After India successfully completed its target of doubling the tiger population in the country ahead of the stipulated time, the country has received much recognition and appreciation for its tiger conservation efforts. Realising that the tiger, which is at the top of the food chain, can also act as the key to bio-diversity conversation, Rajaji Tiger Reserve in Uttarkhand has organised the first touring wildlife exhibition in the country – The Fearless Baagh – in collaboration with Doon Art Council and active support from the Wildlife Institute of India.
The exhibition, which was inaugurated on International Tiger Day by Secretary to the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Meenakshi Sundaram, at an art gallery in Dehradun, has now made its way into the Doon School, where it will be on display till 27 August. The Director of Rajaji Tiger Reserve, Dr. Saket Badola, IFS, inaugurated the exhibition at the school’s art museum and delivered a talk to the students on the tiger and its conservation.
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT NEEDED
While talking to Indian Masterminds, Dr. Badola said, “Engaging public is crucial to get support for biodiversity conservation, and there cannot be a better messenger than the tiger to achieve this. Keeping this in mind, Rajaji Tiger Reserve and the Doon Art Council conceptualised a touring exhibition which will travel to different schools and institutions, thus spreading the message of conservation with it.”
The exhibition, which was developed with technical support from Wildlife Institute of India, displays photographs by renowned wildlife photographers and also includes several informative creatives about the tiger.
All the photographs in it have been curated by Monisha Datta, a member of the Doon Art Council, and Dr. Saket Badola himself. Dr. Badola told Indian Masterminds,“The exhibition is generating great response among the stakeholders and we hope it reaches to maximum audiences during its journey.”
DOON SCHOOL FIRST TO HOST
The Doon School students-led activity club, NEST, is conducting various activities around the exhibition. Talking about it, the teacher in charge of NEST, Mr. Anand Mandhain, said: “I realised that the Nature wing of NEST can play a pivotal part in tiger conservation. Also, this year on International Tiger Day, we wanted to do something different. Fortunately, I met Mr. Saket Badola and got to know from him about the touring exhibition. We requested Mr. Badola to allow us to host the exhibition, thereby becoming the first school in Uttarakhand to do so.”
From the Doon School, the exhibition will make its way to Swami Ram Himalayan University, where Dr. Dushyant Gaur, Chairman of the SRHU Literary & Fine Arts Committee, will host it for 7 days. The touring exhibition will be displayed in various educational institutes in and around Dehradun and will finally conclude with the Wildlife Week celebrations in October.
