A Magical Night In Delhi With Fireflies

“You would not believe your eyes
If ten million fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep…”

The words of this song by Owl City came true for me on a humid July evening.
I was very awake.
It was much before bedtime.
I was inside a noisy park within my never asleep metropolitan city!
I did not believe my eyes, truly!

‘Cause ten million fireflies did light up my environs.

Who would have thought, really!

Up until then, I had the thought planted in my head that fireflies could only be seen in rural/ jungle areas that went to sleep with the setting sun.
Where darkness was synonymous with blackness, where the night sky glittered with stars that looked like diamonds just beyond reach, where post-dark there were only the sounds of crickets and other night creatures, where humans respected the cycle of the sun and aligned their routines accordingly.
It was only in such a setting that fireflies could exist and display their sparkiest numbers, or so I thought.

But lo and behold!

“’Cause they’d fill the open air
And leave teardrops everywhere
You’d think me rude
But I would just stand and stare…”

That evening, I saw for myself that fireflies are not so finicky about sounds and settings.
They are only particular about the color and quality of light in their environment.
All that these magical creatures need to thrive is floral vegetation close to the ground, moist soil with foliage that shields harsh city lights from parks and green areas which they call home.
They live on small insects like mosquitoes and could be the city’s answer to these pests.

There is no way that we humans can mimic the brightness of these bioluminescent dancers.
Our non-environment-friendly fairy lights come nowhere close.

I just stood and stared!

“….I’d get a thousand hugs
From ten thousand lightning bugs
As they tried to teach me how to dance
A foxtrot above my head
A Sock hop beneath my bed
A disco ball is just hanging by a thread….”

I was astounded by their free flight upwards.
Their spirited display of joy, rising above the ground, in merry flights of their own.
No chases, no races.
Just each firefly fanciful and free.
In a solo bubble, on a path of self-expression.

I was the intruder here; I was the one that these shy creatures should have been wary about.
But did these mini torches give me a lesson in humility!
Just do what you are meant to do!
Be on your merry dance and light up the sky.
Not for applause.
But only because it makes you happy.

That is your purpose, your Ikigai!

Planet Earth moves slowly to accommodate the magnificence of the wondrous fireflies

Wonderful words penned down by one of our participants after her heartfelt experience at our Fireflies walk.

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About the Author

Mudita Agarwal

In the concrete jungle
it is Nature,
In the fast-pace of life
it is Slowness,
In crowds
it is the Individual,
That nourish and revitalise me!
A storyteller, a nature-writer, a seeker of meaning in connectedness.

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