the special status was removed.

Today the original Anglo-Indian community has dwindled considerably. New generations with Anglo-Indian roots have fully assimilated into the culture of the countries or communities that they have settled in. However in recent times there has been a growing curiosity among these to trace their ancestry and heritage. Today there are internet communities that are inviting people to contribute family histories and memories. Cookbooks with revived recipes of the distinctive dishes like Jalfrezi, country Captain Chicken and Railway Lamb Curry and pepper water are becoming popular. Community gatherings in places where there are still pockets of Anglo-Indian populations are an occasion for the elders to share reminiscences of childhood meals of yellow rice and meatball curry, lively dance parties and perhaps “the good old days.” There is a special celebration every year on 2 August which is as World Anglo-Indian Day. This was the day when the definition of Anglo-Indian featured for the first time as part of the India Act 1935.

–Mamata

Mangroves: Straddling Land and Sea

July 25, 2024 ~ millennialmatriarchs ~ Leave a comment

Vaulting strut roots crisscross one another, spikes of air breathing roots project from the mud, water casts a silvery shimmer on the underside of leaves…endless changing patterns. David Attenborough

Among the sandy and rocky shores of estuaries and muddy sea coasts, in places where any other tree would perish as a seedling, beneath daily tides and a salty diet, lives a special type of tree. These are the mangroves. There are many species of mangroves, but all are united by a common property: their tolerance to salt.

What makes these trees salt-resistant? Some mangroves take in sea water, extract the salt with special glands and secrete it from their leaves. Others have roots that filter out most of the salt even as it enters the tree. The remaining salt is stored in the oldest leaves of the tree—those that are about to fall. Thus the salt does little harm.

Mangrove trees have to adapt not only to living in salt water, but also to growing in continually shifting sandy soil which gives little scope for the trees to get a firm hold. Mangroves anchor themselves to the soil by sending out long roots from trunk and branches. These act as stilts to support the tree and prevent it from toppling over. The muddy water where they live contains very little oxygen, but the mangroves have an ingenious solution to this problem too. The trees send out a second air-breathing root system—not downwards, but poking up above the mud, like the snorkel of a diver!

The offspring of the mangroves are as remarkable as their parents. The seeds of most mangroves germinate on the tree, producing a pointed stem about a foot long, with roots and leaves just formed. If the juvenile plant drops into the water at low tide, the stem plummets into the mud below, and is ready to take root immediately. If the young plant is washed out to sea, it may eventually hit land—a sand bar or coral reef, and start to grow there. Someday, given the right conditions, this mangrove and its own offspring could start a mangrove swamp of their own.

In addition to the props that come down and the roots that poke up, the tangled roots at the base of the mangrove trap the silt and debris from the sea, as well as the trees’ own fallen leaves. Over time, this accumulation helps to create more land area around the mangrove trees. And a new habitat is created.

Mangrove swamps perform a very important role for the land and the ocean that they straddle. They provide vital breeding grounds and habitats for a wide variety of fish and crustaceans. The nutrient-rich soil provides food and shelter to innumerable organisms, including monkeys, deer and birds, and a source of nectar for honeybees. The fallen leaves provide shelter to tiny shelled creatures. Floating mangrove leaves provide a base for larval growth and micro fauna. The rotting leaves provide food for insects, reptiles and shellfish. These smaller creatures form food for the larger creatures that live or pass through the swamps. Many fish-eating birds come here for the abundant food and shelter. Mangroves support complex communities, where thousands of other species interact. It is a world teeming with biodiversity.

Mangroves also ensure food security for human beings. By sustaining fisheries and through the numerous forest produce they provide, mangroves also sustain local communities with food and livelihoods.

Mangroves nurture the seas and protect the land. Mangroves act as a form of natural coastal defence: reducing erosion, attenuating waves (including tsunamis) and reducing the height of storm surges. They protect coral reefs, sea grass beds and shipping lanes against siltation. They help control floods by catching and spreading high velocity flood waters and trap it amongst their roots. Thus they protect coastlines from erosion and extreme weather events, and contribute to water quality by filtering out nutrients and sediments. Mangrove soils are highly effective carbon sinks. They are among the most carbon-rich tropical ecosystems globally, and can contain more carbon per square metre than tropical rainforests. They also fight climate change – with global mangrove forests sequestering as much as 22.8 million tons of carbon each year.

Healthy mangrove ecosystems are vital for the wellbeing, food security, and protection of coastal communities worldwide. Mangroves are among the world’s most dynamic ecosystems, but increasing encroachment by development and industry means they are also among the most at risk.

All over the world mangroves are being degraded at an alarming rate. They are being destroyed at rates 3-5 times greater than average rates of forest loss. Multiple pressures are destroying these unique ecosystems which perform vital functions for both the terrestrial and marine habitats that they nurture and protect.

Mangroves are exploited, directly or indirectly, for food, timber, medicines, honey, charcoal, and fisheries. There is tremendous pressure on the areas where they grow due to increasing population and its demands. One of the main threats to mangroves is from habitat destruction for coastal development and aquaculture. Mangroves have been converted into salt pans, aquaculture ponds or paddy fields. Rising sea levels are a longer-term challenge.

Pollution and over-exploitation are also reducing the ecosystem services provided by mangroves. Changes in local water conditions caused by upstream dams, irrigation and pollution have led to the loss of many mangroves. Mangroves are often used for dumping waste, including plastics that do not degrade, harming both these ecosystems and the species living there. The accumulation of marine debris can alter the physical and chemical composition of sediments.

Mangrove swamps are called ‘mangals’ in India. About 50 species of mangrove trees are found in our mangals. The maximum number of mangrove species have been reported from the Orissa coast. The best mangrove formations in India occur in the Sundarbans in the Bay of Bengal, and in the Andaman and Nicobar islands. The Sundarbans is believed to be the largest single block of tidal mangrove forests in the world where all the species of Indian mangroves are represented. Sundarbans has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. However these unique ecosystems are under as much threat as those across the world.

The earth and humanity simply cannot afford to lose these vital ecosystems.

