This exhibition brings to life the green ecosystems of SGNP and Aarey Forest

There is a surprising unfamiliarity this writer faces every time he encounters a map It is at once both imaginative and factual This thought was the first thing that struck this writer when he stepped into Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundationrsquos JNAF gallery at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya CSMVS for a viewing of A Forest In The City The exhibition brings to life an ecosystem life and civilisation from within the Sanjay Gandhi National Park or the Aarey ForestAn overview of the gallery space with the hand drawn map by researchersFormulated over three years of research from 2020 the exhibition was first displayed at IFBE in Ballard Estate during the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival earlier this year Led by Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture KRVIA anthropologist Lisa Bjorkman Sitaram Shelar of Pani Haq Samiti among a large team the project is supported by United Kingdom Research and Innovation UKRI The exhibition is designed by Sonal Sundararajan with Rohit Kudale It was during the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival that JNAF curator Puja Vaish paid it a visit ldquoI looked at it as a display of anthropological and artistic depth and thought it fits in well with our idea of the gallery and the museum spacerdquo she sharesA closer look at the map PicsAditi HaralkarWe peacefully walk through the gallery devoid of crowds The modern birdseye view drone shots of the forest areas and technically accurate maps are a contrast with the handdrawn maps and imaginative creations by architects and Warli artist Dinesh BarapRohan Shivkumar dean of Architecture at KRVIA explains that the project was designed as a clearing in the forest ldquoA metaphorical meeting place for multiple disciplines mdash art architecture music and people mdash meet and initiate conversationrdquo he says A clear example is a 24foot hand drawn topographical map that is as much an artistic depiction of the forest as it is geographically accurate It is marked with touches of Warli inventiveness to indicate places of ritual trees borderlines and playgroundsThe writer tries out the VR headset that allows users to experience a birdrsquos eye view of the forest as well as walk along with its residents through the regionThe curators have also made a conscious effort to make the exhibition more interactive The writer managed to take a peek at the VR Virtual Reality interface that allows users to view the forest area from close quarters Designed by Ankush Chandran of KRVIA the experience offers you a birdrsquos eye view as well as a walk through the forest providing an onground view of how residents live and view it Chandran shares ldquoThe mainstream ways of depicting spatial information through maps is a little problematic because not everyone can understand reallife implications of lines on a map Overlaying all of that in an immersive environment over a 3D model of the forest and allowing people to interact with it seemed more intuitiverdquoThe maps highlight multiple surveys by various state agencies that shift and change the boundaries of the forest in the city over time sometimes wiping out several square kilometresThis is an example of the conversations that the exhibition seeks to prompt especially by bringing it to the museum space While the exhibition will include walkthrough sessions and workshops till July Shivkumar shares that they will also be exploring ideas to take the exhibition to schools and architectural colleges to further discussions among studentsAn overview of the gallery space with an artwork by BarapThis sentiment is embodied in the objects that line up The Forest of Claims section From the tarpa a musical instrument central to Warli life an electric meter or a hand drawn map by officials to mark a cultivated section of the forest these objects speak of a dissonance between the urban need to define a space and how generations of the residents view the forestCentral to all of it are the works by a resident Warli artist Barap He is working on a 24feet long panel that will conclude with the exhibition ldquoThe work will be a response to the exhibition and his experiencesrdquo shares Vaish adding that it will be later acquired by the gallery for displayAn electric meter tarpa a musical instrument and an exotic invasive bamboo species represent objects that explore how the community claims and adds meaning to the forest spaceBarap has already begun his story with the urban jungle of Mumbai with a local train the Gateway of India its beaches and fishing villages and CSMVS itself finding expression in Warli style It seems the perfect reminder to get back into traffic as we head back to the newsroom From one jungle to another