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(ARCHIVE) Vol. XVIII No. 22, march 1-15, 2009
Our Readers Write

There's still hope for the sea cow

Don’t say goodbye, yet, to the ‘Indian Mermaid’, the Dugong dugong, as its habitat is not just in Gulf of Mannar alone. The Palk Bay, from Adam’s Bridge to Palk Strait, a huge enclosed area, is its habitat. It needs shallow waters of upto 20-25 feet, though 6 to 8 feet is ideal.

Grazing like an underwater cow, and belonging to the elephant family, it is an aquatic vegetarian. It needs to come up for air every ten minutes. It has a tough time feeding its calf, interrupting the feed, coming out again and again for air to breathe.

Discovery Channel reports that a herd can graze the size of an entire football field of grass every day. Its cousin, the Manatee of Mexico, grazes upto 10 to 15% of its body weight – 150 pounds of sea grass during 8 hours in the night. No wonder this cow has intestines as long as 150 feet! Its teeth get worn out due to biting into the grass with sand. However, it is bestowed with the ability to get new teeth for replacement.

I have seen satellite images of herds of Dugong off the shores of Western Australia, where such shallow areas are very extensive, like the shallow areas of Rameswaram. What is needed is a survey of the Dugong habitat, particularly in Palk Bay, and also a population study of Dugong in the Gulf of Mannar.

I have made some study of the Palk Bay in connection with discovering a submerged lake. On a rough estimate, the Palk Bay from Palk Strait to Adam’s Bridge encloses a shallow area of 60,000-65,000 sq. km. of which about half has a depth of below 10 metres, a quarter of which is even 5-6 metres, whereas the Gulf of Mannar does not have even 10,000 sq. km. of shallow areas suitable for Dugong. Incidentally, most of the shallow areas are in the Sri Lankan territory. So any conservation action should include Sri Lanka, as otherwise what we save will go to their dinner table. A lot of Dugongs captured in the shallow waters around Indonesia go for fancy dinners.

Of late, people have been talking about how to remove water hyacinth from inland waters as it interferes with navigation (in Kerala’s lagoons, for instance). Perhaps we need to introduce the Dugong in such places, as it is known that Dugongs even feed on the weeds in rivers in the USA and Mexico.

Undoubtedly, the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel Project, if it materialises, will destroy the Sea Cows’ habitat. If terrestrial cows are sacred, these too need to be treated as ‘sacred’.

K.V.S. Krishna
2A, Parkland Apartments,
Kamala Bai Street
T’ Nagar, Chennai 600 017

Saving the Nilgiris

The passing away of former Indian President R. Venkataraman (MM, February 16th) reminds me that when he was the Vice-President of India, he urged the State Government to take suitable action to stem the chaotic growth taking place in the Nilgiris. Responding to the appeal, ‘One great human tragedy compounding another’, handed over to him in New Delhi by Dharmalingam Venugopal, founder of the Save Nilgiris Campaign, the Vice-President promptly wrote to the then Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu, V.R. Nedunchezhian, saying, “I enclose an appeal from D. Venugopal of Save Nilgiris Campaign. He has suggested that with a view to preserving the beauty and ecology of Nilgiris, the following steps be taken.

1. Government should consider legislation to restrict acquisition of real estate in the district by outsiders.

2. A moratorium be declared on all construction of a commercial nature till civic amenities are adequately augmented; and

3. Land use pattern in the district be reviewed and land for forests, agriculture, etc clearly demarcated and encroachments dealt with suitably.

“I shall be glad, if you could kindly have the matter looked into.” Later, as President of India, he continued to support the Save Nilgiris Campaign.

Venugopal
dvenu@vsnl.net

Spell it again

Kandigai, spelt very quaintly as Cundighy by our erstwhile rulers (MM, February 1st), is NOT the present Guindy.

Kandigai is a village panchayat about 6 km from Vandalur (between Vandalur and Kelambakkam) on a nice stretch of good road. There are quite a few industries situated there including Advani Oerlikon.

Mrs. Usha Sundar
43, 24th Cross Street
Padmavathy Nagar
Selaiyur, Chennai 600 073

A Chinese broth

The series on ‘Snakes in India’ has been very interesting and informative. India is depicted by many ignorant Westerners as a land of snakes and snakecharmers, but many ophiologists in this country have studied deeply the reptiles in this country and written books.

During my service in Southeast Asia of over 40 years, I have seen many varieties of snakes, both venomous and non-venomous, in Malaysia, Borneos and Brunei, where people know it is better to avoid them and cases of snake bites are rare. But given a chance, the Chinese catch them and make a broth that is supposed to have medicinal qualities that cure many diseases. It is also considered as an aphrodisiac.

In Bangkok there is a well- run Government snake farm where over 100 varieties of snakes are reared and fed daily by expert handlers who also extract venom and produce anti-venom injections by injecting the venom into horses under medical advice.

Dr. C.V. Subramaniam
1017/1023, Gitanjali Layout
Bangalore 560 075

The Badagas’ ganje

A propos question No. 20 in the Quiz column in MM, February 16th, the following supplementary information may interest readers.

The European barley, because it was introduced by Sullivan in the Nilgiris, came to be called Sullivan ganje (not ‘gangi’) by the Badagas. No eulogical intention needs to be read into it. Ganje is actually the Badaga name for the native barley. What is of crucial interest is that Ganje has no Dravidian root at all. Etymologically, it is derived from Prakrit. Why the Dravidian Badagas should have had a Prakrit-originated name for their primary and staple foodgrain is a matter of historical and philological significance.

Rev. Philip. K Mulley
All Saints’ Church
Coonoor 643 101

Biography offered

May I add a note to Sriram V’s article on Ottilingam Thanikachalam Chettiar (MM, February 16th).

It is worth recalling that the protest organised against the removal of his name from the road was spearheaded by the Muthialpet High School Tamil teacher Muthukumaraswamy Mudaliar, well known in Tamil literary circles as Mayilai Sivamuthu, while the doyens of the Justice Party were mute spectators after suffering a shattering defeat in the General Elections of 1937. The sensible Chief Minister, Rajaji, put an end to the controversy.

Interested readers may contact me for a copy of a biography of Thanikachalam Chettiar (in Tamil) at Thanigai Illam, No. 30, 23rd Cross Street, Besant Nagar, Chennai 600 090 (Phone 044-2491 1225).

Dr. O. Somasundaram
somasundaramo@hotmail.com

His privilege

A propos Dr. T.M. Nair discontinuing his studies at Madras Medical College and qualifying later as a doctor in England (MM, February 1st), there is a story behind this which was told to me by my father, who was also a doctor and a student at MMC during the 1920s.

T.M. Nair was politically inclined even as a student and this, naturally, did not endear him to the British. When he appeared for the viva exams, the British examiners gave him a zero, without even asking him a question, and showed it to him. He appealed to the University authorities, who ordered the examination board to be reconstituted and examine him again. He appeared before them and was asked a question. “Gentlemen,” he said, “it is your duty to ask me a question, and my privilege not to answer.” With that, he walked out and went to England where he completed his studies.

Lakshmi Rajagopalan
rajagopalan.lakshmi@gmail.com

 

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