Three days at Rangoli Art Metro

As part of a three day event "Celebrating the Urban Commons" organised by Azim Premjii University we were invited to showcase the story of our lake at the Vismaya gallery, Rangoli Art Metro from 24th to 26th Nov. 

PNLIT stall

We had enough and more photos of the lake from then to now. We finally chose what we thought to be the best representations of PNLIT's work, volunteers, children and adults, transformation of the lake from then to now. Aparna Rajagopalan did the layout of 23 photographs in seven frames. 

PNLIT display

Puttenahalli Lake in 2009 and 2017

The organisers had said we could have games as well. Our creative juices started flowing. We decided on two simple, if old fashioned games, an electronic matching game and another which tested the steadiness of the hand. We wanted both to be connected to the lake. Geetha Bhandary made the first with photos of our birds.  Being an architect used to making models, Ashwatha Chandran made a 3D model of Puttenahalli Lake in no time at all. Shana Gokul transformed the base model into an incredible replica of the lake (see pic). Two short "electricity poles" one either side of the viewing deck had a wire and a loop. The challenge was to take the loop from one end to the other without touching the wire and lighting a bulb in the middle of the water.

The first two days were a little slow paced but on the third day visitors kept us on our feet from about 2 p.m. to 7 p.m! We lost count of the number of times we explained each photograph, what we did and why. And the games ... ah! They were such a roaring success! More so the lake game which was far easier even for shaky hands. The connect game turned out to be more of a guessing game for almost all.  The only visitor to get it correctly was an employee of IBM. She first memorised from the base sheet and then quickly matched each bird correctly. This after swiftly and steadily whizzing through the lake game! 

Connect Game

Match the bird and its name

Lake model

Steady hand needed

So many people told us about lakes in their localities that were in a bad shape. We suggested they take the lead to rejuvenate it. Lakes need to nurtured by the local community. The gain from this is theirs too!

Heartfelt thanks to Harini Nagendra and Seema Mundoli for inviting us to participate in this event and to everyone who helped us with the exhibits.

More photos can be seen in Srinivas' facebook album.

Today's Deccan Herald - a bit of a dampener

Today's Deccan Herald article - a bit of a dampener. 

It says 

"The sprawling Puttenahalli lake in JP Nagar 7th phase, on which the BBMP spent Rs 1.35 crore in 2011, is in a bad shape. A huge apartment complex nearby still releases sewage into the water. People living in the area complain of mosquitoes and a steady stench."

As caretakers of Puttenahalli Lake, reading such articles does make one feel angry on the one side, while on the other, one feels sorry. Sorry that today's journalists (some) are inadequately informed, and write without researching, and editors (some) could let this pass without a blink.

Deccan Herald - you can cross the road from your office to the Rangoli Metro Art Centre. The caretakers of Puttenahalli Lake (PNLIT) are there 24th-26th Nov, 11 am - 7 pm with the real lake story. Not fake news! You will see that you owe this rejuvenated lake a sincere apology.

Azim Premjii University is organising a three day event "Celebrating the Urban Commons" 24th-26th Nov, 11 am - 7 pm, at the Vismaya Gallery at Rangoli Metro Art Centre, MG Road.  

The objective is to build awareness both about the existence of nature in city and also to emphasise the importance of nature for cities such as Bangalore. Please see below for details. PNLIT is exhibiting the story of Puttenahalli Lake through photographs. Do come.