On walking along the one foot path in rural areas, I often find black beetles moving hurriedly with a small ball of earth. They actually rolled back the ball with their hind legs placed on it; at the same time they also walked back with their fore legs on the ground! These beetles are the Dung beetles (Orthophagus gazella, Scarab beetle, 'Piee vurutti vandu' in Tamil). The ball is nothing but bits of faeces or dung of cattle rolled into a sphere!
In school class room it was taught that transpiration is one of the plant's physiological functions. But do we know that 'reverse transpiration' is also a physiological function? Yes, it is so - in certain plants! In them leaf takes in water and sends it to the stem - reverse of what we learnt and expect - root takes in water and sends it to leaves via stem. These plants are described as 'Leaf - drinkers,' as their leaves are 'drinking' water.
My childhood excitements were much as my sisters and brothers showed me all the wonders in this world. My eldest brother used to enter into darkened room whenever there was a family function. When I tried to peep into the room he shouted at me to close the door. Later he explained me after coming out of the room thus: he was loading his camera with a Roll film that would have been spoiled if it was done outdoors in daylight!
We live, and are alive as we have our body organ, the Liver. Liver does many functions for our body. In its own illnesses such as Cirrhosis and Hepatitis C, it functions lesser than normal. Here this it has to be replaced with a donor liver by transplantation. But lo, donors are not readily available.
I have seen tribal women carry their children on their back in pouches of cloth. I was reminded of this when I was informed about a different kind of frog (toad) that carries its young ones on its back! It is the Surinam toad (Pipa pipa, Star-fingered toad). It is also remarkable that it carries young ones from their embryo stage itself!
At dusk we see birds that fly fast to their nests. But there are certain birds that hunt only in night's darkness and sleep at daytime. One such bird is the Nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus, Goatsucker, Common Indian Nightjar, 'Pakki' in Tamil).
Each year in summer we expect the arrival of a delicacy in the market. It takes the heat off our head and cools down the whole body. In my childhood I had also relished on a sweet drink related to that delicacy. These two products are from our Palmyrah tree (Borassus flabellifer, Double palm, Lontar palm, 'Panai maram' in Tamil). The tree has multiple uses from making huts to making palm sugar and what else not? Its black fruits contain the soft, jelly-like delicacy (that I mentioned earlier here) called 'Nuongu' in Tamil (Ice-apple).
Mosquitoes have been made villains to me. As young, I heard a musical ringing sound over my ear when I retired to bed. That sound quickly shifted to the other ear! It is produced by nobody but by our mighty mosquito flying around. Though its name in Tamil language, 'Kosu' is used also to mean an easier work or a small sized person, the mosquito still remains the strongest giving nuisance and causing diseases such as Dengue, Chikungunya and Malaria. In 2006, when there was Chikungunya epidemic in India, the electric mosquito killing bat (zapper) was introduced to us by the increased population of these mosquitoes.
As I rose one day early in a winter morning and walked through the meadow, I found the indecent behaviour of somebody spiting out on the grass. There was the spittle on the leaf blade of the grass clasping it around. I was irritated about it and walked carefully avoiding it. Later I wondered to know from an article in a daily that it is an act by an insect's nymph and not by a human!