In recognition of this the General Conference of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has declared the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem to be celebrated on 26 July every year. The day aims to raise awareness of the importance of mangrove ecosystems as “a unique, special and vulnerable ecosystem” and to promote solutions for their sustainable management, conservation and uses. There are several international as well as national initiatives that are working towards these solutions. This day is a reminder of the pivotal role of mangroves in preserving ecosystems.

–Mamata

A MURDER OF CROWS

July 18, 2024 ~ millennialmatriarchs ~ Leave a comment

A few days ago our champa tree was the venue for an impromptu gathering of crows. They descended literally out of the blue and within flapping seconds, settled onto the branches and commenced a raucous chorus. What a “cawcaphony” I said to myself and peeped out to investigate the cause of the assembly. It turned out that there was a dead crow not far from the tree, and the incident was being marked with a suitable mourning from its clan. Quite spontaneously, I remembered that the collective noun for a group of crows is called a ‘murder’ of crows. Well here I was witness to a murder of crows in action!

Why this descriptor? The term is believed to have originated in England in the 15^th century, and was linked to old folk tales and superstitions. In the Middle Ages, collective nouns were often given to animals based not only on their behaviour but also on superstitions or prevalent attitudes towards them.

One among these was the belief that crows will come together to decide the fate of another crow (a court of crows?). Another belief was that the appearance of crows was an omen of death. Yet another, based on the fact that crows are scavengers and were thought to circle over areas where animals and people were expected to die. A more scientific reason for his may be that crows are opportunistic feeders and will eat everything–carrion, small animals, insects, or crops, and thus find their way to wherever these may be available.

In fact, crows, though often considered to be pests, and generally irritating, are a highly intelligent and social species. They have the ability to create and use tools, they have been known to solve multi-step puzzles. They are extremely social birds that flock together and also have an ability to learn from each other.

Another interesting aspect of crow communities is that they have been shown to recognize their dead and hold “funerals” for dead individuals, something that has only been observed in a few other species including elephants, dolphins and some primates. This could be an unsettling scene for observers, (probably what I witnessed) but scientists believe this is a way by which they communicate to their fellow crows about potential threats to be avoided.

Besides ‘funerals’ why do crows flock together? For many reasons. Crow are smart and adaptable, and gathering in large groups is often both a solution to a problem and a social benefit. Communal foraging strengthens social bonds and hierarchies within the crow community as well as efficiency. Communal roosting provides safety from predators and establishes social bonds, social learning and information.

The ‘cawcaphony’ also has its reasons. Loud and distinctive cawing is used to convey messages about food locations, to call others for support in defending their territory, or to alert the flock of approaching predators. There are specific caws for different types of danger. As well as caws, crows have softer calls which are used within family groups.

Yes crows are a part of our lives, generally around, but not really headline grabbers. Until recently, when crows have been in the news. And this time the news is about a literal “murder of crows”. The target of this planned execution is the Indian house crow Corvus splendens, whose population is being systematically eliminated in Kenya.

The story of the crow in Kenya goes back to the 1880s when it is believed that the first few pairs of Corvus splendens arrived on the island of Zanzibar by ship. One story goes that a breeding pair was presented to the Sultan of Zanzibar as a gift from an Indian dignitary. Another account believes that the scavenging crows were brought to the island in a bid to clean up the garbage. The introduced species soon gained a foothold not only on the island, but also spread to nearby mainland countries like Tanzania and Kenya. Showcasing all their traits of intelligence, adaptability and resourcefulness, the crow population grew rapidly and began to not just scavenge but also raid crops and poultry farms, as well as food sources in urban areas. By 1917, House crows were officially declared as ‘pests’ by the local authorities.

The House crow reached Kenya in 1947, and since then its numbers have exploded. The growing human population, both local and tourists (tourism is the mainstay of Kenyan economy) has led to growing waste sites with mounds of garbage. The municipal authorities have not been able to efficiently manage the waste. This has led to a huge proliferation of crows who not only feed on the garbage but have also learned to mob eating places and swoop up food from diners’ plates.

Besides the pestering of humans, conservationists are concerned that the overwhelming numbers of crows are driving out many smaller indigenous species of birds, impacting biodiversity. With decline in indigenous bird species, pests and insects begin to proliferate, impacting local flora as well as crop plants. This is one more case of how invasive species can impact local ecosystems.

The Kenyan government undertook a programme to control the invasive bird species twenty years ago. While this helped reduce the crow population for some time, the resilient species bounced back with an exponential rise in numbers. In the past there this menace has been addressed with the baiting of food with Starlicide, a slow-acting poison to tackle the crow menace. This time the Kenyan government is planning to use all methods, including this, to eliminate a million crows by the end of the year. A sad, but perhaps unavoidable, murder of crows.

And just last week was the news that the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to kill half a million Barred owls across the states of California, Washington and Oregon over the next ten years. This is because the population of Barred owls is crowding out its less aggressive relative the Northern spotted owl which is an endangered species. This news has sparked of several debates. While this is not a case of an invasive species, it is a case of one species becoming dominant, to the detriment of other species. There is also the moral issue of killing one species to protect another. Perhaps it will take a ‘parliament of owls’ to resolve the case!

Bicycle Marathon: Le Tour de France

July 11, 2024 ~ millennialmatriarchs ~ Leave a comment

The countdown has begun for the Paris Olympics which are scheduled to begin on 26 July. Even as athletes from around the world are in the final stages of their preparation in pursuit of the prized medals, another historic sports event closely associated with France is already underway. This is the famous Tour de France, a grueling marathon race that pushes riders and their bicycles to superhuman limits. The 111^th edition of this event made its start or Grand Depart from Florence in Italy on 29 June this year. The riders made their way to France where they added extra sparks to the already high Olympic fervor.

What is today considered to be the greatest annual bicycle race in the world, watched by millions around the world, the Tour the France has curious origins. The idea for the race came from George Lefevre a journalist with a sports magazine called L’Auto whose readership was falling. He convinced his editor that the publicity generated by such a race, including the prize money of 20,000 Francs, would attract attention and boost sales. Henri Desgrange, the director-editor of L’Auto and a former champion cyclist himself, loved the idea and gave the go ahead.

