There is no butterfly in classical Indian literature, claims the late Durga Bhagwat ( दुर्गा भागवत) in her book 'Nisargotsav' (“पिवळीच मी पाकोळी की”/ निसर्गोत्सव, 1996).
"...क्रौंचवध पाहून ज्याचा शोक श्लोकत्व पावला, त्या वाल्मिकीला फुलपाखरू दिसले नाही, मग इतरांना तरी कसे दिसावे?...आणि व्यासाचे उच्छिष्ट खाणारे आम्ही? व्यासाची प्रज्ञा तर घालवून बसलोच, पण आमची प्रतिभाही आटली… मानवी अंतरंग असो किंवा बाह्य सृष्टी असो, प्रकृतीचे आकलन, व तेही सूक्ष्म असल्याशिवाय, कल्पना उंचावत नाहीत, भावना संयत होत नाहीत. विभूषित होत नाहीत. आणि म्हणूनच फुलपाखरांचा अभाव हा भारतीय साहित्याच्या अनेक अभांवाचा प्रातिनिधिक अभाव आहे असे मला वाटते… "
She asks if some one like sage Valmiki, who was inspired to write the Ramayana as he watched the killing of a male krouncha bird out of a pair, never 'saw' a butterfly, how can others see it?
But luckily, the government of Maharashtra has seen one.
"...Maharashtra has become the first State in the country to have a ‘State butterfly.’ The BJP-led government has declared the Blue Mormon (Papilio polymnestor) as the State butterfly. The decision was taken at a meeting of the State Wildlife Board in Mumbai on Monday.
The
Blue Mormon is a large, swallowtail butterfly found primarily in Sri
Lanka and India, mainly restricted to the Western Ghats of Maharashtra,
South India and coastal belts. It may occasionally be spotted in the
Maharashtrian mainland between Vidarbha and Western Maharashtra..."
(The Hindu, June 23 2015)
(The Hindu, June 23 2015)
p.s Durgabai finally found the butterfly in a folksong. This is how she describes her pleasure:
courtesy: Dilip Prakashan (दिलीप प्रकाशन) and the current copyright holders of the late Durgabai's work