An illustrated kingdom of real, fantastical plants | Nirupa Rao

Prevoditelj: Gordan Prakiš Recezent: Sanda Liker

I have a challenge for you.

Imam za vas izazov.

The next time you're stuck in traffic,

Sljedeći put kada zaglavite u prometu,

take a minute to take a look at the sea of cars around you.

zastanite na minutu i pogledajte more automobila oko vas.

How many car companies do you think you could recognize?

Koliko biste marki automobila mogli prepoznati?

I'm not even really into cars,

Nisam pretjerani stručnjak za automobile,

but I think I'd do fairly well.

ali mislim da bih bila solidna.

But then look beyond the cars

Ali potom pogledajte iza automobila

to the trees that line the side of the road.

prema drveću koje se nalazi uz cestu.

How many of those could you identify?

Koliko biste ih mogli identificirati?

Probably not as many, right?

Vjerojatno ne toliko mnogo, zar ne?

Year upon year,

Godinu za godinom

we grow further and further away from nature

se sve više i više udaljavamo od prirode,

to the point where we have to question:

do točke gdje moramo postaviti pitanje:

What experience of nature will the next generation have?

kakav doživljaj prirode će imati sljedeća generacija?

And if that generation lacks a sort of emotional connection

A ukoliko toj generaciji nedostaje emocionalna konekcija

with their surroundings,

s njihovim okruženjem,

then will they bother to fight and save it

hoće li se uopće potruditi boriti se i spasiti je

when we need it most?

kada nam bude najviše potrebna?

My name is Nirupa Rao, and I'm a botanical artist.

Moje ime je Nirupa Rao i ja sam botanička umjetnica.

In short, that means I paint plants,

Ukratko, to znači da slikam biljke,

usually with watercolor,

obično vodenim bojama,

in a way that aims to be not only aesthetically appealing

na način da mi cilj nije samo estetska privlačnost,

but also scientifically accurate.

nego i znanstvena preciznost.

And I'm well aware that this is quite an odd profession

I itekako sam svjesna da je to čudno zanimanje

for a 21st-century urban Indian --

za urbanu Indijku 21. stoljeća -

some might say outdated in the age of the camera --

neki bi rekli zastarjelo u doba fotoaparata -

but here's how my journey began.

ali evo kako je moje putovanje počelo.

A few years ago,

Prije nekoliko godina

I met two naturalists who work with the Nature Conservation Foundation:

upoznala sam dvoje prirodoslovaca koji rade s Fondacijom za zaštitu prirode:

Divya Mudappa and T.R. Shankar Raman.

Divyja Mudappa i T. R. Shankara Ramana.

And now interestingly,

I zanimljivo,

they actually began their careers working with animals,

započeli su svoju karijeru radeći sa životinjama,

but they soon came to realize

ali su uskoro shvatili

that if they were to protect those animals,

da ukoliko žele zaštititi te životinje,

they'd also have to protect their habitats --

također moraju zaštititi njihova staništa -

that is, the trees they live off.

tj. drveća od kojih one žive.

And so they started a rainforest restoration program

I tako su započeli program restauracije prašuma

aimed at growing local trees that local birds and animals rely on.

ciljan na uzgoj lokalnog drveća na koje se lokalne ptice i životinje oslanjaju.

And they were looking to visually document them in some way,

I pokušali su ih nekako vizualno dokumentirati,

but the photographers they approached came up empty-handed.

ali fotografi kojima su pristupili nisu bili uspješni.

These trees were up to 140 feet tall.

Ta drveća su bila visoka i do 40 metara.

That's 26 times my height.

To je 26 puta moje visine.

Try capturing giants like that in a single camera frame.

Probajte takve divove uloviti u jednom kadru.

Besides, the surrounding greenery was just too dense

Uz to, okolno zelenilo je bilo pregusto

to clearly isolate a single tree.

kako bi jasno izolirali jedno drvo.

And so together, we decided to give good old painting a shot.

