Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-84b7d79bbc-7nlkj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-29T09:28:04.064Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

7 - The Tea Deva

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2012

Rajah Banerjee
Affiliation:
Social Activist for tea labourers and small organic farmers
Get access

Summary

The Tea Deva was first found in 1991 in Makaibari and baffled entomologists worldwide. It looked like an insect, but no matching insect could be found in the textbooks. What was remarkable about it was that it was the exact replica of a tea leaf – in every aspect and detail. In the summer, it carried the typical signs of a fresh, new leaf, while in the winter, it showed the natural blisters that affect tea leaves. Indeed, when in 1995 a hailstorm devastated one section of the tea plantations at Makaibari and left large patches on the tea leaves there the same injury marks were seen on the Tea Deva in a different and undisturbed section of the estate.

While scientists at the Zoological Society of India and the University of Hohenheim conducted research, I decided to call this unique life form, the Tea Deva. For me, it was a divine manifestation. It was one that had made its appearance, or perhaps reappearance, as a result of the religious diligence with which biodynamics was, and continues to be, practised at Makaibari. As Rudolf Steiner – the father of biodynamic agriculture – has stated, if all agricultural practices are truly holistic, then the principal crop will be reflected in mimicry. Clearly, we must be doing something right at Makaibari.

Finally scientists from Calcutta University and the Zoological Survey of India gave their verdict, identifying the Tea Deva as a member of the Phillidae family, which is adept at mimicry.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Foundation Books
Print publication year: 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • The Tea Deva
  • Rajah Banerjee, Social Activist for tea labourers and small organic farmers
  • Book: The Rajah of Darjeeling Organic Tea
  • Online publication: 05 February 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/UPO9788175968455.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • The Tea Deva
  • Rajah Banerjee, Social Activist for tea labourers and small organic farmers
  • Book: The Rajah of Darjeeling Organic Tea
  • Online publication: 05 February 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/UPO9788175968455.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Tea Deva
  • Rajah Banerjee, Social Activist for tea labourers and small organic farmers
  • Book: The Rajah of Darjeeling Organic Tea
  • Online publication: 05 February 2012
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/UPO9788175968455.008
Available formats
×