Small Town Chronicles; My Little Potter friend

We shifted from Kolkata to Rourkela in September and by October 1, 2012 all my possessions from the Kolkata house had arrived. Then began the arduous task of opening the cartons and putting my house in shape. It was tough with a three year old and no support at home. Every night before going to bed I would flip through the master list, strike off the ones that I had opened and mark in red the ones I would open the next morning. Mornings would begin early with a cup of chai and cookies followed by a light breakfast of cornflakes and milk. Lunch would be a simple affair of Maggi and fruit juice. Well that’s the most I managed with all the unopened cartons looming around me.

I started with the cartons for one room, opened them, set the room in a shape and then moved to the next. After having finished setting up the kitchen, it was now the turn for the master bedroom. I set to task immediately after breakfast with the boy busy with his Thomas, the engine. But repeated wails from him prevented further progress. The reason - a fly bothering him! Okay, so I shooed it off but it came back again and again pestering him. So I moved the child to another corner. Well, seems it was my turn then! The fly was back with full vengeance, circling around me, flying low, just above my head and it was getting quite irksome. I gave it up for a lunch break.  After the meal the boy went off to sleep while I decided to make the most of it. But, no! The fly was back again. This time it managed to bother the sleeping child and me as well. Thoroughly exasperated with the fly, the humidity taking its toll and fatigue setting in I bunched up some loose papers to strike the little pest. 

The wasp at work

It fell flat on my bed motionless. It was then that I had a long look at it. Ahh, it’s not what I thought…I mean not a fly! More like a wasp. You know the ones we call ‘bolta’ in Bengali. Longish and thin, they are red in color, they are ferocious little creatures and they sting very hard. Bolta took me back to one of the quips by my brother-in-law. I was 13 years old then. My newly married brother-in-law had asked me ‘tum bolta ko kya bolta hai?’(What do you call a bolta?) I had no reply and I did not know what to say. Well he had served me the answer,‘Hum bolta ko bolta bolta hai’. (I call a Bolta a bolta). It’s the multiple use of the word ‘bolta’ and the way Bengalis pronounce it that we find it funny! 

Another shot of my friend

Coming back to my little friend…it was lying motionless on the bed making me feel very guilty. After all it had become my companion on all these lonely, dreary afternoons. It spared me further guilt by suddenly fluttering its wings and flying out. No sting nothing! It came after a few minutes again and did not sting me but just hovered around my head, revolved around my son and then went on to sit on the window sill. I got busy with my work but I did count the number of times the little thing flew in.

The next morning while opening the window I noticed a clump of mud stuck firmly on the window sill. By the time I came back with the broom my friend had already made an entry. And I found it sitting on that very clump of mud. Now that was interesting. Stealthily I moved closer. The little wasp was holding between its legs a clump of mud which was wet and which it deposited on the older, hardened clump.

Done with the deposit it flew out, came back again with some more which it deposited again. This went on throughout the day while I kept a vigil on the progress. I managed to keep myself and the child out of its way lest it gets disturbed and decides to stop further activity.

By the end of the day, my little friend had created a round heap of mud which resembled an earthen pot. The round heap narrowed down into a tiny, circular opening at the top. The next morning I found that my friend was early, had sealed the opening and was busy building another storey on its top. Evening saw the completion of this layer and a hole left at the top.  Next morning I found my friend flying in. It seemed a bit off-balanced and had lost its sense of direction. It kept on hitting the curtains which hung around the windows or the window ledge. Closer inspection left me astounded. It was holding on to a green caterpillar which was twice its size and weight. After many an attempt the wasp managed to squeeze the caterpillar inside the unsealed hole that it had left on the second layer. She returned with some more mud and sealed off the layer. The next day saw her building another layer to the whole structure and then sealing it off with some more worms. 

The green caterpillar brought by the wasp

This whole affair was new to me. I had never seen such a wasp before and she took most of my time in those early days showing me her creative side. Perfectly built and symmetrical the nests were a wonder.

Later I got to know from my mother that they are known as ‘Kumirey poka’ in Bengali, ‘Kumhar’ In Hindi and Oriya and Potter Wasps in English. No wonder their skills are comparable to a human potter. They secrete a liquid which wets the mud lying around and moulds them into the kind of dough that they want. And they paralyze the caterpillars by stinging them. Otherwise how can a tiny wasp manage a caterpillar double/triple its size? To add on to this, they are harmless. They do not sting. I disturbed mine so many times but she never stung me or my child. Such interesting and magnificent creatures they are.

My mother also mentioned to me that visits of a ‘kumirey poka’ are considered auspicious amongst the Bengalis. It’s usually a harbinger of good luck. Households with no child consider it to be a signal of the arrival of a little one. And it’s sacrilegious to break/destroy such a nest. It’s bound to bring bad luck to the destroyer.

The three-storeyed nest about to be sealed

To add a note as an epilogue my friend had built two more nests in my house. They all remained intact for the next three months. One fine day I found tiny holes on each of those layers. The eggs that she had laid had all hatched, the larva had fed on the worms and caterpillars its mother had stocked for it, grown its wings and had then flown away. I have removed those nests and kept them carefully as display in my living room. No not for the fear of bad luck! Interesting and magnificent, such great works of art they are! I have kept their nests in a nicely decorated plate and show it off to people who visit me. Not a day goes by that guests do not appreciate my friend’s skills! This year I am still eagerly awaiting her arrival. Will let you know when she comes in!