I tako smo zajednički odlučili dati šansu dobrom starom slikanju.

And to tell you the truth,

I da vam iskreno kažem,

even when I was standing there right in front of them,

čak i dok sam stajala tamo ispred njih,

it was difficult to see the entire tree.

bilo je teško vidjeti cijelo drvo.

So instead I'd study the buttress up close

Umjesto toga sam proučila drvo izbliza

and then climb up the hill to see its crown rising above the canopy.

i potom se popela na brdo kako bih vidjela njegovu razgranatost.

And then with Divya, and she there as aide,

Potom sam uz pomoć Divyae

we could piece these pieces of the puzzle together

složila komade slagalice zajedno

into the final painting.

u finalnu sliku.

For a lot of people who don't know the jungles

Za mnoge ljude koji ne poznaju džunglu

as well as these naturalists,

kao i za te prirodoslovce,

these paintings are the only way that they'll get to see these trees

ove slike su jedini način na koji mogu vidjeti ovo drveće

in their entirety.

u svojoj cjelini.

We were able to document 30 of the region's most iconic species

Uspjeli smo dokumentirati 30 najvažnijih vrsta u regiji,

along with their fruit, flowers, seeds and leaves.

skupa s njihovim plodovima, cvjetovima, sjemenjem i listovima.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

Through this process,

Tijekom procesa

the jungles really came alive to me.

džungla je za mene zbilja oživjela.

They morphed from this undifferentiated sea of green

Pretvorila se iz nejasnog mora zelenila

into individual species with individual characters.

u individualne vrste s individualnim karakterima.

And I think a lot of people just tend to see plants as background scenery,

Mislim da mnogo ljudi ima tendenciju vidjeti biljke kao pozadinski pejzaž,

assuming that their immobility makes them uninteresting.

pretpostavljajući da ih njihova imobilnost čini nezanimljivima.

But I began to see that it is that very rootedness that makes them fascinating,

Ali počela sam shvaćati da ih upravo ukorijenjenost čini fascinantnima.

the ingenious ways in which they adapt and respond

Genijalni način na koji se adaptiraju i odgovaraju

to threats and opportunities

na prijetnje i prilike

on timescales that make our heads hurt to imagine.

kroz vrijeme, što je našim mozgovima nezamislivo.

And I couldn't help but wonder:

Ne mogu se ne zapitati:

What if I could tell their stories,

Što ako mogu ispričati njihove priče,

showcase their complexity?

prikazati njihovu kompleksnost?

Perhaps we'd all start to think of plants a little differently.

Možda bismo onda svi skupa počeli na biljke gledati malo drugačije.

And in fact, in my family, plants have always been a source of fascination.

U stvari, u mojoj obitelji su biljke oduvijek bile izvor fascinacije.

My grand-uncle, Father Cecil Saldanha,

Moj praujak, Otac Cecil Saldanha,

was the first to document the flora of our home state of Karnataka

je bio prvi koji je dokumentirao floru svoje rodne zemlje Karnatake

back in the '60s.

još '60-ih.

And my mother has all of these memories

A moja majka se sjeća

of being a little girl watching this entire enterprise unfold.

praćenja tog cijelog poduhvata dok je odrastala.

And consequently,

Posljedično,

I've come to associate plants with adventure and discovery

počela sam poistovjećivati biljke s avanturom, pronalaskom

and excitement.

i uzbuđenjem.

And so I knew I didn't just want to paint roses and sunflowers.

Znala sam da ne želim biti zainteresirana samo za ruže i suncokrete.

I wanted to paint the kinds of plants that botanists like my uncle work with.

Željela sam slikati tipove biljaka na kojima su radili botaničari tipa mog ujaka.

And so I set out to create a book,

I tako sam odlučila napraviti knjigu,

supported by the National Geographic Society,

uz poticaj društva National Geographic Society,

on the weirdest, wackiest plants we could find

o najčudnijim, najluđim biljkama koje možemo pronaći

in one of the most biodiverse regions in the world:

u jednoj od biološki najraznovrsnijih regija na svijetu.

