Tribute to Dragonflies

Gentle Dragon

Few days back I saw this dragonfly snoozing on the Yellow Allamanda vine my wife grows in our balcony. I believe this is a male Green Darner ( (anax Junius) one of the largest varieties of the vast Dragonfly family. Perhaps, it is called this peculiar name because the tail resembles a darning needle!

I have always been very curious why dragonflies are called such a sinister name in English. We in the Maldives have quite different names in various atolls to this seemingly very delicate insect which in fact may be a record breaker! In the north, the common name is HATHARU FIYA DHOONI which literally means Four Winged Bird! Whereas, in Male' the common name is DHON DHOONI.

I found out that in Japan dragonflies are symbols of courage, strength, and happiness. The Japanese have revered this amazing insect so much that they have traditional names for almost all of the 200 species of dragonflies found in and around Japan! Who would expect anything less from the meticulous and nature loving Japs!

Children everywhere seem fascinated with this beautiful flying insects. Japanese children catch large dragonflies as a game, using a hair with a small pebble tied to each end, which they throw into the air. The dragonfly mistakes the pebbles for prey, gets tangled in the hair, and is dragged to the ground by the weight. Although we do not see children using the sap of the Breadfruit tree as glue any more to catch these visitors to Maldives, it was a common sight just a decade ago. Our roads in Male' are not safe any more even for pedestrians, let alone children running to catch dragonflies!

The dragonfly spends most of its life in freshwater and since we do not have large freshwater bodies in the Maldives it was quite intriguing to find these aerial acrobats in large squadrons all at once all over our archipelago! Most of us never give such phenomena a second thought, but my Dad is the most intellectually curious Octogenarian an average Joe will ever meet! I knew he had wondered about the dragonflies' sudden appearances and disappearances for more than seven decades! So, as soon as I listened to Dr. Charles Anderson's lecture on Tedtalks, I was very eager to share this new found knowledge with my Dad! As Arabs say, when you know the reasons, you stop being bewildered!

Dr Charles Anderson is a Marine Biologist by training who was with the British VSO, and he was fascinated to see these four winged wonders in Male' every year at mid October ! His curiosity got the better of him and the scientist in him took over ! Please listen to his mesmerizing lecture on Ted talks India at this link:

www.ted.com/talks/charles_anderson_discovers_dragonflies.