Cannabis sativa: The keeper of heritage
The word “Cannabis” is not familiar to us except those who are accustomed with plants and narcotic
products. However, by hearing its popular name “Ganja” or “Bhang” we can almost immediately relate ourselves with the intoxicated hallucinogenic liquid, which many of us tested during festivals. Although it has many other uses around the globe the plant as a construction material is something worthy of mention. Cannabis has another identity as “hemp” which is well known internationally for its fibre. Hemp fibre has a ubiquitous presence in coir, fabric, paper and automobile industries. However, a new dimension has achieved in the form of “hempcrete”, where hemp fibre and it’s woody core (hurd) is used with a lime-based binder to form a concrete-like substance, a very useful constituent for green architecture. Europe is already in that track and the United States is also following.
Interestingly, India had that practice quite long ago, back in 6th century A.D. The famous delighting caves of Ellora, a world heritage site, situated near Aurangabad, Maharashtra had partially built upon hemp-based construction material. Research studies conducted in Buddhist cave no. 12 found that interior clay plaster layer on the wall had Cannabis plant parts as components. The ancient clay plaster sample was analyzed in the laboratory using various sophisticated techniques, such as scanning electron microscope (SEM), stereomicroscope, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Researchers have identified pieces of shoots, fragmented leaves, and flower of Cannabis plant from the samples. It has been suggested that Cannabis was used as a thermal insulator and strength increasing material for plasters. The interior of the cave had a pleasant microenvironment owing to thermal and sound insulation property of Cannabis. It is still unknown whether this psychoactive plant had any role in diet or recreation of the inhabitants but its role as a comfort builder is quite certain. So, respect our green keeper of heritage.
Source: Singh M. and Sardesai M.M. (2016) Cannabis sativa (Cannabaceae) in ancient clay plaster of Ellora Caves, India. Current Science 110 (5):884-891
Photo: Avik Ray, https://elloracaves.org/caves.php
Collector: Rajasri Ray
Honey, I blew up my tummy!!
How far can you go for your honey? Will you like to store some in your abdomen so that it can be used later? That is exactly what some ants of genera Myrmecocystus, Cataglyphis, Melophorus, Leptomyrmex, Plagiolepis Prenolepis and Camponotus do. These specialised, sterile worker ants
(also called honeypot ants, repletes, plerergates, or rotunds) serve as living larders (cool storerooms) for other members of their colony. Worker ants feed the repletes nectar upto the point their abdomen swells up with golden, sugary liquid and becomes sedentary. The repletes’ hard dorsal sclerites (stiff plates) are connected by a softer, flexible arthrodial membrane. This membrane expands widely to make room for the liquid when the abdomen fills.
They are used as source of nutrients by other ants in the colony when food is scarce. For getting the stored liquid, the worker ants poke and prod the antennae of honeypot ants a bit. This makes the rotunds to upchuck the stored liquid from its crop (a thin-walled expanded part of the alimentary tract for storing undigested food). They are so lucrative as resource that ants of other colonies may also raid and plunder the repletes and enslave them!!! Honeypot ants namely Melophorus bagoti and Camponotus spp. serve as local delicacy among indigenous Australians who use these as a source of sugar. These ants inhabit the desert and other arid environments of Australia, southern Africa, southwestern part of the United States’ and Mexico.
Photo: Wikipedia, Alamy
Collector:DebaratiChakraborty
It’s all a Fishy affair of dynasties
Fish, not fried or curried, not on a plate, but mounted on a head-gear worn by high-rank military
officials of Mughal dynasties who had won emperor’s favor for their valuable service. So, unfolds the fishy story of mahi-ye maratib or ‘Fish of Dignity’ which once used to physically represent as a golden fish or an elongated fish head. It was extravagantly exhibited at royal functions and worn in royal processions by the noblemen who had been so awarded. However, the credit does not go solely to the Mughals, scholars say it has been generously awarded to warriors for their valor by Muslim rulers in India, be it Lucknow Nawabs, Delhi Emperors, or Deccan Sultans. Further back in time, there has been a long legacy of the fish emblem in pre-Islamic and Islamic cultures of the Middle-east and South Asia. The presumed origin traced to Persian king Khusru Parviz who instituted while ascending his throne around six hundred AD. Intuitively, from Persia it would have traveled and taken a longish sojourn in South Asia, was eventually assimilated into the local culture.