The first race was held in 1903. It had 60 riders and the circular route, to be covered in six stages, was 2428 km long. Riders rode as individuals, who were not allowed to receive any help along the way. They rode over unpaved roads on single speed bikes, without helmets, even at night. They had to carry out their own repairs if required; some rode with spare tires and tubes wrapped around their torso. Lefevre covered the tour, following by rail, bus and bike, and sent daily reports to the newspaper. By the time the race ended L’Auto’s circulation had soared. The first winner of the Tour the France was Maurice Garin, a part-time chimney sweep, who reached the finishing point three hours before the other racers, a record unbroken even today.

The race became an annual feature, and its rules evolved. In its early years the riders were predominantly French but within just ten years the race went international, attracting cyclists from many countries, eager to meet the gruelling challenges that the race offered. Over the years several mountain stages through the Alps and the Pyrenees were included. The annual race has retained its uninterrupted popularity over a century. The only times that the race did not take place was during the World Wars (1915-18 and 1940-46). In 2020 it was postponed due to the pandemic, but took place from August 29 to September 20.

Today the Tour de France route covers over 3,500 km, over a period of three weeks mainly in July. The mountainous terrain and the summer heat demands the greatest stamina and endurance levels.

The race consists of day-long sections known as stages. Each individual participant has his finish time aggregated daily to determine the overall winner at the end of the day. Individual race times are aggregated to determine the overall winner at the end of the race. The rider with the lowest overall time wins the race.

The rider who has the lowest cumulative time to complete a stage gets to wear the Tour de France maillot jaune (yellow jersey) the next day. The yellow jersey which was introduced in 1919, is the most sought-after symbol which indicates the special status of the wearer as the previous day’s leader. It is clearly visible as the riders whiz past, and the mailliot jaune is cheered on by the crowds that line the route.

There are also other colour jerseys to indicate other achievements. The green jersey was created in 1953 to recognise the rider who wins the race’s points competition. The white jersey with red polka dots, created in 1975, is awarded to the rider who amasses the most points from the numerous categorized climbs throughout the race. The white jersey awarded since 1975, is given to the rider (below 26 years) with the best overall standing to complete the race.

From a largely national attraction when was first launched in France, today the Tour de France has become the world’s largest annual multi-day sporting event, drawing millions of fans from across the globe, and watched by billions across the globe. Fans travel from across the globe to catch a glimpse of the world’s best cyclists. Besides lining the streets to cheer the riders as they speed through cities, towns and villages, there are also enthusiasts that camp along the high mountain routes. These become a community in themselves, as they enjoy the local scenery and explore the surroundings as they wait for the pelaton (the main body of cyclists) to arrive.

A lot has changed since the first Tour de France in 1903 which started with a 20,000 Franc prize. This year the overall leader will receive 500,000 Euros. The 2024 Tour de France will cover 3,492 kilometres in 21 stages, starting in Florence (Italy) and ending for the first time in Nice. There are expected to be 22 professional teams taking part this year, each with eight cyclists. They will be riding state-of-the-art bicycles carbon fibre bikes that weigh about seven kg, and they will have a choice of styles for different stages: flat, mountain and time trial. Each team will have access to spare bikes, clothing, food and drink in support cars, and as well as by a personal backroom staff masseurs, dietician and chefs (riders need to eat up to 7,000 calories a day – three times what average humans burn in a day).

With Paris on the eve of the opening of the Olympic Games on 26 July, there will be no room for the Tour de France’s traditional final stage finish on the Champs-Elysées in Paris. Instead the race will finish in Nice – the first time it has ever finished outside the French capital. However the race will certainly get the adrenalin flowing, which will merge with the bigger spectacle of the Olympics.

–Mamata

Sweet Celebration

July 4, 2024 ~ millennialmatriarchs ~ Leave a comment

Time was, when cakes and pastries were not as ubiquitous as they are today. Indian sweets (most often made at home) marked every occasion. A rare treat was the gift of a bar of chocolate, for a birthday, a good exam result, or a sweet sixteen romance. The purple wrapping gave the bar a special identity as a Cadbury chocolate. So much so that Cadbury became the synonym for any chocolate!

Today the market offers a wide choice of chocolates from ‘imported’ to ‘artisanal’ custom-made ones. Chocolate hampers have replaced the traditional mithai boxes as gifts for all occasions. While Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was once the daydream of every child, today children are spoilt for choice. And as a tribute to this, the world celebrates Chocolate Day on 7 July every year.

This is a good occasion to go back in history to follow the story of this universal favourite. The history goes back at least 2,500 years or more. While the cocoa bean plant may have been growing in the wild for centuries, it is believed to have been first domesticated by the Olmec Indians somewhere near southern Mexico. But in a large part of its early history, these beans were used to make a beverage. This was a bitter drink, a far cry from the ‘hot chocolate’ we know today. Moving further south, the cacao tree became part of the Mayan culture where it was known as cacahuaquchtl, and the bitter drink made from the beans was called xocoatl. This could have been the root of the word ‘chocolate’. The tree continued to migrate on to South America, through trade between the Mayans and the Aztecs for whom xocoatl continued to be the drink. Both the Mayans and Aztecs believed the cacao bean had magical, or even divine, properties, suitable for use in the most sacred rituals of birth, marriage and death. The Latin word for the cocoa tree Theobroma cacao means ‘food of the gods’.

It was the Spanish adventurers who carried the seeds back to Spain from South America. By then cocoa seeds had become an integral part of trade and commerce, even being used as currency. The seeds also transferred the tradition of the drink to this part of the world. By the late 1500s the drink became a favourite in the Spanish court. Other Europeans trading with South America brought back the beans to Italy and France. The bitterness of the drink was offset by adding cane sugar, and spices such as vanilla and cinnamon to suit the European palate. The trend moved to England where the first coffee house selling the drink opened in 1657.

By the 17th century chocolate, believed to have nutritious, medicinal and even aphrodisiac properties was a fashionable drink throughout Europe. But it was expensive because of its elaborate production process. In 1828, a Dutch chemist discovered a way to remove about half the natural fat (Cacao butter) from the liquid cacao, and pulverizing what remained and treating it with alkaline salts to cut the bitter taste. The process became known as ‘Dutch processing’ and the powder produced was called ‘Dutch cocoa’. This was what led to the creation of the early form of solid chocolate.

