BHARATI PAWASKAR
The closer we are to Mother Nature, the stronger is the bond and connect with her. However the modern world has driven us away from the simple joys that Mother Nature offers.
“Depleting natural resources, the world over, call for an urgent rebuilding and rediscovery of our relationship with nature. Though we have known it intuitively for ages, we somehow seem to have forgotten this beautiful bond and it is importance to our well-being,” explains artist Miriam Koshy-Sukhija. While science and technological advancements have given us a seemingly ‘better life’ most of us feel disconnect and a void which can be healed by immersing ourselves in nature and creativity, she states.
With this intention of getting back to Mother Nature, Miriam together with her like-minded friends Vishal Rawlley and Tallulah D’Silva, have been offering up such experiences for kids, youth and adults, all alike.
Last year, the trio along with an enthusiastic team lived such an experience at Cajueiro Homestead in Valpoi. “Here, we made a puddle like pond with the help of a running stream using some bricks and stones, so that the water collects and we can do some fishing next time. It was fun, as our group was pretty small - with 8-9 kids and 6-7 adults. We even built our first tree house then,” recalls Miriam, a nature lover herself who enjoys spending time with her family especially her kids in the lap of nature. “Over the years, the concept of living in close proximity with nature is gaining popularity. Developed by my father-in-law Ajit Sukhija, Cajueiro, is gradually getting into that mood and mode creating a perfect jungle scene where tents are put up for home stay,”she says.
This April, around 100 kids also came in for bird watching, campfire and walks in the nights, and all of them enjoyed putting up tents to live in the open air in the cashew plantations at Cajueiro, adds Miriam. Cajueiro also had its first artists’ residency when around 16-17 artists stayed here for 5-6 days, enjoyed sitting in the lap of nature, creating their own artworks and submitting them to exhibit at Gallery Gitanjali on March 31.
“Close encounters with nature in a forest like this can allow pebble art, leaf art, dry flower art to happen. It’s a space where creativity and meditation can go hand in hand,” explains Miriam. For the upcoming three day forest art masterclass, she will be joined by artists like Milan Khanolkar, Manjunaath Naik, Mansi Trivedi, Anil Pandey, Shekhar Sharma, Dhiraj Pednekar, sculptor Kiran Jacob, designer Vishal Rawlley and architect Tallulah D’Silva.
“When nature talks to you in silence, it’s fulfilling and healing. Even a simple act like potting a plant can teach 100 things. In short, forest art is a three-day communion and communication with nature. It’s a way to introduce one to self. It’s an offer, a gift to regain the ‘lost touch’ with nature when we can also meet ourselves and reconnect to our souls,” she explains.
The masterclass will offer an immersion in the ‘jungle experience’ at the Cajueiro, foraging for food, going bird watching, cooking outdoors, going for swims in the Mhadei by day and moonlit swims in the pond at the plantation or Shinrin-yoku (the Japanese term for jungle bathing), having tea at tree houses in the evening and singing songs and swapping tales around campfires by night.
“The jungle becomes a gallery for art made with natural materials and objects found in the woods. Leaves and twigs, vines and pods, trees and rocks morph into wondrous things. The art blends in with the environment, yet transform the space. It is the most engaging way for the creative soul to bond with nature, be it the artist or the visitor,” adds Vishal. He adds that participants will get a chance to explore interesting natural materials and forms working outdoors. “Use your bare hands and rough tools to create giant structures or your nimble fingers and fine implements to create intricate designs. Be inspired by land forms, trees and rocks or look at nests, burrows and traps made by birds, reptiles and insects. If you are any kind of a designer, builder or creator then this workshop is for you,” he says.
