“Where water-grass grows overgreen
On damp, cool flats by gentle streams,
Still as a ghost and sad of mien,
With half-closed eyes the heron dreams.” — Maurice Thompson
The Heron and the raga “Bhimplasi”
Whenever I see the “meditating” Great Blue Heron during my bird walks in the nearby county trail, I also think about the raga Bhimplasi because of the apt allegory shared by the legendary musician Veena Sahasrabuddhe. It reminds me how musical compositions and improvisation of ragas are often inspired by nature.
Veenaji said her father narrated this story, before teaching her the raga Bhimplasi, to help convey the movements of the musical notes in this raga. In her introduction to North Indian Classical music, Veenaji taught the Sargam Geet(singing of the svaras or musical notes) of the raga Bhimplasi and also shared this story.
Here is the summary of her allegory with links to my sightings of the heron’s matching behavior:
- starting of song evokes the scene of a heron standing absolutely still; it looks like it is meditating but, perhaps it is looking for fish in the water.
- The Heron hears a noise and becomes alert and decides to leave — change in emotion of the song
- Heron flies away — musical notes that reflect the flapping of his wings
- Then the heron lands on a different spot and starts standing still again
Great Blue Heron
Cornell’s All About Birds says “This largest of the North American herons wades slowly or stands stock still, peering into the water for prey. Breeding birds nest in colonies that can number several hundred pairs, where they build stick nests in trees, on bushes, or on the ground.” [2]
Rookery
It was awe-inspiring to see the heron rookery where the herons had built nests way up high in very tall trees that happened to be near a county walking trail.
Graceful Gait
Green Heron
It was absolutely fascinating to see the rarer green heron in the same pond where I had earlier seen the great blue heron. He too was standing still and then gliding; and when he climbed back to the pond’s bank, he scooted so fast.
Cornell’s All About Birds says “Green Herons are common and widespread, but they can be hard to see at first. Whereas larger herons tend to stand prominently in open parts of wetlands, Green Herons tend to be at the edges, in shallow water, or concealed in vegetation.” [3]
References
- Cornell’s All About Birds — Herons
- Cornell’s All About Birds — Great Blue Heron
- Cornell’s All About Birds — Green Heron
