Flashback-Magical World (Part 8)

The food had been ordered. There was soup for starters. Actually vegetable soup, corn soup, pea/lentil soup and also tomato soup. After soup were a wide variety of dishes. Some of the dishes were steamed, some were stir-fried, still, others were deep-fried. There were two types of bread, and also flatbread made of brown flour. Then there was yogurt, buttermilk, homemade butter. Plenty of salads of cucumber, carrots, lettuce as well as onions and tomatoes. There was a rice pudding for a sweet dish. Coffee/ tea for afterwards. We had a sumptuous lunch. On the way out we took an apple each.

Aarvin continued talking and informed us that the people on the Magical World did not use any chemicals as fertilizers or pesticides. He said that compost was in use in place of fertilizers and that they made pesticides from herbs and some trees like the neem tree (Azadirachta indica also called Indian Lilac). This tree has the ability to drive away harmful insects and pests. So, the apples that we were eating were entirely organic and the taste was definitely better than the one available on Earth which were grown using inorganic fertilizers and inorganic pesticides.

He further informed us that the neem tree was a native of the sub-continent. Then all of a sudden he said why was he telling us all this, we should ask the neem tree. It would tell us everything about itself.

We all wanted to hear the truth from the horse's/ tree's mouth and agreed to ask the neem tree.

We had understood that this was due to the talking chip that answers all questions put to all the things in this world.

We had about 3 hours to while away our time till our slated meeting with you guys. So we decided to explore asking questions from things. At present we had only spoke to the rock and grass when we sat down.

Soon we were off in the flying cars, going down the mountainside flying above the treetops and approached an area where there were a clump of trees around a small lake. We also saw some daffodils growing beside the lake. It was a beautiful picture. The scene was completed with the chirping of the birds as they flew from branches of one tree to another or flew down to drink water at the lake. We could also see a huge group of butterflies

The 4 cars came down glided towards the grass and soon hovered above the grass. Zen here, wanted to know if the fuel used by the flying cars was environment-friendly, as the cars did not seem to emit any smoke. He decided that he would ask the flying cars later.

Aarvin said that he had brought us here so that we could talk to the plants, the lake, the fish, the frogs and the trees as well as the bird. Not to forget the animals like the rabbit and squirrel. He then added that first we must ask the grass for permission to land the cars and then sit on it and talk to it.

We, hence, sought permission from the grass to land our cars on it and to come out and spend some time sitting on the lovely grass. Surprisingly, the grass did not object and gave us permission.

Zen asked the grass whether we could ask questions and would the grass answer them. The grass replied that it would not be able to answer everything. It could only answer what it had been programmed to answer.

Zoya then asked the grass to tell something about itself.

The Grasses gave us a lot of information ( described in the earlier chapters). Grasses are also an important part of the vegetation in many other habitats, including wetlands, forests, and tundra.

The Poaceae are the most economically important plant family, providing staple foods from domesticated animals as well as humans. The cereal crops are maize, wheat, rice, barley, and millet as well as forage, building materials (bamboo, thatch, straw) and fuel (ethanol) even sugar from sugarcane plant. We learnt a lot of things like the cereals that we eat are in fact grasses like wheat, barley and even bamboo. The grass family is most widely distributed and abundant groups of plants on your Earth. They are found on every continent including Antarctica as hair grass on the Antarctic Peninsula. Grasslands such as savannah and prairie where grasses are dominant are estimated to constitute 40.5% of the land area of the Earth, excluding Greenland and Antarctica.

Seagrasses, rushes, and sedges fall outside this family though they are commonly called "grasses".

Grasses have adapted to lush rain forests, dry deserts, cold mountains, and even intertidal habitats, and are currently the most widespread plant type; the grass is a valuable source of food and energy for all sorts of wildlife and organics.

To a question from Chris about further information, the grass replied that the entire information was already in the World Wide Web or Internet as we call it.

The grass also added that there was more information and it had just given us an overview. It had not been programmed to go into full details.

It requested us to be patient and that it would answer any questions as long as they were included in its program. It then started to give some more information.

There are about 12,000 grass species in about 771 genera that are classified into 12 subfamilies.

Grasses are, in human terms, perhaps the most economically important plant family. Their economic importance stems from several areas, including food production, industry, and lawns. In some places, particularly in suburban areas, the maintenance of a grass lawn with trees is a sign of affluence, status symbol, of the homeowner, it also indicates a healthy green space and an ample supply of fresh oxygen.

Some common proverbs that use the word grass are as follows:-

"The grass is always greener on the other side" suggests an alternate state of affairs will always seem preferable to one's own.

"Don't let the grass grow under your feet?" tells someone to get moving.

"A snake in the grass" means dangers that are hidden.

"When elephants fight, it is the grass which suffers," tells of bystanders caught in the crossfire.

A folk myth about grass is that it refuses to grow where any violent death has occurred.

Then it is said that vegans and vegetarians are grass eaters. But it seems that non-vegetarians also eat grass but to a lesser extent. They also consume wheat, rice, maize, etc as cereals.