Meanwhile, in England a young Quaker named John Cadbury opened a grocery shop in Birmingham. John believed that alcohol was the main cause of poverty, and his shop offered alternatives such as tea, coffee and other provisions. Among other things he sold cocoa and drinking chocolate, which he prepared himself using a pestle and mortar. By 1842 John was selling 11 kinds of cocoa and 16 kinds of drinking chocolate. Soon John’s brother Benjamin joined the company to form Cadbury Brothers of Birmingham. The Cadbury brothers opened an office in London and received a Royal Warrant as manufacturers of chocolate and cocoa to Queen Victoria in 1854. The business was taken over by John’s sons George and Richard who continued to expand the product line. Cadbury’s Cocoa Essence, which was advertised as ‘absolutely pure and therefore best’, was an all-natural product made with pure cocoa butter and no starchy ingredients. Cocoa Essence was the beginning of chocolate as we know it today.

In 1847 Joseph Fry of JS Fry and Sons in England discovered that by adding extra cacao butter to liquid chocolate, he could make a mouldable chocolate paste. This led to the first modern chocolate bar. Cacao the drink took on a new form that would go on to become its better known avatar—chocolate that one could bite and chew.

Now the Cadbury brothers had a new form of chocolate to offer, and they became so successful that they stopped selling other items. A master confectioner Frederic Kinchelman was appointed to share his recipe and production secrets with Cadbury workers. This resulted in Cadbury producing chocolate in a variety of forms and combinations. By 1868, Cadbury’s boxes of chocolate candies became very popular in England. In 1879 the brothers moved their manufacturing operations to a larger facility four miles south of Birmingham at Bournville. The factory and area became known as the ‘factory in a garden’ which provided a safe and healthy environment for their employees to live and work. Cadbury manufactured its first milk chocolate in 1897. By the turn of the century, the Bournville factory employed 2,600 people and Cadbury was incorporated as a limited company. Cadbury’s most iconic chocolate Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate was launched in 1905.

During World War I, more than 2,000 of Cadbury’s male employees joined the Armed Forces. Cadbury supported the war effort, sending warm clothing, books and chocolate to the soldiers. When the workers returned, they were able to return to work, take educational courses, and injured or ill employees were also looked after. During this period overseas trade increased, and Cadbury opened its first overseas factory near Hobart, Tasmania. In 1919 Cadbury merged with JS Fry & Sons, once a market leader in chocolate.

In 1920 the purple and gold Cadbury wrapper was introduced as a tribute to Queen Victoria. For many years Cadbury claimed exclusive rights to use that shade of purple. The original Cadbury logo depicted a stylized cacao tree interwoven with the Cadbury name. This was replaced, in 1921, with the cursive script logo which was inspired by the signature of William Cadbury, the founder’s grandson. With some simplification, it was adopted as the worldwide logo in the 1970s and continues to be its identity.

In the 1930s, Cadburys became the leading chocolate manufacturer in the United Kingdom. Cadbury also supported the war effort during World War II by converting parts of its factory into workrooms to manufacture equipment like milling machines for rifle factories. During the two wars chocolate was a scarce luxury but Cadbury supported workers and soldiers with chocolate in care packages to keep the morale high.

In 1969 Cadbury merged with Schweppes, a well-known British brand that manufactured carbonated mineral water and soft drinks, to form Cadbury Schweppes. Cadbury Schweppes went on to become the largest confectionery company in the world, employing more than 70,000 employees. Today it is believed to be the second-largest confectionery brand in the world.

Cadbury was first launched in India in 1948. It had a rocky start as it tried to find a foothold in a culture where traditional mithais were firmly ensconced. It was only in the mid-1990s that a series of attention-catching advertisements helped in creating a brand which was promoted as the symbol of celebration for all occasions and all ages. Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate became the benchmark for other chocolates in India.

Once there was simply Cadbury. Now there are exclusive chocolatiers. Whatever one’s pick, chocolate is always celebrated!

–Mamata

Happy Birthday To You!

June 27, 2024 ~ millennialmatriarchs ~ Leave a comment

This month we had a family get together bringing together members from different parts of the world, as well as different generations. It was also an occasion to celebrate together, several birthdays of the gathered family members—from the first birthday to the seventieth birthday. Topping up all the celebrations including cake-cutting and candle blowing, was a lusty rendering of the song Happy Birthday to You.

It is quite incredible how this song has transcended time and space to become a universal symbol of birthday celebrations. It is said to be the most frequently-sung English song in the world. And it is sung quite comfortably by people who may otherwise not know any other word of English. What most people do not know is that this song has an interesting history which dates back over a hundred years.

The creators were Patty and Mildred Hill, two sisters who were kindergarten teachers in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Patty was not just a teacher, she was one of the pioneers who introduced what was then, a progressive philosophy of early childhood education in America. She stressed that in the early years supporting creativity, and social and emotional development of children were as important as academic learning. This could be provided by good kindergartens. The Hill sisters themselves grew up in a progressive family which supported and encouraged the daughters to have a complete education and have a career—both unconventional approaches for that period. Their parents believed that children should be free to play and follow their own pursuits as well as learn the value of hard work. Growing up in such a home had a profound influence on Patty whose future career choice would manifest her beliefs on the kind of education every child deserved. She had a strong commitment to and the importance of self-determination in activity, especially in childhood, as a means of empowering individuals to overcome social and economic disadvantages.

