4/6/2023 0 Comments Octopus picturesI also couldn’t find credits for the illustrations.Īuthor Sejal Mehta (Courtesy the publisher)īut this is an unusual book in that the author seems to be rebelling against usual tomes of science writing, which are usually bone dry and superior-sounding. The book would have been even stronger if it had distribution maps of the species it talks about, and more connecting threads between the chapters. The Noctiluca pull away life from the beaches, but there is no mal-intent here, she says. Mehta watches the phenomena, with a touch of sadness, the beaches and her hands in the water shimmering with the plankton. There is another striking passage on Noctiluca, light bearing plankton, which sucks out oxygen from all its surroundings. Maybe they’re not wanderers, but explorers, she writes, constantly floating onwards as they are. On jellyfish, often dismissed as brainless, Mehta asks why we must always assign purpose to other creatures. Wonder and humility seem to be Mehta’s weapons of choice that arbitrate between the mundane and exciting aspects of a coastline (and broadly, of life). READ MORE: Excerpt from Superpowers on the Shore by Sejal Mehta On the tentacled Man O’ war, she writes: “The cnidarian defence, like most other powers in this book, isn’t targeted at humans. She walks on the shore, talks to researchers, gets stung or plankton-ed, but comes away grinning. The fact that the creatures like scorpionfish or cone snails don’t seem to be very interested in us (possibly the reason why we revile them) does not deter Mehta. Presented in bite-sized chapters, this book is a collection of appetizers that aims to make you fall in love with the sea and its spawn. A wild animal spotted on a sandy walk may appear to be a random thing but it is a creature with will, intent and surprising survival skills. The coastlines of Mumbai have a huge starring role in this book – these are places for lovers, for jogs, for solitude, and also for octopuses that sometimes run away, changing colour as they do so. She explores “powers” like invisibility, hunting and camouflage. But, the author argues, these animals have evolved a set of “superpowers” to get by in often harsh environs which are simultaneously exposed to both land and sea. It describes creatures that live close to where we are – on coastlines and beaches chock-full of tourists, walkers and fisherfolk – yet often remain unseen. This seems to be the tone of Sejal Mehta’s book, Superpowers on the Shore. “Sejal Mehta walks on the shore, talks to researchers, gets stung or plankton-ed, but comes away grinning.” In this picture, a shoal of Artemia plankton (Shutterstock)
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