Today at Kauai Aadheenam

Jai Ganesha!

Today our monks were able to send up our new drone for a quick test flight, and capture a few photos with its Hasselblad-engineered lenses.

Apart from using drones for taking pretty photos, the Aadheenam puts them to work in other capacities as well, such as in surveying our agricultural, construction and landscaping projects. They are also used for taking updated images of our sprawling, nearby agricultural water systems—an important part of our island’s local sustainability efforts in our area.

The Saga Continues

We have shared recently how lotuses that were once super abundant in our ponds were totally eaten by the ravenous tilapia fish some years back. Inspired by two pilgrims, we have successfully (with the help of Kauai’s lotus whisperer, Ken Bernard) established just yesterday seven lotuses in seven 130-gallon pots buried in the ground. Ken also brought water lilies and five fast-growing aquatic plants. These will provide interest in the pots when the lotuses naturally die back and hibernate. He also introduced some small red platies fish and a few small snails who, as they multiply, are to become the maintenance crew.

Ken brought an abundance and with the additional plants he and Sadasivanathaswami set up a small Water Garden Propagation Area with the idea that when these lotuses and water lilies in smaller pots bloom they can be displayed at the Iraivan Temple entrance for all pilgrims to enjoy for a few days or weeks.

We learned from Ken that there are only two true species of lotus on the planet, the Asian Sacred Lotus and the American Yellow Lotus. Ken remarked that their new home, being half Indian and half American is an apt place for these two. And, he added, lotuses have been on the Earth for 130 million years, and are among the earliest flowering plants.

Factoids

Lotus has several unusual features that fascinate botanists:

Thermal flowers

Some lotus flowers can regulate temperature slightly, which is rare among plants.

Extremely durable seeds

Sacred lotus seeds have germinated after more than 1,000 years. One famous Chinese lotus seed was dated to around 1,300 years old and successfully sprouted.