Green Fingers

Meanwhile,in Bengaluru,Suresh Jayaram,a visual artist and historian,has traced the “invisible parts” of the Shantinagar neighbourhood,taking the residents from different urban classes to participate in a collective process of mapping the spaces through a series of walks and interactions with community members,school children in the surrounding areas of 1,Shanti Road. The whole exercise was called “81 Maps of Shantinagar”.

Delhi-based artist Aastha Chauhan trekked to the Chamba region of Uttarakhand,travelling across nine villages and developing 30 one-minute clips around local remedies. The clips,together called Gharelu Nuskhe aur Muft ki Salah,feature community elders who practice medicine,Ayurvedic practitioners and female farmers who share the medicinal benefits of the local plants. “The idea was to turn the spotlight on the benefits of native plants that were once grown in the backyard. Due to deforestation and loss of ecology,villagers now resort to modern medicine,” said Chauhan.

On the other hand,there were no lessons on ecology in the valleys of Chungthang and Dzongu in Northern Sikkim,a dam site to generate hydroelectric power. Delhi-based Frame Works Research and Media Collective had hoped to record the dissent in the valley over the dam but instead found that it was seen as an opportunity for employment. “The valley looked more like an American mine town with an influx of outsiders and multi-storeyed buildings rented out to company officials,” says Ruchika Negi,part of the collective.

The project is scheduled to end by the end of the month. Sood plans to host an exhibition with installations of the diaries,drawings and maps that the artists have been working on next year.