The worry has been triggered by signs that vast tracts of bamboo forest are about to burst into flower -- an event mainly Christian Mizoram state believes signals impending catastrophe.

There is a saying in the tiny hill state of just under one million tribal people bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh that when the bamboo flowers, famine, death and destruction follow.

Behind the superstitution lies some scientific truth, as blooming bamboo can trigger an invasion of rats which proceed to eat away food supplies.

"We're offering special prayers almost daily so God does not shower curses on the people of Mizoram by unleashing a famine in the state," R. Lalringliana, a Presbyterian church leader in the state capital Aizawl, told

The bamboo forests in India's northeast flower every few decades and folklore is rife with tales of the devastating impact of this natural cyclical event.

"We're really worried, I've got two small children. What will happen to them if there's a famine? We'll be doomed," said travel guide S. Zama, 35.

The state government shares the concern of residents.

"Bamboo flowering is a bad omen and we're deeply worried," said Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga, who uses only one name.

"It's not being superstitious to think bamboo flowering signals famine. It's a stark reality. We've experienced famine outbreaks in the past under similar circumstances," he said.

The government and those praying have history on their side to back up their worries. The British, India's former colonial rulers, noticed the effects of bamboo flowering when they recorded a famine in 1862 in Mizoram and a second in 1881, historical accounts say.

A 1911-1912 famine is also believed to have been linked to flowering bamboo. And in 1959, flowering bamboo in the states of Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur and part of Assam heralded a famine that claimed 10,000 to 15,000 lives.

"Why bamboo clumps flower remains a mystery but it is believed to be caused by a characteristic that makes them grow in unison, then bloom," said D. Das, a professor at Assam Agriculture University.

"The flowering of bamboo produces huge seeds that attracts predators, mostly rats," he said. Strengthened by the protein-rich seeds, the rodents multiply quickly.

When the seeds are exhaused, armies of rats chomp their way through rice and potato crops and granaries, causing famine.

Scientists say that after the flowering, the bamboo die, leaving bare soil that results in erosion and food scarcity for wildlife. The bamboo trees reseed but it takes several years for them to grow.

Not only has some bamboo flowering already been reported in Mizoram but a study by the Rain Forest Institute forecasts the phenomenon will occur in Tripura, Manipur, Meghalaya and parts of Assam.

The institute expects the problem to peak in 2006-2007 with Mizoram hit hardest. It harvests 40 percent of India's 80-million-tonne annual bamboo crop.

Authorities are anxious to head off a repetition of the death of the bamboo, around which Mizoram's economy revolves. Pulp and paper, handicrafts and fuel are among the products made from the bamboo.

The last time the bamboo flowered in the late 1950s, it caused famine and heavy loss of crops. Anger over government failure to provide speedy famine relief resulted in the forming of the Mizo National Front which waged a deadly war for independence before signing a peace deal with New Delhi in 1986.

Now a political party, the Mizo National Front heads the government led by Zoramthanga, a former guerrilla chief.

"We want to reverse the flowering phenomenon into an economic opportunity by cutting down the bamboos and harvesting them before they flower completely," Zoramthanga said. "We want to bring in a green 'gold' revolution through bamboos."

But that could be a tough proposition as most of the bamboo is located in remote, hard-to-reach parts of the state.

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