Music, storytelling and celebration of Bengal’s rich biodiversity and ecosystem was the theme of the Echoes of Earth minicert at Hard Rock Cafe, Kolkata, on November 4.
The minicert, held in association with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), began with a storytelling workshop in partnership with The Fishing Cat Project and the Human Environment Alliance League (HEAL). The session aimed to spread awareness about the Fishing Cat, which is regarded as the state animal of West Bengal, and is central to its ecology.
“The Fishing Cat works as a sentinel of the critically threatened wetlands, making land fertile by storing and purifying water, and absorbing carbon. Its fate will mirror ours,” said Tiasa Adhya, co-founder of The Fishing Cat Project.
(From left) Diti Mookherjee, Joydip Kundu, Ajanta Dey, and Debmalya Roy Chowdhury take part in a panel discussion on the Sunderbans and (right) Kolkata-based band Whale in the Pond performed on the occasion
Next up was an enriching panel discussion on The Royal Stripes: Sunderbans and its Tigers, by WWF-India senior project officer, Debmalya Roy Chowdhury; State Board for Wildlife member,Joydip Kundu; Natures Environment & Wildlife Society joint secretary and programme director Ajanta Dey; and Association for Social & Environmental Development CEO Diti Mookherjee. The group extensively spoke about the wildlife of the Sunderbans and the significance of its tigers. “Sunderbans has such a huge diversity of fish, which is rarely talked about. If they go extinct, so will the maach-bhaat loving Bengali,” said Dey.
The storytelling session was anchored by Vasudha Mishra, a conservation researcher working with HEAL. ‘Our aim is to raise awareness not by bogging down people with threats, but by creating a sense of awe and wonder around our ecosystem. We want to help people establish a connection with their environment,’ she said
Spirits went higher and the mood became mellow as city-based indie dream-folk band Whale in the Pond took the stage. The loudest cheers were reserved for Parvaaz, one of India’s foremost rock bands, who flew down from Bangalore.
“By blending storytelling with quizzing and music, there is something for everyone across age groups. Such events help spread awareness about the various species in our region. It is important to remember that if their poaching continues, we may never see them again,” said Saswati Sen, state director, WWF-India.