Patty Hill graduated from Louisville Collegiate Institute in 1887 after which she joined the Louisville Kindergarten Training School where the students were encouraged to experiment with different classroom techniques. Patty Hill began her kindergarten work as a teacher, and then became director of the Louisville Free Kindergarten Association in Kentucky in 1893. During her time at the Louisville Kindergarten Training Schools, Hill was very active in the Kindergarten Movement. She participated in numerous conferences and organized events that discussed alternative methods of early childhood education. She developed curricula that encouraged children to learn through play, music, free play, and contact with nature. The Louisville Kindergarten Training Schools became famous in the United States as the centre of innovative ideas about early childhood education. In 1906 Patty was appointed to the faculty of Columbia University Teachers College, where she taught for the next 30 years. There she developed a curriculum that emphasized the importance of a child’s first-hand contact with nature for creative expression. In 1908 she was elected president of the International Kindergarten Union. In 1924 Patty helped to found the Institute of Child Welfare Research at Columbia and also promoted the extension of nursery schools through her work with the National Association for Nursery Education, which she helped to organize in 1925.

Patty Hill served on the faculty of Teachers College at Columbia University until she retired in 1935. After her retirement she continued to give lectures and public speeches until her death in 1946 in New York City.

Despite her significant contribution to early childhood education, Patty’s claim to fame however lies more in her links with the Happy Birthday Song. In early 1893, when she was at Louisville Kindergarten Training Schools, Patty and her sister Mildred, who was a pianist and performer, composed a simple 4-line song for the kindergarten students which had “words and emotions and ideas” that they felt were suitable for the limited musical ability of a young child. Patti wrote the words and Mildred composed the score. It had only six notes, six words, and four lines, three of them the same. They would work at night on the tune, and the next morning try out the song in the classroom. The lyrics were simple: “Good morning to you / Good morning to you / Good morning, dear children / Good morning to all.” The tune had a simple, repetitive beat, and was easy for children to follow. They tested the song with their young students until they found a combination that children caught onto easily, as they enjoyed the words as well as the rhythm.

The sisters published Good Morning in 1893 in a book of sheet music called Song Stories for Children, which they copyrighted and exhibited that year at the World’s Fair in Chicago.

How did the words ‘Good Morning’ transform into Happy Birthday, even as the tune remained the same? There are many theories, of which one is that the sisters themselves changed the words at a birthday party that they attended. In fact, the tune was amenable to easy exchange of words, and children at the Louisville Experimental Kindergarten School where Patty taught would substitute the words with Goodbye to You, Happy Vacation to You, and other variations.

By 1924, the song appeared in another songbook edited by Robert Coleman with the Hill sisters’ original lyrics as the first verse, and “Happy Birthday to You” as the second. As the song started to appear more in print, it caught on like wildfire and became hugely popular from coast-to-coast. It began to be used in movies and Broadway musicals. Ironically the sisters never published or copyrighted the lyrics to Happy Birthday to You.

There followed a long and complex battle of claims for copyright and licencing of the song. None of the legal battles produced a conclusive verdict on the song’s authorship or ownership. In the 1930s, the Hill sisters won the copyright for the song as it appeared in a songbook for children published by The Summy Co. But in 1988 Warner Communications acquired the rights to the tune. This meant that anyone who wanted to use the song in a movie or TV show would have to pay thousands of dollars. To avoid the high royalty fees, many movies and TV shows figured out creative ways to portray birthday celebration scenes without actually using the ‘Happy Birthday’ song. Despite this, at one time, Warner/Chappell Music was earning as much as $2 million per year in licensing fees from the birthday song.

In 2016, a group of artists and filmmakers filed a lawsuit which challenged Warner’s claim to the copyright of the happy birthday song, and claimed that they should not be allowed to charge licensing fees for use of the musical work. Warner Music Group lost the case, and as part of the class settlement, the company had to pay $14 million to people and organizations that had paid royalties to use “Happy Birthday” since 1949.

As of 2016, the famous Happy Birthday Song is in the public domain, meaning that it can be sung anywhere. The next time we sing Happy Birthday to You to celebrate a birthday, let’s also celebrate its interesting roots and long history.

–Mamata

Father of the Library Movement: PN Panicker

June 20, 2024 ~ millennialmatriarchs ~ Leave a comment

The last few days, newspapers have been carrying a number of pieces promoting the joy of reading physical books, in an age when the printed word is rapidly being buried under the digital avalanche. As a person who has never abandoned the physical avatars, these reminders of the very different experience of physically turning the pages of a ‘real’ book make me smile! All this hype culminated with the announcement of National Reading Day on 19 June.

I have written frequently about books, and was aware of a couple of international days of books, and reading. However this was the first time that National Reading Day was taking up so much column space. I was naturally curious to know more about this day. And I discovered that there is much more behind this day than reading. It is the story of a man with a mission, who laid the foundation of the library movement in India.

Puthuvayil Narayana Panicker was born on 1 March 1909 to Govinda Pillai and Janaki Amma at Neelamperoor in Kerala. As a youth he used to read the daily newspapers to groups of illiterate people of different ages. He began his career as a teacher, but moved beyond his designated duties to set up the Sanadanadhramam Library in 1926, in a small room provided by the local cooperative society in his village. This was the first step in what was to become beginning of a life-long passion and mission with a simple but powerful message: Vayichu Valaruku meaning Read and Grow.

Panicker held Mahatma Gandhi in very high esteem; and like him, felt that illiteracy was a curse and a shame. He believed in a holistic approach to human resources development, the foundation of which was literacy. Towards this, Panicker initiated a literacy movement across the state. He also believed that libraries could provide a stable scaffolding for encouraging and sustaining the literacy movement. He made the literacy movement into a cultural movement where people could feel the emotional connect with the library in their village or town, just as they connected with their place or worship or school or college. Libraries created by this movement later became the nerve centres of local social and cultural activities; children would come and read, older people would gather to meet and discuss issues relevant to them. When he visited a leprosy sanatorium at Nooranad, the inmates requested him to set up a library there. The library was established as LS Library on 1 July 1949. It was one of the first libraries in the district and housed a unique collection including over 25000 books and rare palm-leaf manuscripts. It was extensively used by the sanatorium residents as well as visiting researchers and scholars.

Panicker led the formation of Thiruvithaamkoor Granthsala Sangham (Travancore Library Association) in 1945 with 47 rural libraries. The slogan of the organization was Read and Grow. He travelled to Kerala villages proclaiming the value of reading and succeeded in bringing some 6000 libraries in his network. The Travancore Library Association expanded to become Kerala Granthasala Sangham (KGS) in 1956. KGS was awarded the UNESCO Nadezha K. Krupskaya Literacy Prize in 1975.