India's very own Western Ghats.

Indijskim Zapadnim Gatima.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

Take a look at these fantastic jewel-like sundews.

Pogledajte ove fantastične muholovke nalik draguljima.

They grow in regions where nutrient content in the soil is poor,

Rastu u uvjetima gdje su nutrijenti iz tla oskudni,

and so they have a little way of supplementing their diets.

pa imaju vlastiti način sumplementiranja svoje prehrane.

They lure, trap and ingest insects using mucilaginous glands on their leaves.

Namame, uhvate i probave kukce koristeći sluzave žlijezde na svojim listovima.

The little insects are attracted to the sweet secretions,

Manje kukce privlače slatkaste izlučevine,

but once they come in contact,

ali jednom kada s njima dođu u kontakt

they are ensnared and the game is up.

oni su zarobljeni i igra počinje.

And you might notice

I možda ste zamijetili

that the sundews very cleverly hold their flowers on tall, thin stems

kako muholovke lukavo drže cvijet na visokim i tankim stabljikama

high above their murderous leaves

visoko iznad svojih ubojitih listova

to avoid trapping potential pollinators.

kako bi izbjegli lovljenje potencijalnih oprašivača.

Further inside the jungle,

Dalje unutar džungle

you might meet the strangler fig.

možda susretnete smokvu "davitelj".

It grows in areas where sunlight is scant

Rastu u uvjetima gdje je sunčeva svjetlost oskudna

and competition is intense.

i konkurencija intenzivna.

And so it has a strategy to sort of cut in line and get ahead.

Zato imaju strategiju da na neki način preskoče red i steknu prednost.

You see, its seeds are dispersed by birds

Vidite, njihovo sjeme raspršavaju ptice

that drop them atop the branches of existing trees.

koje ih bacaju na vrhove grana postojećeg drveća.

And that little seed will start to germinate from there,

I to maleno sjeme će početi klijati,

sending its shoots upward to the sky

šaljući svoje izbojke prema nebu

and its roots all the way down to the ground,

a svoje korijene cijelim putem dolje do zemlje,

all the while strangling the host tree, often to death.

cijelo vrijeme gušeći drvo domaćina, često do smrti.

And even if that host tree dies and rots away,

Čak i ako to drvo domaćin ugine i istrune,

the strangler will persist

smokva "davitelj" će odoljeti

as a hollowed-out column of roots and branches.

kao šuplji stup korijena i grana.

And if that didn't impress you,

Ako vas ovo nije impresioniralo,

let me show you one of my personal favorites:

dopustite da vam pokažem jedan od mojih osobnih favorita:

the Neelakurinji.

grm neelakurinji.

When it blossoms,

Kada cvjeta,

it does so in unison,

čini to skladno

covering entire hillsides in carpets of blue.

prekrivajući cijele padine plavim tepisima.

This is its pollination strategy known as "gregarious flowering,"

To je njegova strategija oprašivanja zvana "društveno cvjetanje",

in which it invests all of its resources into a single, spectacular event

u kojoj sve svoje resurse usmjerava u jedinstveni, spektakularni događaj

aimed at attracting pollinators to the feast --

s ciljem privlačenja oprašivača na gozbu,

which is easily done,

što je jednostavno

considering the Neelakurinji is all that can be seen for miles around.

uzevši u obzir da je grm neelakurinji jedino što se vidi kilometrima.

But here's the catch:

Ali u ovome je kvaka:

it happens only once every 12 years.

To se događa samo svakih 12 godina.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

And soon after seeding,

I ubrzo nakon klijanja

these flowers will die,

njihovi cvjetovi će umrijeti

not to be seen again for the next 12 years.

i neće se vidjeti sljedećih 12 godina.

