June 05 2008

Text By Meera Sethi

According to Japanese professor of music Tadahiko Imada, crowds of people once used to gather around a large pond in Tokyo during the early months of summer, waiting and listening for the stirrings of a mysterious and impossible sound. What they came to hear were the vibrations rippling through the air as the result of the blooming of a lotus flower.

Imada explains that as the human ear is only capable of discerning sounds at or above a frequency of 20Hz, and the lotus flower blooms at a frequency of between 9 and 16Hz, catching even a whisper of a single unfurling petal—no matter how silent the surroundings— was beyond the ability of those patient listeners.

Yet listen they did, joined in their imaginations, believing they could hear the sound of beauty being born. And if you quieten your breathing today, slowing the beat of your heart to a gentle murmur, you may or may not be able to imagine you hear the soft, precise sound of the cool, green jewels growing from this jade vine.