Panicker was the General Secretary of Sangham for 32 years, until 1977, when it was taken over by the State Government and it became the Kerala State Library Council.

In 1977 Panicker founded the Kerala Association for Non-formal Education and Development (KANFED) with the objective to help universalize education by stepping up propaganda for it, and by the institution of non-formal education activities supplementary to the formal education system. This led to the establishment of institutes for research and training in all aspects of non-formal education, publishing houses for the production of literacy materials, and centres for the eradication of illiteracy.

These were operationalized through Committees which were set up in all districts of the state at Block and Panchayat levels to organize, conduct and supervise literacy centres; Regional Resource Centres were set up to store books, teaching aids and other materials necessary for adult education and make them available at all literacy centres.

Primers for beginners, and books and periodicals and other useful material such a maps and wall charts for neo-literates were prepared through workshops for young writers, and published. The Primers included Alphabet Primer, Science Primer, Health Primer, as well as Primer for Women, Prier for Agriculturists, and Primer for Tribals. There were books on agriculture and animal husbandry; books on health and hygiene, and books for neo-literates. There were also biographies of inspiring national and international personalities, as well as books describing civic institutions, rights and duties, and promoting scientific temperament.

Resource material for adult literacy workers, instructors, project officers and organizers was supported and supplemented with seminars, workshops and training. Plans for monitoring and evaluation of the literacy centres were also included.

Panicker’s vision and the state-wide mission of KANFED played a significant role in Kerala’s successful literacy movement–the Sakshara Keralam Movement. The first 100 percent literate city in India, and first 100 percent literate district have been from Kerala. Kerala was also the first state to attain 100 percent primary education. Some of the oldest colleges, schools and libraries of the country are also situated in Kerala.

In addition to literacy centres, Panicker also took keen interest in promoting Agricultural Books Corners, The Friendship Village Movement (Sauhrdagramam), and Reading Programmes for Families.

The life-long crusader for literacy and libraries passed away on 19 June 1995. Since 1996, this day is marked as Vayanadinam (Reading Day) in Kerala. It is a reminder to encourage the movement to promote a culture of reading, to inculcate the habit of reading and promote book-mindedness among school children, youth as well as the underprivileged population of the country. The Department of Education, Kerala also observes Vayana Varam Week (Reading Week) from June 19 to June 25 in schools across the state.

The Department of Posts honoured PN Panicker by issuing a commemorative postage stamp on 21 June 2004.

In 2017 PM Narendra Modi declared June 19, Kerala’s Reading Day as National Reading Day in India. The following month is also observed as National Reading Month.

The PN Panicker Foundation continues the mission to enhance lives and livelihoods through various targeted initiatives ranging from education, skill development, health, and need based programmes with the efficient use of technology. In keeping with the need of the hour, it is supporting digital learning in rural areas and has established thousands of home digital libraries across the state. PN Panicker’s vision continues to guide and inspire the new generations.

–Mamata

CELEBRATING OCEANS: RACHEL CARSON

June 13, 2024 ~ millennialmatriarchs ~ Leave a comment

The first week of June has two significant days that relate to the environment. World Environment Day (WED) on 5 June and World Oceans Day (WOD) on June 8. While desertification was the focus of WED, the themes of WOD emphasized the importance of working together to find solutions to ocean challenges.

Historically one name has been associated both with WED as well as WOD. Rachel Carson is probably best known for her book Silent Spring, one of the first that warned of dangers to all natural systems from the misuse of chemical pesticides such as DDT. Published in 1962, this initiated the contemporary environmental movement. Over the years Silent Spring became one of the essential readings and references for environmentalists and ecologists.

What is perhaps less known is that for a decade before she wrote Silent Spring, Rachel had already published three books, as well as numerous articles, on the subject that was dear to her heart—the Seas and Oceans. Rachel’s work was unusual in that it combined a solid base of science that she communicated in beautiful language and style, making for a rare combination of nature and literature.

Rachel’s love for nature stemmed from her early years in a rural community where she freely explored her surroundings, and also expressed her thoughts through her other passion—writing. Rachel Carson was born on 27 May 1907 in Springdale, Pennsylvania. After High School, in 1925, Rachel joined Pennsylvania College for Women as an English major determined to become a writer. Midway through her studies, however, she switched to biology. A summer fellowship at the U.S. Marine Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts was her first close experience with the ocean. In 1929, Carson was awarded a scholarship to study at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, an enormous accomplishment for a woman at that time. Graduating with a Master’s degree in Zoology in 1932, and with a flair for writing, Rachel began to work for the public education department of the US Bureau of Fisheries writing pamphlets on conservation and natural resources. This was the start of her long career as scientist and editor, eventually rising to become Editor-in-Chief of all publications for the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

In 1935 she was asked to create a series of short radio programmes on marine life called Romance Under the Waters. Her growing interest in oceans and marine life was supported by the opportunity to visit waterfronts and marine environments, access to scientific information, and interaction with a range of people associated with different aspects of the oceans as part of her work. During World War II, Rachel Carson was part of a programme to investigate undersea life, terrain and sounds, designed to assist the Navy in developing techniques and equipment for submarine detection. Thus Rachel had the opportunity to study many aspects of oceans.

In her free time, Rachel also wrote about findings from this research in a language and style that would reach beyond the academics to a larger audience. She wrote several articles for popular magazines, designed to create wider awareness about the wonder and beauty of the living world. As she once said: I have always wanted to write. Biology has given me something to write about. She also believed that science and literature could meld harmoniously. The winds, the sea, and the moving tides are what they are. If there is wonder and beauty and majesty in them, science will discover these qualities… If there is poetry in my book about the sea, it is not because I deliberately put it there, but because no one could write truthfully about the sea and leave out the poetry.

Rachel Carson’s first book, Under the Sea-Wind, was published in 1941. In 1951 she published her prize-winning study of the ocean, The Sea Around Us. The book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 81 weeks.

In 1952 Carson resigned from government service to devote herself to her writing, but also for the freedom that she would have as not being a part of the government, to raise issues, question government policies, and use her public voice to create awareness and encourage action.

