Destruction, Thy Name is Human: The Effects of Pesticides on Nature

The price of abundance: when pesticides promised plenty, but delivered silence.

The Beginning of the End

Four decades ago, humans welcomed pesticides and insecticides as saviours of agriculture. They promised overflowing granaries, freedom from crop losses, and prosperity for farmers. But in reality, they stripped birds, bees, insects, and weeds of their sacred duties in the ecosystem.

barren land with chemical fertilizers

The Sparrow: the first victim of pesticides

The chirpy sparrow, once everywhere, now only in memories and stories.

The first victim was the sparrow. Farmers saw them as pests, prying on crop sheaves. What they didn’t realise was that sparrows kept insects at bay and maintained balance.

In villages, sparrows nested in homes, their constant chirping filling the air. Along with their song came droppings, insect carcasses, and sometimes chaos. Mirrors in the front rooms (chavadi ) bore the brunt too - sparrows, mistaking their reflections, would strike at them until householders draped the mirrors in cloth.

Frustrated, farmers cursed and prayed for relief, which came in the form of chemical sprays silent poisons that wiped sparrows from the skies. By the time urban dwellers woke up and marched with placards reading “Save the Sparrows”, it was already too late.

Now, sparrows live on only in children’s fables , the male in a suit and bow, the female in a cape and apron- cartoon echoes of what once was. Ironically, it was their very existence that helped launch the pesticide industry.

the pretty sparrow

The Crow: Nature’s Scavenger

The crow, once abundant, now fading from daily life.

Next in line was the crow : loud, cawing, and irritating to some. But it was nature’s own scavenger, clearing waste and balancing the ecosystem. For Sanatana Dharmis, the crow was also sacred , the messenger carrying food offerings to ancestors during rituals. Families would run with food held high, calling out to crows, hoping they would accept and deliver it.

Today, even the crows are bidding us farewell.

the crow, accepting food offerings placed for ancestors

The Vanishing Voices

Where cuckoos once sang, silence now reigns.

The cuckoo, the waterfowls, and many other birds have already become history. We now encounter them in books by ornithologists, in nostalgic stories by nature lovers, or in old recordings. Their voices no longer greet us in the morning.

Silent Foragers, Silent Forests

Wildlife crossing roads : a dangerous struggle for survival.

Not just birds , even wild foragers like deer, leopards, and peacocks are falling victim. Highways slice through their forests. Many die in collisions; others lose their homes as trees are razed and shelters destroyed. They reappear only as tragic viral clips on YouTube.

Cruelty, Thy Name is Human

Beauty meant to be admired in its home, now trampled by human greed.

All these tender-eyed blessings of nature , beings meant to be admired in their own habitats have been stripped of independence, driven into circles of captivity or death.

What we call progress has turned into cruelty. What we thought was prosperity has become destruction. And the destroyer has one name: Human.

setting sun over a barren tree

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SEAFOOD CURRY MASALA

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