My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
Here's an interesting event being held in Mumbai - the Earth Mela, 2010! I am planning to take Samhith along for part of it.... Here is their full schedule. All those of you living in Mumbai, try to make it for a while.... If anyone would like to come along with me, please do drop me a line! There is a registration charge of Rs.175/- per day, and the activities listed seem quite interesting..... Waiting to see what it is like...
Earth Mela 2010 – April 24-25 (7am to 6pm)
at Maharashtra Nature Park Society
Central Theme: Biodiversity – In with UN's International Year of the
Biodiversity
Day 1 - April 25th Schedule (Sunday)
Time Activities
7:00am Registration Desk Opens
7 am – 9 am Cycle Rally (12km)
9 am – 10 am Breakfast for Volunteers
Biodiversity
Day 1 - April 25th Schedule (Sunday)
Time Activities
7:00am Registration Desk Opens
7 am – 9 am Cycle Rally (12km)
9 am – 10 am Breakfast for Volunteers
10 am – 11am Inauguration (Registration starts at 9.30am)
11am – 12 pm Film Screening
11am – 12 pm Film Screening
1. Papiroflexia (Short Film) 3min
2. The Climate Change Mystery, by CERE (Short Film) 23min English
3. SPROUTS by UnlimitedIndia 2min English
4. Hard Rain by Mark Edwards 20min English
2. The Climate Change Mystery, by CERE (Short Film) 23min English
3. SPROUTS by Unlimited
4. Hard Rain by Mark Edwards 20min English
12pm – 1pm Lecture
Important Trees for Cities & Rare Indigenous Plants of India ,
by Dr. C S Lattoo
1 pm – 2 pm Film Screening -------- (Lunch)--------
Finding Nemo,
Walt Disney Pictures, Animation Feature Film, Hindi
2 pm – 3 pm Film Screening
1. Diminishing Resources
By Himanshu Malhotra and Sabina Kidwai (UK Environment Film Fellowship)
16min English
2.Once there was a Purple Butterfly by Sonya V. Kapoor
(UK Environment Film Fellowship), 12min English
3.Mi MasaBoltoi 8min Marathi
3.Mi MasaBoltoi 8min Marathi
3 pm – 4 pm Film Screening
Nagarahole : Tales from an Indian Jungle by Eco Media
(Shekhar Dattatri), 53min English
4 pm – 5 pm Key Note Lecture:
`Himalaya ' – Then & Now…
Mr. Harish Kapadia, Mountaineer & Writer
5 pm – 6 pm Film Screening
BBC Natural History Unit, 50min,English
11 m – 6pm (Whole day activities)
- Adventure Sports Activities – Rock Climbing,
- Kids Activities – Face painting, poster painting &
Paper/Mache making.
- Photo Exhibition: Indigenous and rare species of flora and fauna
- Stalls & Exhibition of eco-friendly products and life-style ideas
– Matsya Crafts, Hide-Out, Daily Dump, Indian Adventures, Ecoexist,
RUR, BNHS, UTMT, Baker's Street, Excel Industries, Learning Fantasies,
SPROUTS…
Day 2 - April 25th Schedule (Sunday)
Time Activities
7:00am Registration Desk Opens
7am – 9am Nature Trail led by Dr. Parvish Pandya
9am – 10am Breakfast for Volunteers
10am – 11am Film Screening
The Private Life of Plants: Episode1: Travelling
by BBC 50min,English
11am – 12pm Lecture1:
Urban Biodiversity Research and Role of Communities
by Ms. Ovee Thorat (20mins)
Lecture 2:
Lecture 2:
What's Biodiversity for? by Anand Pendharkar (20mins) Good for Kids & Adults
12pm – 1pm Film Screening
1. The Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan, 4 min English
2. Dreaming of my Clean Creek by Enviro-Vigil, 15 min English
3. Goa
1 pm – 2 pm Film Screening (Lunch)
2 pm – 3 pm Film Screening
Gaaz, call of the Ocean by Arti Kulkarni 50min Marathi/English
3 pm – 4 pm Film Screening
Planet Earth : Great Plains by BBC, 50min English
4 pm – 5 pm Guest Lecture :
Why do we need leaders in the field of Ecological Conservation?
Dr. Sudhakar Solomon Raj, Reader, Wilson College
5 pm – 6 pm Film Screening
Born Free by James H. Hill
Feature Film, 95min English
10am – 6pm (Whole day activities)
- Adventure Sports Activities – Rock Climbing,
- Kids Activities – Face painting, poster painting &
Paper/Mache making.
- Photo Exhibition: Indigenous and rare species of flora and fauna
- Stalls & Exhibition of eco-friendly products and life-style ideas
– Matsya Crafts, Hide-Out, Daily Dump, Indian Adventures, Ecoexist,
RUR, BNHS, UTMT, Baker's Street, Excel Industries, Learning Fantasies,
SPROUTS…
wow.. sounds nice.. im sure there will be a write up, once u guys are back.. waiting for that and the photos :)
ReplyDeletewow.. sounds nice.. im sure there will be a write up, once u guys are back.. waiting for that and the photos :)
ReplyDeletewow
ReplyDeleteenvy you
hope yu have a great time
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