THE GREEN MELODY OF THE VOICELESS

Green Minute News

Imagine hearing different musical notes from a young flowering plant or a tree. A special device records the subtle sounds emanating from a plant and converts it into sweet melody depending on the prevailing conditions in and around.

For the first time in India, an effort has been made to record different sounds of the so called mute green world. In an innovative venture, Project Vruksha Foundation launched this project to record plant sounds with the help of a special instrument, the MIDI (musical instrument device interface) device.

The brain behind this venture say this is an effort to give voice to the voiceless. The special instrument in fact, gives voice to the plant’s perception to its surroundings. It perceives the electromagnetic variations from the surface of the leaves,the root system,the Bark, fruits, flowers and translates them into recognizable sound of various frequencies.

According to Vijay Nishanth, Project Vruksha Foundation, science increasingly supports the concept that plants operate with an innate intelligence and logic diverse on their own. Further, research into plant intelligence and plant perception is very important in deciphering and registering the impulses and interactions of plants. This is nothing but discovering a new language to understand the plant world, Nishanth adds. “We wanted to demonstrate that plant world too have a life of their own and significance. We have to recognize the delicate interaction between man and nature and also experience the health benefits of plant music. By recording the sounds of plants, we have reached a new level of understanding and awe about the consciousness of nature.”

Launching this special project to record plant sounds, Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, Rajmatha of Mysore Royal Family said, “This is so fascinating and I feel it will bring a lot of awareness amongst children and motivate them to take up plantation and other green programs. This clearly shows how every living being has consciousness and how it can be captured and decoded in the days to come for the benefit of mankind. All of us have to pitch in our support in our own way for environment and save nature.”

The Royal family of Mysuru has extended all support and cooperation for projects involving biodiversity, tree plantation and wildlife conservation activities across Karnataka especially on the northern districts.

LISTENING TO THE TREE’S SOUL

How does this special device work to record the varying sounds of the plant world? 

Let’s us imagine that this device is connected to a keyboard and you get to hear music as the musician plays the notes. Now the same way, connect the MIDI device to the plant by plugging electrodes either to the roots of the plant, leaves, flowers or even fruits. This can also be connected to the Bark of a tree. Within a few seconds, one gets to hear music of varying frequencies generated by a plant or a tree. 

For instance, when electrodes were plugged to an Orchid – Anthurium and Money Plant, the music that emanated from these plants were meditative and soothing. In fact, the reaction to this demonstration was – these sounds that is music can be used as a stress buster for all age groups.

Project Vruksha Foundation will be recording the sounds of 100 tree species in the IT city of Bengaluru as part of Vrukshadhwani. The inspiration for this project lies behind the experimental studies done by Jagdish Chandra Bose who did a lot of studies to decode the mystery behind stimuli of plants. In fact, the MIDI device allows one to clearly listen to the music of plants by converting electrical signals to sound waves. Plants are sensitive to heat, cold, light, noise and other extraneous stimuli and one can hear this variation in the sound that is generated from the plants.

What is the benefit to mankind from this project of Vrukshadhwani? 

This is one way of discovering a new language from the hereto never understood plant world. It will also reveal the interaction between man and plants be it constructive or destructive. Further, one can experience the health benefits of plant music too. This experimentation is nothing but getting a new level of understanding and awe about consciousness and nature in the coming days.