| CARVIEW |
Genesis Stories
- How the Banni Grasslands came to be
richest grasslands. It is celebrated for its
biodiversity. This grassland is home to the
cattle herding Sindhi Madharis of Kachchh. This
grassland apparently derives its name from the
Hindi word बनी हुई (Bani Hui). Tapas narrates the
story as we watch visuals from this artwork depicting
Banni’s creation.
- Rabaris, Fakirani Jats & Camels
Jats of Kachchh believe they are locked in
brotherhood. Both the communities, to this
day, continue to be bound by bonds of belief,
duty and interdependence. Most Kharai camels
owned by Rabaris have been grazed and
guarded by Fakiranis for generations.
How did this incredible relationship come to be?
One cannot but suspect some element of mysticism!
- The Origins of Rabaris and Raikas
Camel to be a manifestation of the divine and
camels are worshipped as Meldi Mata. The Rabaris
believe they were created to look after camels and
consider them primary members of their family!
But when did this deep bond between the Rabari
and her animal begin? Let us listen in. Camel divine.
Camels are worshipped as Meldi Mata. They believe
they were created to look after camels. That is probably
why camels are often treated as members of the family
by the Rabaris. What lies behind such legendary ties
between man and animal? This story of Shiva
and Parvati unravels the legend.
All Illustrations by Tapas Upadhyay
Surajit Ranjandas
Surajit Ranjan Das, trained as an architect, is a design consultant and scenographer based in Delhi. He is a core member of the exhibition design team for Living Lightly.
Paresh Mangalia
Paresh Mangalia Paresh Mangalia has been engaged with the craft sector in Kutch for more than 2 decades, playing varied roles in Khamir. He facilitates the production and conservation of the craft narratives for Living Lightly.
Khyati Vinod
Khyati Vinod is an artist and architect. As a member of the Living Lightly team, she leads the visual design work, holds the archives and supports the documentation team. She designed the Living Lightly website with the LL team and designers.
Sarah Kaushik
Sarah Kaushik is an exhibition designer, collage artist and scenographer. She is a graphic designer and a core member of the exhibition design team for Living Lightly.
Sharada Mushti
Sharada Mushti is a rudra veena player, an architect and is a co-director at Design Habit. Design habit mentored the curatorial team in its formative phase and designed the 360 degree immersive film installation for Living Lightly.
Ooron Das
Oroon Das is a multidisciplinary designer, actor, theatre artiste, singer and scenographer, working in diverse contexts and sectors. He is the lead exhibition designer of Living Lightly.
Carole Douglas
Carole Douglas is an Australian artist, curator and environmental advocate with a long engagement with the textile crafts of Kutch, Gujarat. She co-curated the section on pastoral crafts in Living Lightly – Kudrat Ji Kalayi.
Rooh ji Rehaan:
An immersion in the poetry and music
of the herders of Kachchh.
To order please write to us at
livinglightly@centreforpastoralism.org
A world without a Roof:
A world without a Roof is a collection of fictionalised accounts of lives of pastoral people from lands across India, presented as graphic stories. Accessible and fun, this is a great book for a beginner looking to dive into pastoralism.
To order please write to us at
livinglightly@centreforpastoralism.org
Capturing Pastoral Futures of Youth Maldhari:
Walking with the maldharis is a fascinating account of a young photographer, Ishaan Raghunandan’s, experiences of teaching young pastoralists while soaking in the world of Kachchhi Maldhariyat.
To order please write to us at
livinglightly@centreforpastoralism.org
Meera Goradia
Meera Goradia has been working with the craft artisanal sectors across India for more than 3 decades. She co-curated the pastoral crafts store at the Living Lightly exhibitions in Delhi and Ahmedabad.
Nipun Prabhakar
Nipun Prabhakar is a photographer and community architect. He supports Living Lightly with his photo documentation of pastoralist communities.
Shouryamoy Das
Shouryamoy Das is an engineer who quit corporate work to pursue his interest in pastoralism, ecology and craft conservation. He anchored Living Lightly through its first two editions, and has coordinated the LL website design.
Sushma Iyengar
Sushma Iyengar is the lead curator of the exhibition ‘Living Lightly – Journeys with Pastoralists’ – an outcome of her longstanding interest, work and experience with indigenous communities, including nomadic pastoralists..
Vipul Rikhi
Vipul Rikhi is a poet, story teller, singer, and translator immersed in the oral traditions of Bhakti and Sufi poets. He curated Rooh ji Rehan -the poetry and music installation in Living Lightly.
Shabnam Virmani
Shabnam Virmani is a singer, documentary film maker and leads the Kabir Project as an artist in residence at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore since 2002. She curated Rooh ji Rehan -the poetry and music installation in Living Lightly.
Smriti Chanchani
Smriti Chanchani is a Bangalore based visual artiste and story teller. She has designed the LL logo, created key art works for Living Lightly, and directed the films for the 360 degree film installation called Heddan Hoddan.
Sandeep Virmani
Sandeep Virmani is an architect and environmentalist who founded Sahjeevan and Hunnarshaala Foundation. Sandeep has been an advisor to the curatorial team of Living Lightly and developed the stories for the film narratives in Living Lightly.
Arvind Lodaya
Arvind Lodaya is trained in product design and has worked extensively in innovation, design and branding, both in the academic world and with civil society institutions. He has been an advisor to the curatorial team of Living Lightly.
Priyashri Mani
Priyashri Mani is trained in social development and has been engaged in work with indigenous communities in Tamil Nadu. She anchors the Living Lightly exhibition and Utsavs and is the chief herder of the LL team.
Amardeep Behl
Amardeep Behl is the founder of Design Habit, a Delhi based design studio. He has worked with diverse museum and exhibition projects across India. Design habit mentored the curatorial team in its formative phase and designed the 360 degree immersive film installation for Living Lightly.
Aarati Halbe
Aarati Halbe is trained in economics and political science. She also makes hand crafted books. Aarati anchored the Living Lightly documentation, the exhibition preparations and got the ball rolling!
Sanjay Barnela
Sanjay Barnela is a documentary film maker, co-founder of Moving Images Films, and lead faculty at Srishti Films. Sanjay curates Someplace else, the Living Lightly film festival.
