Do plants have emotions???

I started reading the book " The secret lives of plants" a week ago. And as I was plucking greens in our kitchen garden,I noticed that the dry leaves of the papaya tree had formed a cushioning layer above the barbed wire in our compd wall, to protect the young leaves. Somewhere deep inside me, I could feel the " intent" of the dried leaves. And I told my gardener not to remove them . 

 
Back to the book, I was fascinated to read about some experiments done in 1966.. Cleve Backster, America's foremost lie-detector examiner writes about " plants and ESP" with many examples. He investigated how plants reacted to thoughts.

As I was reading, my thoughts went to dr.Jagdish chandra bose, the first Indian to get a  US patent. I was amazed to read that way back in 1900, Dr.Bose invented the crescograph, an early oscillating recorder to measure the growth and movements of plants in increments as small as 1/100,000 of an inch.The results of his experiments proved how plants respond to stimuli.

For instance, in one of his experiments, the plant was dipped in bromide (a poison). The pulse beat of the plant, shown as a light spot on the smoked plate, became unsteady once the plant started taking in the poison, proving that plants have life.
But his work was not given due recognition by the whites. The saddest part is, even after his return to India,dr.Bose, was offered lectureship at Presidency College, Calcutta on a salary half that of his English colleagues. He accepted the job but refused to draw his salary in protest.

Prior to his death in 1937, he also set up the Bose Research Institute at Calcutta (now Kolkata). He was greatly helped in this endeavour by his close friend Rabindranath Tagore, who contributed financially and also backed him in his efforts.Rabindranath Tagore had always found an essence of Indian scientific spirit, a reflection of Indian national culture, in Bose’s work. In his poem for Bose, on his death Tagore was effusive in his praise:

“From the Temple of Science in the West,

far across the Indus, oh, my friend,

you have brought the garland of victory,

decorated the humbled head of the poor Mother …

Today, the mother has sent blessings in words of tears,

of this unknown poet.

Amidst the great Scholars of the West, brother,

these words will reach only your ears.”

As Tagore’s words portray, for a country in the clutches of coloniolism, J C Bose was not just a scientist, he was a symbol of national pride.
My salutes to this great soul ....