In 1955 she published The Edge of the Sea. These books established Rachel Carson as both a naturalist and science writer for the public. But it was her final book, Silent Spring, published in 1962, that awakened society to a responsibility to other forms of life. In it, Carson documented in minute biological detail the harm caused to the ecosystem by harmful pesticides, especially DDT. The book was based on years of her research which indicated that the abnormalities caused by the pesticide showed up first in fish and wildlife, and went on to endanger the overall environment. As expected, Carson’s book provoked a huge controversy, as well as personal attacks on her professional integrity. The pesticide industry mounted a massive campaign to discredit her. The federal government, however, ordered a complete review of its pesticide policy and Rachel Carson testified before a Congressional committee, calling for new policies to protect human health and the environment. As a direct result of the Carson’s study and her making it public through Silent Spring, DDT was banned in the United States.

Despite her earlier noteworthy studies of the marine environment Rachel Carson’s name became synonymous with Silent Spring and DDT.

Rachel Carson died in 1964 after a long battle against breast cancer.

The theme for this year’s World Oceans Day is Waves of Change: Collective Actions for the Ocean. It would be worthwhile this year to revisit Rachel Carson’s books on the sea which seem as relevant today as they were when she wrote them in the 1950s. Carson’s ecological vision of the oceans demonstrates a larger environmental ethic which drew attention to the threats to the sustainability of nature’s interactive and interdependent systems. Her writing presages Climate change, rising sea-levels, melting Arctic glaciers, collapsing bird and animal populations, crumbling geological faults. All of which are dire realities today.

–Mamata

A Tree for all Reasons: Khejri

June 5, 2024 ~ millennialmatriarchs ~ Leave a comment

5 June has been marked annually as World Environment Day (WED). First held in 1973, and led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), WED is the largest global platform for environmental public outreach and is celebrated by millions of people across the world. This year, 2024, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is hosting the global celebrations.

The focus of this year’s WED is land restoration, desertification and drought resilience.

As the world is seeing rapid advances in desertification, and land degradation, propelled by climate change, it is useful to go back and see nature’s in-built mechanisms for coping with such conditions.

Plants that grow in arid areas have special ways of dealing with extreme heat or cold, and other desert conditions. Desert plants fall into three categories according to the way they deal with the problem of surviving in arid or extremely arid conditions.

Drought evaders: Plants which remain as seeds in the sand, but are ready to spring up when it rains, to flower quickly, to produce another crop of seeds and die again. These are known as ephemerals.

Drought resisters: Plants which have evolved various ways of storing water, locating underground water or reducing their need for water by such methods as shedding their leaves. These are known as perennials. They manage to live from one rainy season to another.

Drought-endurers: Plants which have the capacity to tolerate drought for a longer period by adapting through condensed growth, small-sized leaves and very deep root system.

These natural adaptations have enabled these plants, over millennia, to grow in some of the toughest of conditions. In turn, these plants have also played an important role in supporting other life, including human life, in desert conditions. Perhaps no plant better exemplifies this than the Khejri tree.

Khejri or Prosopis cineraria is a tree that grows in the dry and arid regions of India and West Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran where summers are very hot, winters are harsh, and rainfall is scant. It has a variety of common names in different states of India. Khejri or sangria (Rajasthan), jand (Punjab), kandi (Sindh), sami, sumri (Gujarat). Its trade name is kandri.

A moderate-sized evergreen thorny tree, with light bluish-green foliage, its sturdy older branches, and slender tender branches have conical thorns. It sprouts freely from the base, producing a fresh growth of leaves around March. Soon after the new leaves, the small yellow, creamy white flowers appear. These, in turn, give way to pods.

This drought-resister tree has a range of adaptations that enable it to grow well in highly arid and harsh conditions, where other plants cannot survive. It grows on a variety of soils, including moderately saline soils. It has a long and well-developed root system. This serves two purposes; it provides firm anchorage and also aids in obtaining moisture supplies from deep down. Its foliage also helps to absorb moisture from the rains, as and when there is rainfall.

The roots are a life saver not only for the tree, but are equally valuable for the environment in which the tree lives. The extensive root system helps to stabilize shifting sand dunes. The tree is useful as a windbreak shelter, and in afforestation of dry areas. It fixes nitrogen through microbial activity, and its leaf litter decomposition adds organic matter thus rejuvenating poor soils.

Often being the only kind of tree that grows in the arid conditions, the tree also provides much needed shade and shelter to local farmers, as well as livestock. Prosopis cineraria is a much valued fodder tree, which provides nutritious and highly palatable green as well as dry fodder which is readily eaten by camels, cattle, sheep and goats. Its dead leaves are fed to cattle to improve milk yield. Its dry pods are also nutritious animal feed. The pods are also eaten, in green as well as dry forms, by people who have scant access to a variety of fresh vegetables for much of the year.

The tree’s wood is suitable for construction, and is used locally for numerous purposes including making agricultural implements and tool handles, water pipes, yoke and spokes of carts. The high calorific value of the wood also makes it an efficient fuel wood. The bark of the tree is dry and acrid with a sharp taste. The bark extract is believed to have anti-inflammatory properties, and is used in traditional medicine to treat rheumatism, cough and colds, and asthma, as well as scorpion sting. The pod is also believed to have astringent properties.

A popular saying in the Thar desert encapsulates the value of the khejri. Death will not visit humans, even at the time of famine, if they have a khejri, a goat and a camel, since the three together help sustain humans even under the most trying conditions.

Thus for millennia the people of the Thar have revered the khejri as such a critical part of their lives. And they have given up their own lives to save the trees that sustain their lives.

Nothing highlights this better than the story of Amrita Devi and the Bishnois, or Twenty-niners, a sect that lived by simple tenets: Do not cut any green tree, do not kill any animal or bird, respect every living being, it has as much right to life as we humans do.

