17 June,2011 07:03 AM IST | | Surekha S
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has released a CD to encourage plants to grow. So, do plants respond to music, we ask local gardeners, and find out that the bonsai might actually have a preference for Chaurasia over mozart
Bonsai plants at the Surup Bonsai Village in Panvel wake up to instrumental music from Thailand and fall asleep to the strains of Indian classical music.
Proprietor Sujay Shah has been playing music for his plants for the past 10 years, since the farm opened, as he believes that plants grow faster and better to music.u00a0
He's not alone. A recent album released in the UKu00a0 features members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra playing Mozart targetted at an audience of, well, plants, titled The Flora Seasons: Music to Grow to.
While Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird have described plants as sentient beings in their book, The Secret Life of Plants, there is not yet adequate scientific evidence to support the theory that plants respond to music.
Despite that however, several gardeners and plant lovers believe that positive sounds can have an effect on plants. The plants at the Bonsai Village, for instance, are made to listen to Zen and classical music. "Music that has a single rhythm or calm divine music works well with plants," says Sujay, adding, "They don't like Rock 'n' Roll."
Sujay has a collection of 50 CDs from different parts of the world, which he plays for his plants. His collection includes the Gayatri Mantra, Piano in the Garden from Thailand, Bismillah Khan on the shehnai and Hariprasad Chaurasia on flute.
Dr Simoneel Gamadia, who has a nursery called Gardenscape on Nepean Sea Road, agrees that pleasant sounds or playing soft, melodious music impacts plants.
"Plants respond positively to positive stimuli. It is believed that they have a sensory system beyond the five senses. I believe they do respond to different types of energies, sounds and even intent. They have an intelligence," she says. According to her, music that is harmonious with nature works well with plants, while discordant sounds have a negative effect.
Though Anuja Jagtap of Jagtap Nursery, in Pune, does not play music for her plants, she ensures she talks to them everyday. "It has a soothing effect on us, as well as the plants," she says.
Sunita Mohan, who helps people build customised gardens, also believes that speech has a therapeutic effect
on plants. So, if you haven't been playing music or having a little t te- -t te with your plants, maybe it's time you started, as Dr Gamadia says, "Just because we do not understand or see their reactions, does not mean they do not exist."
