Living Lightly Exhibition - Journeys with Pastoralists

While pastoralism continues to provide a livelihood for millions of people, their land and ways of living are at a critical crossroad. They require urgent attention, investment, legitimacy and above all, appreciation. It is in this context, that, for the first time in India, a curated exhibition on the land, lives and livelihoods of the pastoralists in India was curated by Sushma Iyengar. Living Lightly opened in Delhi 2016 bringing together groups of pastoralists, researchers, government bodies and craftspeople associated with pastoralism.

Through a fusion of testimonies, oral archives, music and poetic forms, crafted narratives, film exhibits, craft bazaar, pastoral food cafe and performances, the exhibit gave expression to the life, philosophy and culture of pastoralists.

I had the opportunity to be part of the Living Lightly team, directing and shooting for the film 'Hedda Hoddan' and designing the branding and visual materials for the exhibition and conference.

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Hedda Hoddan - Film

Hedda Hoddan is an experimental film designed to play on the 4 walls of a room with the audience seated in the center, to create a 360-degree experience, that quite literally puts the audience in the middle of the action!

The 4 short films are based on a narrative written by Sandeep Virmani and Sushma Iyengar who poured their research and anecdotes collected over decades of interacting with the Maldharis (herders) of Kachchh. The stories weave in legend, ecology, traditional practices, craft, economics, struggles and music. Conversion of mangroves to salt pans, disappearing grasslands, blocking off traditional pastoral routes, aspirations of a modern life and a permanent home are some of the concerns the film opens up.

Through this process, I had the chance to observe first hand, the deep relationship the Maldharis have with nature - their use of wind directions, their dependency on the changing tides, vegetation and rainfall patterns, their ability to converse in all the local languages of the lands they traverse and the relationships with other communities they have built and negotiated over centuries.  Maldharis have captured their wisdom and love for the animals and landscape in their songs and stories passed on through the oral traditions.

As many visitors realized and remarked, this exhibition was not an exposition of a forgotten ‘past’. It was a fertile connection with a ‘present’ that lives alongside us, and holds clues to a ‘future’ that’s filled with uncertainty. We were all left with a feeling of reverence for the Maldharis and realized the dependence of our own lives to those of these herders. 

Rooh ji Rehaan

As part of the Living Lightly Exhibition was Rooh ji Rehaan, an installation into the music and poetry of the herders of Kutch curated by Shabnam Virmani and Vipul Rikhi.

I was responsible for the book design and documentation of Rooh ji Rehaan as well as recorded a series of sound scapes and songs that made their way into the installation.

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Ghumantu ~ Living Wisdom

(upcoming project)

Using Format