VANUTSAVA-08
Far from the crowd, group has a close encounter with nature …….Kumar Sambhav I TNN
Pune: It was an unusual lunch in more ways than onefrom serving organically grown (minus fertilisers) rice and vegetables to drinking water straight from the nearby stream. Even the food was served on eco-friendly banana leaves.
The guests, a motley group of 60, were participating in Vanutsava-08, a six-day forest festival celebrated the harmony with nature. The fest, which ended on Sunday, was organised by environmentalist Bharat Masata and his friends in Van-Vadi, a forest land near Karjat.
Nestled in the foothills of the Sahyadri, the place boasts of no electricity, no mobile network and no television. In the last six days, neither I or my children missed any of the city trappings, said Divya Tale, a participant from Pune. She feels its all about connecting to your roots. The peace of mind that we have got here is not available in urban luxuries.
Vasant Hegde (name changed), a former bank manager from Mumbai, said the stay in forests has changed his life. Every time I heard the news of a blast or murder, I would get palpitations. I wanted to escape from that life. When I came here, I brought several medicines with me but did not require any of them, he said. Sanjay Maharshi from Delhi dreads the fact that he has to go back to his hectic life. But this forest has rejuvenated my life, he added.
Mansata says its the ecology of Van Vadi that has cast a spell on these participants.
Van Vadi is 64-acre forest land that was bought by Mansata and his friends around 14 years ago. Since then many steps have been taken by the group to maintain the ecological balance of the land. Bandhs and check dams have been built on the streams to regenerate the ground water. While 80% of the land is lush forest, the remaining 20% is used for organic farming in which the use of chemicals and genetically-modified species is strictly prohibited.
The results are now showing: Till about a decade ago, the hand pumps in the nearby downstream villages would run dry in peak summer but now they yield water all round the year. Mansata said he would develop Van Vadi as an eco-village. I am planning to permanently shift here in two years. I expect more people to come forward and protect this land. Together, we would form an alternative community that aspires to meet its varied needs in harmony with nature and fellow humans, he added. He said he will also start an informal learning programme with local adivasis to teach them as well as to learn from them.
However, modern development has started casting its shadow on Van Vadi also. The vegetation in the neighbouring lands has been denuded by builders. There has been massive soil erosion from these lands which has caused high siltation in our water bodies. A high density residential colony is being planned by builders which, if constructed, would ruin the ecological balance in the forest land, Mansata said.
However, he is optimistic. I hope the authorities and builders will realise the importance of the issue. If we, after so much effort, are not be able to save the ecological balance for our land then I dont think anyone else would be able to do it anywhere, he said.
ENRICHING EXPERIENCE: The fest, which ended on Sunday, was organised by environmentalist Bharat Masata and his friends in Van-Vadi, a forest land near Karjat