Yamuna-Mythical Explorer

                                                            

Name - Sheba Chhachhi

Resident: New Delhi

Occupation: Installation artist, photographer, activist and writer.

Yamuna and Her: Sheba's relation with the river Yamuna goes way back in time, when the river was comparatively lot different ' I use to come often with friends in early 90's and sit on the edge of ghats and observe the interesting way of life that surrounded the river.'

Now and Then: ' I re-visited the river after a gap of a year or so, things have changed drastically, the whole shoreline of the river has altered and new structures are cropping everywhere.'

Favourite Yamuna moment: ' There is a spot further down on left from the Nigambodh ghat, I use to visit this sadhu in a her little cottage by the banyan tree, but I can't find that spot anymore.'

As an artist what is Yamuna: ' As an artist, I have always been drawn to water bodies, be it river, ocean or a lake. Water gives me a sense of space. As for Yamuna, I use to come here and watch the cremation as death has lot to teach us.'

Yamuna and Delhi- ' Cities with river are a different sort of cities but people in Delhi have turned their back towards the river Yamuna and declared her dead before she is dead.' 

                                                    

What to expect in ProjectY- ' I am building a sort of jetty about 30 feet into the water, so when people walk onto it, they can feel the river as she flows.'

ProjectY -' Through projectY, I aim to create a possibility for people to come physically to the river, as there is a spiritual awareness of her existence but people have forgotten her physical form.'

Sheba Chhachhi is one of the participating artist in Yamuna- Elbe Project. Look out for her and her work between 9th to 23rd November 2011 at the riverfront next to the Old Yamuna Bridge, next to the Salimgarh flyover at a place called the Golden Jubilee Park, New Delhi. 

YAMUNA SPECIAL

Panditji

                                                                  

Name- Kishan Lal but popularly known around Jamuna Bazaar as Panditji

Birth place: Uttar Pradesh but feels at home in the lanes around the river Yamuna.

Address: Hanuman mandir, Jamuna Bazaar, a Yamuna resident for more than 35 years 

Occupation: Chaiwallah, his kaleidoscopic stall dotted with pictures of innumerable deities also offer cold drinks, masala chai, cutting chai  and Khari biscuit. 

Busy at work

                                                              

Timings: 5.15 A.M till 10.00 P.M, due to the proximity to Nigambodh Ghat, he has a trail of customers throughout the day ' I have customers who come in Mercedes car and as well as simple rag pickers.'

USP: It is a great place to get the essence of Jamuna Bazzar area and acquaint oneself with stories floating around, there are mother in law's gossiping, people discussing the water level of the river Yamuna and reminiscing about the golden days when the river was clean. 

I make around 100 cups of tea on a good day

                                                         

Favourite Yamuna spot: 'I love to sit by the ghats of the revered river Yamuna around 4.00 in the morning. It is so peaceful and in the dark of the darkness, I can escape all the buildings and construction, which has cropped up around the river.'

Yamuna moment: Swimming in the river. 'I miss doing that, it's been more than 22 years, I have not swam in the water of Yamuna, they have spoiled it for us, the wretched government.'

Yes...It is my river

What is your Yamuna: 'My Yamuna is holy and gives solace to tormented hearts. In this life, I cannot leave the lanes of Yamuna.'

It is just not the river Yamuna but the people living around it makes the place more interesting. At Panditji tea stall, I was served a piping hot chai laced with cardamom and with generous helping of inside stories of Jamuna Bazaar... a must Delhi experience. 


                                                                                                            Text and images: Divya Dugar

Artist presentation by Atul Bhalla and Nana Petzet.....

The focus of the talk held at Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art was the river Yamuna and both the artist as well as the moderator Ravi Agarwal have had several years of engagement with river Yamuna and the German artist Nana Petzet with river Elbe. It was a sneak peak into the ProjectY through images, videos and engaging talk given by the artist highlighting their relationship with the river on several levels. 

                                         

                      

Atul Bhalla (b.1964-) lives and works in New Delhi, India. Having studied Fine Art at Delhi University, India and Northern Illinois University, USA, Bhalla is known for his photographic work, although his interdisciplinary practice also includes paintings, sculptures, installations, photo performances and videos. His sustained preoccupation with the eco-politics of water forms the basis for his diverse practice. Questioning the distribution, regulation, commodification and pollution of water, Bhalla has over the years explored its physical, historical, spiritual and political significance in relation to the population of New Delhi.

