The ants of Balasore

Now we move over to a very unusual aspect of Balasore. Like many, many places, it has ants. But the curiousity shown in the ants of Balasore by by Rev. Charles Acland, who was the Chaplain at Pooree, Cuttack and Midnapore, is absolutely amazing. He stayed in Balasore for some time during 1842-1843. He describes how the ground for five or six miles from his house in one direction seemed to be covered with mounds of earth and small bushes. However, on examining these closely, he found all those to be the nests of white ants. The green ones were those that were deserted, and over which grass had grown- the others were still inhabited. He estimated that in the plain visible from his window, there must have been many hundreds of thousands of these hills, varying in height from three feet to ten or twelve, and by little insects no larger than the common English ant. He quite lovingly described the process of building of these anthills. He found one part of their manner of building to be most extraordinary; their nests are always completely covered in, so that without kicking them one cannot see a single ant inside; there are one or two doors in different parts of the building, but those are seldom used.

The he describes their mode of building of anthills in some detail, “One day, perhaps, you will perceive a single pinnacle of an ants’ nest. You go and see it done day, and you will find it slightly raised, but curved, like a headstone. So it increases daily untill it reaches the size I have described. It is like building a house- as if he made a little closet with a roof on it, and then went inside and stayed there, while the closet swelled untill it became a perfect house. At the foot of these ant hills are a number of large black ants on the watch for any straggling white ants, which they kill and eat. These creatures abound in all our houses, and run about the floors: they are about an inch in length, and bite, but not sting.”

The Priest was after all human, and did, what many of us would have done. One day he just went and broke one of the ant-hills with a robust kick. And all hell broke loose! What happened thereafter is best read in Acland’s own words: “I walked towards what appeared to be the remains of some mud hut: it was about five feet high, and in irregular blunt points at the top. When I came down to it I tried to break off one of the long bits, but it was too strong, and was as hard as a wall. However, on the other side I found a smaller projection, which I broke off by kicking against it, and found it full of round passages perforating in all the directions, the smallest about the size of a quill and the largest as big as my wrist. This was the large white ants hill.

Immediately after I had broken a portion of it there came a rush of the inhabitants from all the passages to see what was the matter. They examined the parts broken, and some of them ran back. Presently a number more came, some dragging forward the others untill they got them quite to the edge, when a bigger ant took hold of each of these prisoners and bit him in the neck untill he killed him. I suppose the prisoners were those who had been on guard at that spot, or else those who built that part, and so were punished for my fault. Soon, however, they turned and attacked me, for I found many of them on my clothes and experienced the smart of their bite.”

That was administration of Justice – Ants Style - quick and ruthless.

Is there not a message in it for some of us who do not take our duties seriously?


Notes:
(i) The above is an anecedote quoted in my forthcoming book "Some Vignettes of Balasore and its French Loge."

(ii) Balasore is a town and a district of Orissa bordering West Bengal