Mughal Emperor Akbar happened to be a judicious person and granted mahi-ye maratib selectively, but the tradition eroded from Bahadur Shah, and the honor had become less discriminating. After Mughals, it was in Lucknowi culture, where the fish was adorably absorbed and metamorphosed into a decorative motif widely incorporated in the artifacts, ornaments, or other objects. In course of time, the fish duo became almost a signature of Lucknowi nawabs. In physical appearance, it was a pair of fish arranged head-to-head so that their curvilinear bodies formed almost a circle, but it had also sparked blossoming of innovative variations. The fish-pair appeared in a vast range of objects of art or on the items of daily chores, from medals, throne chair, punch daggers (Katar), presentation cup, to wine decanters, ornaments, plates, bowls, etc. The emblem became so culturally entangled that it was often used as the primary design in Lucknowi bidri-ware (metalware made of a zinc, copper, and lead tin alloy), even in post-Nawabi era.
So, imagine…..a fish duo had once infectiously wooed the dynasties but not luring their taste buds, but relentlessly making their feisty presence in the art and culture.
Source: This Blaze of Wealth and Magnificence: The Luxury Arts of Lucknow and The Use of Flora and Fauna Imagery in Mughal Decorative Arts and by Stephen Merkel
Photo Source: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), https://collections.lacma.org
Collector: Avik Ray
Weaver ants, weaver ants…. weave, weave, weave …and ……. save our mangos, guavas, lemons…..
Meet the queen, Ms Oecophylla longinoda, her workers and children. They live high on tree canopies
in the far-away savanna ecosystems and rainforests of the sub-Saharan Africa. They are not arboreal but make nests in trees stitching many leaves together using the silk exuded from their larvae. A similar large number of nests makes up their colony between which they tend to enjoy a stroll or a faster stride. Yes, they are the weaver ants of the tropical Africa and they have a very closely related cousin (O. smaragdina) living in the south and south-east Asian countries.
But, that is not just the reason we should be happy to meet the queen and her kids. Their ecological role is immense in a horticultural landscapes of the sub-Saharan Africa. They help to deliver the juicy and tangy fruits on our plate. But, the immediate question pops up, how a tiny creature can be such a philanthropist?
The answer might not be too apparent and linear, but these predator ants play a crucial role in maintaining the food chain. They are great enemies of fruit flies that voraciously feed on many African fruits, e.g., mangos, cashews, citrus, guava, and many more. The ants release an array of semiochemicals that deter insect herbivores, particularly tephritid female fruit flies. Not merely that, these weaver ants are also one of the ablest predators of arthropods in perennial tropical tree crops.
Therefore, menacing populations of fruit flies can be biologically controlled by generalist predators like Oecophylla species, naturally and without applying any harmful chemical killers. It also compels us to fathom how biodiversity is important to produce our food and in saving our food systems.
Source: Vayssières, J.F., Offenberg, J., Sinzogan, A., Adandonon, A., Wargui, R., Anato, F., Houngbo, H.Y., Ouagoussounon, I., Diamé, L., Quilici, S. and Rey, J.Y., 2016. The use of weaver ants in the management of fruit flies in Africa. In Fruit Fly Research and Development in Africa-Towards a Sustainable Management Strategy to Improve Horticulture (pp. 389-434). Springer, Cham.
Photo Source: [Muhammad Mahdi Karim, GFDL 1.2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36341004, Charles J Sharp (CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0))]
Collector: Avik Ray
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