A travellers’ meet was organised at Sonegaon lake for Nagpurkars to interact with Atreyee Ghosh of @createtcetera, a designer and art teacher originally from Nagpur, now based in San Francisco Bay Area. This was the first meet up in a series of such interactive sessions planned by GroWill foundation in the next 1 year. While sharing her journey, Atreyee spoke about her journey so far and narrated how her passion for art encompassed her life and became inspiration for others. Atreyee led the attendees through a blind contour drawing activity in which, people were teamed up in pairs and drew each other in a continuous line without looking at the paper.
Atreyee said, “Art is a lot more than just painting pretty pictures. It is a way of living. Keep making art, and putting it out in the world. It doesn’t matter if you think it’s bad or it’s too good to be shared. Just keep making art.”
At the end of the meet up , participants picked up litter in the meeting area at Sonegaon Lake.
This was followed up by a pukdandee safari & short birdwatching session in the Sonegaon jungle. This activity was led by Kalpana Chinchkhede & Vaibhav Deshpande and attended by nature lovers of Nagpur.
A grand welcome by a Crested Serpant Eagle and an Oriental Honey Buzzard set the tone of the bird watching. The participants felt that seeing such eminent species within city limits is a noteworthy occurance. Ages old Banyan tree situated in the middle of this urban jungle is home to many birds which was observed. Grey Hornbill, Paradise Flycatcher, Asian Koel to name a few of them. There are lots of huge Mango trees as well in the Sonegaon jungle which provides shelter to these birds. This place is fondly referred to as Aamrai by the morning walkers & yoga practioners here.
The various species of Butterflies added flavour to the event. Piyush Mahore, an environmentalist & a resident of Sonegaon over 35 years ; and a heritage enthusiast informed us that the forest is strewn with relics of era gone by. A capsized Step Well or Bawli , some pillers,a small pond cum lake, overhead water tank, walls and rooms like structures were noted and photographed by the participants of this nature walk. Shri Gopal Thosar, honorary wildlife warden and mentor of GroWill Foundation said that “Nagpur has an interesting history and all such structures are proofs of that. We all, as a responsible citizens, should take care of these heritage sites and make people aware about importance of urban jungles and preserve them.”
For this, GroWill Foundation will conduct this activity on a regular basis. We request all Nagpurians to join us and witness such a great natural beauty situated within the city. For joining us, please contact Mr. Vaibhav Deshpande 83800 97982
