Lessons on Nature From Professor Pang

I woke up at about seven in the morning. When I walked outside the apartment to look at the valley below, I was amazed. What I thought was a valley in between the two hills turned out to be layers of mountain ranges rising above a sea of white clouds. The hills came in different shades of gray, gradually turning paler as they stretched into the distance. The sun hid behind gray clouds on the horizon, just above the hills. Around me, birds were singing their happy morning tunes as they flew around in search of a meal. I just stood there for a few moments to take it all in. The wonder of it all never ceases to amaze me. I’m so glad to be here.

More first-aid sessions, good food and even a first-aid test followed. When Dr. Ewe arrived in the evening, we were already free to do whatever we wanted. Since he volunteered to drive us around town, we eagerly obliged. We were quite fortunate to have a few biologists tag along with us. Professor Pang, a nice lady from UM gave us a few interesting lessons on nature. We were just taking a few photographs on a hillside when she suddenly pointed out a tiny shrub with little white flowers on the ground. According to her, this is the plant used to make root beer. She uprooted it and crushed the roots so that we could smell it. I pulled another one out of the ground. Indeed, I could smell the sweet fragrance of root beer! She looked around and showed us another plant with yellow flowers. I forgot the scientific name she blurted out, but apparently, people used it on tooth cavities to numb pain. A few of us daringly put a flower on our tongue to try it. I tried too but I couldn’t feel the numbness that the others felt. Maybe I didn’t put enough.

As we were leaving, Mohan saw some spider webs on some shrubs. As it was raining earlier, tiny droplets of water now clung to the webs. A green spider hung in the center. As we looked at it from certain angles, light from the Sun reflected off the water droplets to give the web a shimmering effect. ‘It looks like a galaxy!’ exclaimed Dr Ewe. It was beautiful. The spider knew nothing about astronomy or engineering, yet it could build a structure that looked like an entire galaxy as seen from a distance!

Beauty and grace are performed whether or not we will or sense them. The least we can do is try to be there. ~ Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.

We went on to visit the waterfall, but it was in such a sorry state that I didn’t enjoy it at all. The sides of the pool had been cemented while large, black pipes stuck out of the waterfall. A few toilet cubicles stood above one of the river banks. This is what man does when he encounters nature; ‘improve it’ by adding cemented structures, paper and plastic. It was sad.

Despite the waterfall, I enjoyed the trip very much. We also managed to see a snake, some prehistoric looking ferns, as well as various kinds of birds. Even though I love nature, I am no biologist, so I can’t identify them by name. But being around experts in the biological sciences was definitely a rewarding experience! Deep down, I regretted not choosing to study something I really loved in my heart. But then, if not for MMU, I wouldn’t have been involved in the Antarctic Research Program in the first place. I wouldn’t even have met Agnes and learnt so much through the CF! What is there to regret?