Wildbuzz | The rose as an empty pose
Few would have observed that amid this seeming rainbow of petals that should have attracted a symphonic buzz of insects, honey bees and butterflies are few and far between
No creature feels the proverbial sting of the thorns of big, dazzling and hybrid roses more than the insect which, allured by the hues of petals, seeks nectar and pollen in inviting folds. A visit to the Zakir Hussain Rose Garden in the rush of roses affords a beautiful spectacle for human eyes while the mind is left intrigued by the common English names inspired by Western literary references and personalities of bygone eras.
Few would have observed that amid this seeming rainbow of petals that should have attracted a symphonic buzz of insects, honey bees and butterflies are few and far between. This is because the “awsum” blossoms are virtually devoid of the pollen and nectar sought by the diligent pollinators. Unlike the hybrid roses, the “desi” varieties of “gulab” are more hospitable to insects but fewer gardeners care to cultivate these “flowers of a lesser king”.
A banker by profession but a naturalist by passion and sensitive to the life cycles of tiny, unsung creatures, Chandigarh-based Rajesh Khurana clicked a butterfly atop a velvet-maroon rose. While the composition of colours and contrasts between the butterfly and the host rose were mesmerising, Khurana sensed something amiss in the rose’s teasing folds.
To the photo, he added his thoughts. They lent a “context of dissent” to the abundance of hybrid flowers that flatter the human eye but matter less to larger well being. Khurana’s words animated a “buzz of disquiet” and his aim was to provoke thoughtful concern and create awareness about the plight of creatures for whom such gardens are mirages and virtually sterile. A predicament quite similar to the deep and brimming Sukhna lake, which people love but turns off migratory birds as the tourist avians prefer shallow waters with silted isles for rest and accessible aquatic foods.
Penning his pain for these creatures under the title, “Butterfly and the Rose”, Khurana’s perceptive inner voice and empathetic heart spoke thus: “We all have heard that butterflies are in love with flowers and they flit from one garden to another from morning to night in search of their love...to seek nectar. But what is it that makes butterflies not love the “king of flowers”, the rose? I see that the butterfly either does not visit the rose or even if it does so, it uses the beautiful petals only as a perch for a puzzled rest.”
While Khurana saw an “emptiness” in human-created hybrid floral beauty, an apple orchardist residing in the quaint hamlet of Bahu of Kullu’s Banjar valley frets over “declining snow on the rose”. Every winter, Deepak Atheist clicks photos of snows shrouding roses and other flowers that survived autumnal fall and ensuing winter in his cottage garden. Conversely, due to global warming, Deepak even gets to photograph snows sprinkled sparsely on Nargis clumps (daffodils) that bloom premature to spring.
“My parents recall from their youthful winters when each snowfall would result in three feet of “white gold”. That has declined. Currently, Bahu does not get more than 1.5 feet in a snowfall. I myself remember that the majestic Dhauladhar peaks looming over Bahu’s horizon would sport the eternal snows, but in recent years, the tops suffer meltdowns by July itself. The weather is turning erratic not just due to global warming but because Himachalis are ravaging nature in the name of mushrooming tourist resorts. The stately deodars, a symbol of Himachal’s ecological wellbeing, are being guillotined. So many tourist vehicles, that their carbon emissions lead to untimely snow melts,” Deepak told this writer.
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