Part Three
Finally, [Hereafter I won’t continue this debate]:
“So you probably do not like the artistic appeal of cut flowers in a vase either”.—The critic.
I have my own reservation about artistic work using insects. But comparing it with flowers in a vase is like comparing oranges with apples. Let me take [again] one illustration to present my view.
During the Onam festival in Kerala they create beautiful art work using lots of flowers known as ‘Attappu Kolam’. One can view this art on a website now. Just imagine, someone interested in the insect artwork for a change wanted to arrange a similar Athapoo Kolam [Rangoli] using insects. After making it she had to do something to protect it from other insects like ants to prey on them and even try to prevent birds from coming and pick them as their food. Even if she somehow managed to preserve her art work, after display, those made of flowers can be cleaned within a few minutes to throw in a pit to make manure out of them. Whereas the Insect Artist with a lot of care and pain had to dismantle to preserve them again. In that process she might even damage the wings or legs of some tender insects. Remember she might have invested lots of time first to collect them or transport them from her collection to arrange that insect pattern as she cannot buy them like flowers in shops. So she cannot just collect them like the flowers and throw them away. Above all how normal people [not the specialists doing insects study] will view such displays of an art work made of insects. One person even said that there is an artwork made of dead cockroaches. I am not saying that cockroaches are ugly. They too have their own beauty and an attractive color. But for me to enjoy an art work made by cockroaches is a bit difficult to appreciate.
Now another question that comes in my mind is: Insects even after death become food for other insects and birds. This is the way nature keeps its ecological system ever since either it was created or emanated. Now by collecting and preserving them she is depriving the food chain, which she has no right to do. But after using flowers in a vase we can make them as manure to use again to the same plants from where we plucked them.
Next is to preserve those dead insects, proper chemical treatment should be done to preserve them for a long time. You cannot preserve them as they are. Using chemicals in the name of preserving the insects to study to gain more knowledge is further causing environmental problems. Even if she manages to preserve them by using chemical treatment, I am not sure how long those chemicals will last. Because after a certain time most of the chemicals will lose their preserving ability and again one has to apply again to preserve. This we do to save the wood works in a house from termite. I would like to highlight this point with two recent excavations. Recently an old mummy of more than two thousand years of a teenager was found somewhere in South America with some skin and hair remaining intact. Similarly one image of Buddha was discovered in Egypt. Now think about preserving that mummy. I don’t know what purpose such discoveries are going to serve. But now to preserve that small piece of skin they had to spend lots of money. The discovery of Buddha images, as an important historical evidence for the proof for the connection between India and Egypt does not require much preservation techniques and costs, but need to be guarded against theft in a Museum. Who knows even that teenager could have died due to some virus infection and that skin might even have the virus waiting only for another human body to transmit.
Finally, where is any guarantee that, in spite of all precautions, some insects become rotten [in that art work] and create some kind of dangerous virus that might spread and create a new pandemic?
Of course this is only an imaginary illustration and what all I told about preserving the insect can be told about any art work done by dried flowers and leaves. But artwork made of dried flowers and leaves would be spoiled when exposed to moisture and there is less danger for them to create any virus. Well if we argue and counter argue, there won’t be an end to this. However for me to compare an art work out of insects and arranging flowers in a vase is like comparing oranges with apples.
I again insist. My point is not experiment versus cruelty. But displaying insects as an art work. Creating such artwork is what Bharathiyar [Subramanya Bharati, our National poet from Tamil Nadu] said: Won’t people laugh at us by clapping the hands if we buy a beautiful painting by selling both our eyes to pay the cost. [கண்ணிரண்டும் விற்றுச் சித்திரம் வாங்கிடில் கைகொட்டிச் சிரியாரோ?]
In our ashram there are lots of Weaver ants which make nests on the trees and plants. Sankar, our helper always insists on spraying some chemicals to kill them. But I never allow him to do that by saying, ‘they are part of our nature. If we annihilate them, it will create lots of environmental hurdles to the nature. For example they eat dead insects and animals and save us from spreading viruses. They might even serve as the natural pesticide. They even help trees by nesting on them. We don’t know how it works, but it will definitely help the trees. Of course they will bite us if we by mistake touch them. But that pain will remain only for a few seconds and the natural poison they inject in our body creates an immune system in our body. For example, we can get lots of information about honey bee treatment in which they make the honey bee bite the body of some sick people with chronic skin diseases. As their poison works as an antidote, gradually that patient was cured. At the same time this kind of treatment is not endorsed by all.
Of course I kill rats and cockroaches as they spread diseases. But when small ants bite me, I never kill it but gently remove it from my skin. After dusting the chair to remove them, I will spray the arms of the sitting chair so that they won’t come and trouble me when I sit on the chair. Similarly I never allow anyone to kill snakes or scorpions when we remove them from the rooms. This place belongs to them and we are the encroachers and now for selfishness we should not annihilate them. There are lots of snakes in our ashram and I learn to live with them and not much disturbed them much. What if they bite is the question. I don’t know the answer. We can rush to the hospital for treatment. All the snakes are not poisonous. Suppose if I get killed by snake bite then that is good for me and many. But we have no right to kill them by encroaching their space.
Better learn to live with nature. If you cannot, go and live in concrete jungles in the cities with lots of pollution. There is no guarantee that people will live there comfortably without being disturbed by insects and animals. Now dog menace has become a crucial issue. We need not talk about mosquitos, rats and cockroaches. Even snakes are in the cities. In some cities that are situated near forest wild animals occasionally go window shopping as we destroy their natural inhabitants. Wherever we live, unless we learn to live with Nature, at the end we have to pay the cost of it.
I sought the help of an entomologist to know more about the Waver ants. He sent several links to get more information about them as natural pesticides. He also wrote that they can act as biocontrol agents if you don’t mind the bite. At the same time he warned that they will spread to other trees and damage the flowers and fruits. They seem to have spread from South Asia [so not native to our land therefore we have to remove them].
Well, all these years I observed that they only nest on one particular tree and few creepers. Only the leaves around the nest alone dried and the tree continued to give flowers. I would prefer to have natural pesticides as I can buy fruits from shops but not natural pesticides. We have so many foreign things with them and learn to live with them. Above all India always welcomed and gave asylum to all, never trying to drive them away in the name of outsiders. We have no right to deprive them of their right to live in their place because of our need or protection.
Well such arguments always remain one way thinking as others have their own view which I respect.
DB, Gurukulam, 3-05-2023
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