Celebrate and help conserve the Aravalli range with this festival in town

Aravalli Utsav at India Habitat Centre will see a range of activities such as photography exhibition, talks and discussions, and virtual walks

With an aim to build awareness about one of the oldest mountain ranges in India – Aravalli, among the citizens, a festival titled Aravalli Utsav comprising photo exhibitions, installations, lecture series, discussions and walks (3D and actual) is being organised at the India Habitat Centre.

Aravalli Utsav, a month-long exhibition that commences from Saturday at India Habitat Centre aims to build awareness about one of the oldest mountain ranges. (Bhavesh Bhati)

Curated by noted photographer Aditya Arya, Aravalliscapes, the photo exhibition, will showcase over 150 images , giving a gilmpse of the landscape over a period of one year by eight photographers - Ankur Dutta, Aoun Hasan Naqvi, Bhavesh Bhati, Manu Yadav, Mohit Agrawal, Prakhar Pant, Srishti Bhardwaj, and Sandeep Biswas. It also consists four of the oldest photographic printing processes dating back to the 19th century called Tattva.

An initiative by iamgurgaon - a community-driven NGO in collaboration with India Habitat Centre and in partnership with India Photo Archive Foundation, the ustav is being supported by the Union Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change.

“We want to showcase how important the Aravalli is for our survival today, tomorrow and in the future,” says, Latika Thukral, co-founder, iamgurgaon. “One of the thoughts behind the utsav is to discourage any future construction. We want to share the importance of the mountain range with people and hope that they understand and value nature. Secondly, we can start cleaning up whatever is present right now, and work on saving the water bodies.”

Get a glimpse of the Aravalli’s in the photography exhibition at the Aravalli Utsav. (Anil Advani)

Also, to understand the water perspectives of the Aravallis, the restoration and natural history of the hills, birds in the Aravallis, talks and discussions will be held on November 3rd, 4th, 9th, and 10th. However, one of the most interesting aspects of the ustave is the incredible virtual tour of the mountain range wherein one can experience real landscape through a 3D walk.

Aditya Arya says that it’s time to give back something to the incredible mountain range. “It’s time for us to document these forests and help spread the word about their conservation. People can see panels on destruction, construction, the waste that is being generated by mega cities such as Faridabad, Gurgaon, which is being dumped in the Aravalli. The issue of water being sucked out and how the mining industry is taking over is also addressed. Once people see the panels, they will see the ground reality,” says Arya.

The launch of Visual Arts Journal 2017, Land Art with special reference of the Aravallis, will also take place consisting thirteen articles addressing the history, hydrology, forest types, the wildlife habitat and conservation and future of the Aravallis.

Catch it live

What: Aravalli Utsav

On till: November 20

Where: India Habitat Centre

Nearest metro station: Jor Bagh on yellow line

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