A celebration of simplicity with the community, on October 2, 2022. A special kind of celebration indeed, celebrating simple joys of life that we may otherwise take for granted. Be it playing with natural colours we made, or clay, enjoying a concert with plants and being in their presence, exploring treasures of nature, seeing Gandhiji’s journey as it unfolded, or having conversations, reflecting and writing a letter and immersing in stories, poetry, music and art, people got a chance to access diverse facets of the being, within and beyond, through immersive experiences at the Bhoomi Utsav.
With an insightful talk and journey-sharing by Gopi Sankarasubramani of Navadarshanam, on what it takes to build an ecologically resilient community, workshops and sessions on soil-building using permaculture principles by Rupalini Sastry, weaving toys using coconut leaves by Nowshid Parammal, storytelling by Priya Muthukumar of Storipur, Mandala art by Nilam Pandya, traditional games by Ima Recreations, sustainable menstruation by Rupal Ralph of StoneSoup, and more, the Utsav was a space for learning of all kinds! There were also spaces with handmade products to support artisans and collectives working at the grassroots level. And of course, food and lots of fun.
The Bhoomi Utsav was a space for working with the head, heart and hands, learning, unlearning, exploring, experiencing, unleashing the inner child, enjoying moments of stillness in the hustle and bustle of life, forming connections with people and building a community…all this and more.
The Utsav was a journey even for us, which started 2 months ago…from ideation to playing with ideas, to planning and execution, we saw the whole process to fruition. And in the process discover our strengths, interests and pain points, learn to work with diversity, conflict, chaos, empathy, understanding and joy and embrace it all in all its shades.
It was indeed heartening to see so many people from the community come forward to support and join us in celebrating this festival of the earth. Ever grateful!
The E-Co Travellers 