Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- 1 The Beginning
- 2 Creating an Organic Makaibari
- 3 Setting an Example
- 4 An Eventful Year
- 5 The Community
- 6 Makaibari Tea
- 7 The Tea Deva
- 8 Lore of the Logo
- 9 Spreading the Spirit of Makaibari
- 10 Makaibari's Wildlife
- 11 Makaibari Fables
- 12 Through the Visitors' Eyes
- Epilogue
- Index
7 - The Tea Deva
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- 1 The Beginning
- 2 Creating an Organic Makaibari
- 3 Setting an Example
- 4 An Eventful Year
- 5 The Community
- 6 Makaibari Tea
- 7 The Tea Deva
- 8 Lore of the Logo
- 9 Spreading the Spirit of Makaibari
- 10 Makaibari's Wildlife
- 11 Makaibari Fables
- 12 Through the Visitors' Eyes
- Epilogue
- Index
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.
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Rajah of Darjeeling Organic TeaMakaibari, pp. 81 - 86Publisher: Foundation BooksPrint publication year: 2008