When nature is the inspiration

Illustration/ Uday Mohite

As Mumbai struggles with building collapses, water-logged roads, leaky roofs and other monsoon-inflicted hardships, what if we told you, the solution to these problems lies within the city itself? We are not talking of a way out through the bureaucratic maze or real estate mess, but a more fundamental answer for which we need to turn to nature, just like man has for thousands of years. After all, keen observation of pigeons in flight is what became the foundation for the Wright brothers' design of the aircraft they successfully flew in 1903, as did the beak of a kingfisher, which inspired the super-fast and energy-efficient Shinkansen bullet train in Japan.

The concept

This Sunday, Mumbaikars can look for inspiration in their own backyard at a nature trail conducted by biomimicry consultant Anjan Prakash, who is also pursuing a masters-cum- professional certification in biomimicry. She will take participants on a design trail, as she calls it, through the Sanjay Gandhi Natural Park, helping them observe the strategies that the flora and fauna of the park use to adapt to and survive in their environment.

The walk has been conceptualised in collaboration with naturalist Shardul Bajikar who felt that the concept of biomimicry or biomimetics had to be shared with nature lovers.

Anjan Prakash

"Biomimicry often gets reduced to the shallow concept of emulating shapes or patterns found in nature to solve complex human problems. But the idea finds its true meaning when we begin to appreciate the intelligence in nature," Prakash explains. She also emphasises on the ethos of biomimicry. "We don't borrow the organism; we borrow the recipe from the organism. The final purpose of finding inspiration in nature cannot end in violence; it has to create conditions conducive to life," she adds.

The application

About the trail at SGNP, which will be conducted through Shilonda, Prakash says, "Identifying a species is just the beginning, because we will go further into how an organism exists in nature. The same trail can offer different lessons in different seasons." The national park, for instance, is full of trees with drip tip leaves that grow at an angle and have a pointy tip, so water can slide off easily. In a tropical city that receives heavy rains, this feature ensures the leaves don't rot. But how many buildings with a slant roof do you find in the city?

Another example that Prakash cites is that of the pagoda ant nest, which made with dry leaves, saliva and mud, is completely waterproof - the one property of plastic being sorely missed this monsoon. And however flimsy a spider's web may seem, its tensile strength is a work of wonder. "The mushrooms that grow on the forest floor have been in a nutrient-exchange partnership with trees for millions of years. The beautiful communication that happens through this little network is something that can be replicated even at the workplace," she says.

While Indians have been borrowing from nature's strategies since time immemorial, biomimicry is still an emerging discipline in India. At the end of the trail, Prakash will give participants a glimpse into developments in biomimicry around the world - something she hopes to further concretise when she brings the first international biomimicry workshop to India through a collaborative initiative next year.

On: July 22, 8 am to 12.30 pm
At: Nature Information Center, Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Borivli East.
Cost: Rs 1,000

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