                                                               

Some describe Bhalla as an environmental activist, however his work may be considered not overtly political, instead socially concerned, engaging a poetic style of presentation. Bhalla describes his practice as an attempt to understand water, the way he perceives it, feels it, drinks it, swims in it and sinks in it.

                                           

His personal negotiation of water provides a stage from which to address larger political issues concerning bodies of water and the urban environment. Bhalla has exhibited internationally, most recently in ‘Paris-Delhi-Bombay: India through the eyes of Indian and French artists’, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France and ‘Water’, Zimmerli Art Museum, Rutgers, USA. Bhalla’s exhibition On the Edge is also currently on view at Vadehra Art Gallery, D178, Okhla Phase I, New Delhi 110020                                                                                       

The second artist for the evening was Nana Petzet (b.1962-) was born in Munich and studied at the Art Academy in Munich and the Art College in Hamburg (HfbK, Masters 1991). Since her Performance ‘Rational Scientific Art’ at the Academy in Munich (1987) – a lecture on a fictitious physician’s theory of gravitation – the focus of her artistic practice is the examination of various scientific disciplines.

  

In 1995 Petzet started dealing with the issue of domestic waste and developed the ‘SBF-System’ (short for ‘Collecting Conserving Researching’, Sprengel Museum Hannover, 2000), as an alternative model to the national German recycling system ‘Grüner Punkt’. In an experimental setting for a period of six months she collected all waste produced by her four person household and investigated it‘s recyclability (‘Endurvinnslustöth – nei takk’, Reykjavik 1998).

                                                             

                                                                       

On the occasion of the exhibition ‘einräumen’ (Hamburger Kunsthalle, 2000) she created an inventory of her comprehensive domestic waste collection with HIDA MIDAS, an elaborate program for museum inventories. In her most recent works Petzet turns to the world of animals, plants and ethology.   

                                                                                                                         Images by Divya Dugar

INTRODUCTION

Yamuna.Elbe

Last rays of sun casting a warm glow over  the Yamuna river.

Public Art and Ecology

Outreach and Awareness
Education
Starting -October 26th, 2011 – Hamburg
Starting -November 10th 2011 - Delhi

Children playing on the banks of the river Yamuna.

 
Background: The Yamuna. Elbe is a public art and outreach project. It will be held in the cities of Delhi and Hamburg between October 18th and November 25th partly in parallel.


The collaborative project is centered on the idea of creating ecological sustainable rivers in cities. Both the Elbe and the Yamuna are central to Hamburg and Delhi’s futures and there are various and very involved discussions around them, intensified by current challenges facing water issues. There is great public interest in the subject, even though the dialogues may be different in each place. 

A young lad who assists the boat man Ganesh after school and shares a special love for the river Yamuna.

Curators: Two curators, Ravi Agarwal from Delhi and Till Krause from Hamburg have been invited to co-curate the project. Ravi Agarwal is an artist, and is also a practicing environmentalist. Till Krause is a well know artist from Hamburg who also runs an art – space. 

One of the only motor boat in sight.

The Project. The key component of the project will be public art projects on the banks of the river Yamuna in Delhi and river Elbe in Hamburg. Indian and German artists have been invited to participate in producing art works, which will be on show for 2 weeks in each city. There will be an artistic exchange as well, including of ideas and collaborative projects.


The art works will consist of on-site installations, which will be multi media as well as interactive, besides performance art etc. They will deal with the discourse around the river. The artists are currently developing their works.


Outreach: There are several other components to the public art project, which include various forms of public outreach, public talks and discussions, film shows, student outreach initiatives. Several Delhi based organizations have been invited to participate in the outreach programs.  A list of the partners will be available soon. 

Ganesh, the boatmen enjoying the evening breeze at the banks of the Yamuna.

In December 2010, the Max Muller Bhavan in Delhi, along with Ravi Agarwal, held an international seminar with participants from government, urban planners, environmentalists and artists on the theme of the ‘river.’ The seminar, a unique event, was very well received and served as an opening event for the project. A website is under construction and also a publication is in the making.


Look out for this space for more updates, stories around the river bend, lives entwined with the river flow and interesting upcoming events...


Images by Divya Dugar