Amrita Devi’s story dates back to 1730. The then Maharaja of Jodhpur, Abhay Singh, wanted to build a new palace for which he required wood. He sent his soldiers to a village to cut down some khejri trees. But this was a Bishnoi village. For hundreds of years, generations of villagers had nurtured and protected their vegetation, land and wildlife. One of the villagers was churning butter when she heard the commotion. Her name was Amrita Devi. She saw the men sharpening their axes and her mind flashed back to her childhood. She remembered how, every morning, she would respectfully greet all the khejri trees and choose a special one for that day; she would hug it and thank it for all the gifts that it gave her and her people. Every child in the village had their own special tree.

Now the trees were in danger. Amrita Devi ran and confronted the axe men. She pleaded with them: “Leave our trees. They are our brothers and sisters, our village protectors. They are the breath of life, the water we drink, and our food.”

The axe men paid her no heed. They continued with their task. Amrita Devi hugged a tree. “Chop me first” she said, “take my life and leave my tree.” The axe men tore her away, but Amrita Devi was back at her tree, clinging for dear life. She did not let go of her tree; the axe men had to chop through her body to get to the tree. No sooner did Amrita fall than hundreds of villagers, young and old, rushed to the trees. Each one hugged a khejri tree. The king’s men continued to chop through them, until 363 people lay dead at the feet of the trees they hugged to save.

When the king heard of the incident, he could not believe that people would lay down their lives for trees. He personally visited the village to meet these people. They said: “The trees can survive without us, but we cannot survive without the trees.” The king was deeply moved the faith and humility of these people. He proclaimed that from then on no Bishnoi village would be called upon to provide timber or wildlife by hunting. Almost three centuries later, the Bishnoi community is intact. The twenty-nine tenets continue to live, even as the khejri trees give life to the land and its people. Amrita’s village came to be known as Khejarli after the trees she gave her life for.

Amrita Devi’s name is synonymous with her sacrifice. In 2001, a national award (the Amrita Devi Bishnoi Wildlife Protection Award) was created in her honour, to recognize people who had contributed to environmental conservation.

This World Environment Day, as the world looks ahead to combatting desertification, it is humbling to look back and remember the story of Amrita Devi and the khejri trees.

–Mamata

Cicada Summer

May 30, 2024 ~ millennialmatriarchs ~ Leave a comment

In many countries, ranging from America to Japan, the song of the cicadas heralds summer. This summer, cicadas are making headlines in the United States which is bracing up for a cacophony of noise as trillions of cicadas are due to emerge in a rare synchronized event that occurs only once in a couple of hundred years.

Cicada species have been around for a long time. The oldest cicada fossils are from the Triassic period, where they may have buzzed around the dinosaurs. Cicadas are members of the superfamily Cicadoidea. A cicada has a stout body, a broad head with two large compound eyes on both sides, and clear-membraned wings. Cicadas have modified mouthparts to feed on liquids rather than solid material. Larvae suck juices from plant roots, while adults suck fluids from woody shrubs and trees. While all cicadas have the same basic body shape, they come in all sorts of sizes and colour.

The most defining feature of cicadas is not in their form but in the sound that the male cicadas make to attract female partners. This sound is produced by the movement of specialized structures on each side of the abdomen called tymbals. Tymbals are thin membranous structures streaked with marginally thicker ribs. A muscle pulls these ribs inward and then releases them, resulting in a sharp sound. Rapid repetition of this action at a speed of 300 to 400 times per second generates the distinctive song of the cicada. The cicada’s body is like a hollow musical instrument, similar to a violin or guitar, with air-filled pockets that act like echo chambers, amplifying the sound. Varying body sizes produce different sound frequencies. Each species has its own specific call. In answer to the male’s song, the female cicada replies with a soft click.

Despite having no vocal chords and no lungs, male cicadas are the loudest insects in the world. While poets may wax eloquent about the song of the cicada, the decibel level of the cicada chorus can be deafening. The intensity of the sound can be as high 120 decibels, the decibel level of a jet engine!

Cicadas have a fascinating lifecycle. The male attracts the female with his powerful song which reverberates through the air. The female arrives, and after the mating, she makes slits in tree branches and lays her eggs. The eggs hatch six to seven weeks later. The emerging young ones look like termites, and stay on the plant, feeding on sap till they are ready to drop down to the ground. This marks the beginning of the next stage of their lifecycle. Tunnelling through the earth with their powerful front legs, the nymphs burrow and build chambers deep in the soil, living a major part of their lives underground, feeding on roots, till they are finally ready to emerge as adults. Once they crawl back onto the surface, the nymphs shed their exoskeletons, and start flapping their wings. They spend the next six weeks or so of their adult life, making a cacophony to attract mates, so that the eggs can be laid before they die

This trait of disappearing distinguishes cicadas from most other insects. While all species of cicadas disappear underground, different species have different cycles of emergence. There are annual cicadas which emerge once a year, or once very couple of years, and periodical cicadas which spend most of their lives underground, and emerge, en masse every 13 or 17 years to mate and start the cycle over again. Of the 3,400 species of cicadas in the world, only nine species are known to have developed the habit of disappearing underground for years at a time and then emerging en masse simultaneously.

It is this cycle of disappearance and reappearance that has symbolically linked cicadas with rebirth and transformation in some cultures. In China during the Han Dynasty, jade cicadas were placed on the tongue as part of the burial ceremony to ensure that the departed have voices in their afterlife. Some Native American tribes believe that cicadas emerge from the earth, bringing with them an opportunity to renew their relationship with nature and their ancestors.

India has approximately 250 species of annual cicadas, but only one species of periodic cicada, the Chremista ribhoi in Meghalaya that emerges once in four years. Forests in all parts of India are abuzz with cicada sounds, especially before the rains begin, thus here cicadas are associated with the monsoon. A curious tale related to cicadas is that when, in 1847, an Englishman discovered a forest area in Kerala, he found it to be completely devoid of cicada sounds, and thus so quiet, that he named it Silent Valley.

This summer several parts of the United States will witness the once-in-lifetime phenomenon of the simultaneous emergence of billions of cicadas from two different broods of cicadas—one that lives a 13-year cycle and one that has a 17-year cycle. This rare synchronized event last occurred in 1803. This is causing much excitement among scientists as well as others, who will witness (as well as hear) this rare event—a cicada summer to remember!

–Mamata