This is our way of telling a story of the Western Ghats:

Ovo je naš način pričanja priče o Zapadnim Gatima:

through plants and through their ecosystems

kroz biljke i njihov ekosustav

and the various ways in which they interact

te razne načine njihove interakcije

with players in their habitats.

s raznim sudionicima u njihovom okruženju.

It's glorious, isn't it?

To je veličanstveno, zar ne?

But the way things are going,

Ali načinom na koji se stvari odvijaju

we can't be sure that the Neelakurinji will come out to play again

ne možemo biti sigurni da će se grm neelakurinji ponovno opet zaigrati

in the next 12 years.

u sljedećih 12 godina.

The further and further we grow from nature,

Što se više udaljavamo od prirode,

the more we are almost literally blind to it

sve smo više doslovce slijepu za nju

and the effects that our activities have on it.

i za efekte koje naše aktivnosti na nju imaju.

And that's what it's called -- "plant blindness":

I to se naziva - "sljepilo za biljke" -

the increasing inability to really register the plants around us

sve veća nemogućnost registriranja biljaka oko nas

as living beings.

kao živih bića.

The two scientists that coined this term,

Dvoje znanstvenika koji su iskovali ovaj izraz,

Elisabeth Schussler and James Wandersee,

Elisabeth Schussler i James Wandersee,

contend that plants lack certain visual cues.

tvrde da biljkama nedostaju određeni vizualni znakovi.

They don't have faces,

Nemaju lica,

they don't move,

nepokretne su

and we don't perceive them as threats.

i ne doživljavamo ih kao prijetnje.

And so with the increasing onslaught of information that our eyes receive,

Tako da sve većim jurišem informacija koje naše oči primaju

we just deprioritize registering plants,

registriranje biljaka više nam jednostavno nije prioritet

simply filtering out information that we view as extraneous.

i jednostavno filtriramo informacije koje smatramo da su nam strane.

But stop to think about that.

Ali zaustavite se ovdje i razmislite o tome.

Are plants really extra?

Jesu li biljke zbilja višak?

Are they just nature's backdrop?

Jesu li samo pozadina prirode?

Or are they the fundamental building blocks

Ili su fundamentalni građevni blokovi

upon which all life is based,

na kojima se temelji sav život,

the starting points of our ecosystems

početna točka naših ekosustava

and the reason why earth is sustainable for life to this day?

i razlog što je Zemlja pogodna za život do današnjih dana?

I leave you with these images from a program called "Wild Shaale,"

Ostavit ću vas s ovim slikama iz programa naziva "Wild Shaale",

which in Kannada means "wild school."

što na kannada jeziku znači "divlja škola".

It's run by a conservationist, Krithi Karanth.

Vodi je konzervatorica Krithi Karanth.

And her team turned some of my illustrations

Njezin tim je neke od mojih ilustracija pretvorio

into games that village children could play with and learn from.

u igru koju djeca iz sela mogu igrati i uz nju učiti.

And I can tell you they were so excited to see plants that they recognized --

I mogu vam reći da su bili jako uzbuđeni kada su vidjeli biljke koje prepoznaju:

the trees that the monkeys play on,

drveća na kojima se majmuni igraju,

the flowers they use at their harvest festival,

cvijeće koje koriste na svojim žetvenim festivalima,

the fruit they use to wash their hair.

voće koje koriste za pranje kose.

And it's that sort of familiarity which, when celebrated,

I upravo kada je slavljena, ta se upoznatost

turns to love,

pretvara u ljubav,

which then turns into an urge to protect.

koja se zatim pretvara u nagon za zaštitu.

It's really time we open our eyes to the world around us,

Zbilja je vrijeme da otvorimo oči prema svijetu oko nas,

to this entire kingdom that's hidden in plain sight.

prema cijelom kraljevstvu koje je nadohvat ruke.

And so the next time you're stuck in traffic,

Tako da sljedeći put kada zaglavite u prometu,

you know what to do.

znate što vam je činiti.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)