Its not a sight those driving by the Yamuna would expect to see. Its perhaps a makeover,although a short-lived one. For a fortnight,the banks of the sacred river will turn into an art gallery. Its water will be the medium for a group of artists,who will centre their work around it,calling for attention to save the Yamuna. While Gigi Scaria will pump water from Yamuna into a drinking-water fountain,Sheba Chhachhi will discuss its fate through a video projection. Ill use text from Yamunastakam that praises the river. Not much is being done to clean the water. Its unfortunate that people near the banks,who share a living relationship with the river,are being moved away, says Chhachhi. She is one of the eight artists participating in the Yamuna-Elbe Public Art Project,which will be held from November 9 to 23,as part of the celebrations to commemorate 60 years of Indo-German relations. The project,curated by artist and environmentalist Ravi Agarwal and German artist Till Krause,features a series of events at the Golden Jubilee Park,which will be the venue for art installations,music concerts,open-air theatre,photography competitions,writing workshops and river walks. We need to rethink ecology and rivers in the 21st century when questions about human sustainability and future have become the key. Art is the framework that allows for diverse ideas and for re-positioning ourselves in relation to nature, says Agarwal. Just back from Hamburg,where artwork were displayed alongside the Elbe river from October 16-23,he notes that the two rivers share an opposite fate. While Yamuna is on nobodys mind here,Hamburg has maintained the tidal data of its river for the last 100 years, he points out. He is hopeful that the project will make a difference. The first step is to get people to the river. Working near the Yamuna,the artists have spent last few months interacting with those inhabiting its neighbourhood. This project is for the masses, says Atul Bhalla,who engaged local villagers to make small wells (kuins) from reeds and local grass. Covered with a translucent tent,each well will have an LED posing questions on behalf of the river: What Will Be My Defeat to What is My Space. The idea came from the Mahabharata where Pandavas had to answer questions before drinking water from the river. This belief of water being a source of knowledge,asking questions,interested me, says Bhalla. In Hamburg,he localised the work with a photo-performance and a different set of questions. Delhi-based Asim Waqif will lodge a protest with the citizens of Delhi on behalf of Yamuna. Jumna is sad because she feels ignored, says Waqif,who will make a floating light installation from the remnants of the pontoon bridge at Rajghat. The giant island made using pontoons as floats will have structures in bamboo and fabric,acting like a beacon. Some distance away,Gigi Scarias Fountain of Purification will purify Yamunas water to make it drinkable. We worship rivers and yet use them to dump sewage. Its a strange love-hate relationship, says Scaria,who intends to build similar fountains on the banks of other polluted rivers across India. For now,he is at the banks of Yamuna initiating a purification drive that he hopes the others will also join.
