Celebrate biodiversity with a photography exhibition in Gurgaon
From a photography exhibition to talks on environmental issues, catch Aravalli Utsav from February 18 to 28 at Cyber Hub, Gurgaon
The Aravalli Utsav is back, but this time for the people of the Millennium City. The 10-day long initiative aims to engage citizens from all walks of life through various activities. Organised by NGO iamgurgaon from February 18 to 28 at Cyber Hub, the event is in collaboration with Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and partnership with India Photo Archive Foundation, supported by Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
“I spent my childhood roaming around the range. So much so that I fell in love with the trees, forests and the ridge,” says curator Aditya Arya. The range serves a variety of significant purposes — providing a wildlife habitat and corridor, a buffer to wildlife sanctuaries in Delhi and Rajasthan and a bird habitat, and transit point. “There is so much of destruction happening everywhere, people are cutting the forest, and making farmhouses. The Aravalli that was once full of resources are being depleted of natural resources. I felt that there is a need to educate people, communicate [with them] and create a platform for the same. And photography is the best medium to do so,” he shares.
Curated by Aditya Arya, the photo exhibition that will feature over 130 images is a documentation 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. The exhibition will also feature works of contributing photographers — Aditya Arya, Bharat Goel, Vinod Goel, Sharat Sharma, Vijay Dhasmana, Anil Advani, among others.
And apart from the exhibition, one can take part in several walks that will take place in some key locations of the Aravalli such as Aravalli Biodiversity Park (Gurgaon), Sacred Grove of Mangar Bani, Mandi Gaon. “Some of the species are so rare at the Aravalli Biodiversity park that you wouldn’t find them anywhere in Delhi-NCR. The walk covers native flora and birds,”says, Delhi-based researcher, Misha Bansal.
What’s more? A first-of-its-kind setup will be on display where you will get a chance to interact with a seemingly real landscape through a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional environment of the Aravalli. Similarly, a section is dedicated to showcasing videos of the beauty of the Aravalli in time lapse.
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