New Delhi [India], September 26 (ANI): The three-day 7th Nadi Utsav concluded at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) on Friday, with speakers calling for greater public involvement in protecting rivers and reconnecting people with their cultural and natural heritage.
According to a press release, the festival, which began on September 24, brought together artists, filmmakers, researchers and conservationists for discussions, film screenings, photography exhibitions and theatre performances centred on rivers.
At the concluding ceremony, IGNCA Member Secretary Dr Sachchidanand Joshi said that people need to develop a closer relationship with rivers rather than viewing them only as geographical landmarks.
Speaking about his own connection with rivers, Joshi, as per the release, said that different stages of his life had been linked to the Chambal, Betwa and Ken rivers, which are tributaries of the Yamuna.
He also recalled how people earlier showed greater sensitivity towards rivers and their cultural traditions, adding that society needs to reflect on whether the same connection exists today.
Calling for people to take responsibility for river conservation, Joshi said that the festival should go beyond a formal celebration and help rebuild the relationship between communities and rivers.
Referring to a poem by Naresh Saxena, he said that crossing a bridge does not mean understanding a river. He added that people must get closer to rivers to understand their importance.
“The true culmination of Nadi Utsav would be to become one with the Yamuna and take a collective resolve to restore our relationship with the river,” Joshi said.
Ambika Pant, Honorary Secretary of The Yamuna River Initiative (YaRI), spoke about the need to introduce children to the river and its history.
She said the initiative works with schools to help children reconnect with the Yamuna. During the programme, she found that many children knew very little about the river and were unaware that its polluted 22-kilometre stretch in Delhi does not represent the entire river.
Prof. K. Anil Kumar, Chairman of IGNCA’s Janapada Sampada Division, said the festival provided a platform to discuss the social, cultural and political aspects of rivers while encouraging new conversations around their importance.
Anurag Punetha, Controller of IGNCA’s Media Centre, said that people need to go closer to rivers to understand their condition and develop a stronger connection with them.
Nadi Utsav Convenor Abhay Mishra also spoke about the need to acknowledge the changing condition of rivers, saying that people often choose to ignore the problems around them.
The concluding ceremony also saw the announcement of winners of the festival’s documentary film competition, titled ‘The River as an Archivist’.
Devang Saikia’s Assamese film ‘Noir Katha – Tales of the Riverine’ and Bishwajit Das’s Assamese film ‘Where Did Our River Flow To’ jointly received the first prize.
Jayshree Borgohain’s Nepali-language film ‘When It All Went Dark’ won the second prize, while Salma Sultana’s Hindi and Bengali-language film ‘Barak: Beyond the Map’ received the third prize.
The final day also featured a session on ‘Two Centuries of Yamuna: Reconstructing Its Changing Flow from River Width’, which looked at the river’s changing course and history.
A special talk by Naveen Vats focused on river photography and how cameras can document changes in rivers over time.
The Green India Foundation also presented a session titled ‘Rivers Begin on Land: Forests, Floodplains and River Restoration in India’, which discussed how forests, rainfall, soil and floodplains are connected to the health of rivers.
The festival concluded with a theatre performance titled ‘Yamuna Travels Private Unlimited’, directed by Phoolkumari, encouraging audiences to look at their relationship with the river from a different perspective.
Over the three days, Nadi Utsav brought together cinema, photography, theatre and discussions to explore the role of rivers in people’s lives, culture and history. (ANI)
7th Nadi Utsav concludes with call to reconnect people with rivers and their cultural heritage
