Negotiating neighborhood | Chapter 2 - in collaboration between Aishwarya Sultana and Hussain Patel
Negotiating neighborhood- It really makes me wonder how man has been trying to push these lovey doveys out of their urban jungle and how their persistence has forced the human to become caged in his own home. Maybe we should have negotiated better perhaps. As a negotiator, I would like to intervene in such an existing scenario, to look, to realise, to reflect and perhaps to be better negotiators of our neighborhood and our environment.
Coming to the plan of action
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Day 1- We had a good start with procuring old jaali from the bhangaar wala to be able to get halfway through the making of a large human-sized pinjra with the help of a lohar, for me to be able to fit in ( as a mark of exchanging places with the lovey doveys).
Hussain bhai, Chi. and I met with each other at Citypulse in the evening (the venue for the culmination of the residency). Hussain Bhai suggested a series of sessions on Birding with Buddies along with poetry. Along with performance, installation and interactive session, I am super excited about these Birding with Buddies sessions to be conducted by Hussain Bhai, in different locations of Gandhinagar.
Day 2- I am excited to update the happenings, send out the invite, finish the pinjra and engage in the Birding with Buddies as a part of understanding our neighbors better. This is the invite we have sent out to all friends and nature lovers to be able to be a part of this intervention.
Dear Friends,
Happy to be a part of Negotiating Neighborhood- it is a micro-residency program for participatory research, where I am looking at 'stray' birds as our immediate neighbors. Apart from my observation, I am interested to share an experiential installation and interactive session(performance). We are interested to share a space for co-existence for Gandhinagar's diverse living/non-living community ( special interest 'Birds and Buddies'). We would like to invite you all to a series of interesting sessions of birding and poetry
4th March onwards.
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Schedule-
4th March, 5 pm Citypulse
5th March, 6 am Lavarpur
5 pm Aranyavan
7th March, 6 am Versoda village.
The project will come to a culmination on 7th March, 5 pm, Citypulse Art Gallery*.
For more details rsvp- 9811336620
Field Report
Day 2 | text by Aishwarya Sultania
Collaborating with Hussain Bhai has been fantastic. It has opened up a whole new perspective for understanding our relationship with the birds and nature. The first Birding with Buddies session with Hussain Bhai began with just trying to understand what we mean by birds. He then went on to discuss the direct and indirect ways of knowing the presence of the birds, the different kinds of birds, the various ways in which they can be identified, how mankind is harming the bird community knowingly and unknowingly and many such informative discussions on Birds. Every moment of that session was like an eye open to sensitize our senses to be able to look, hear, and identify different species of birds, their behaviors and their peculiarities. The city-pulse campus came alive with the sound of birds chirping in the different corners of the campus. However, due to the lack of a man-made or natural water body in the area, we were unable to spot any aquatic or raptor birds there. Something as simple as giving food to the birds can actually prove to be bad for them. This hampers their own abilities to learn to acquire food. This, I learned with Hussain Bhai. We managed to see 8-10 different species of birds!!
Collaborating with Hussain Bhai has been fantastic. It has opened up a whole new perspective for understanding our relationship with the birds and nature. The first Birding with Buddies session with Hussain Bhai began with just trying to understand what we mean by birds. He then went on to discuss the direct and indirect ways of knowing the presence of the birds, the different kinds of birds, the various ways in which they can be identified, how mankind is harming the bird community knowingly and unknowingly and many such informative discussions on Birds. Every moment of that session was like an eye open to sensitize our senses to be able to look, hear, and identify different species of birds, their behaviors and their peculiarities. The city-pulse campus came alive with the sound of birds chirping in the different corners of the campus. However, due to the lack of a man-made or natural water body in the area, we were unable to spot any aquatic or raptor birds there. Something as simple as giving food to the birds can actually prove to be bad for them. This hampers their own abilities to learn to acquire food. This, I learned with Hussain Bhai. We managed to see 8-10 different species of birds!!
Day 3| text by Aishwarya Sultania
The morning started with a short drive to the village of Lavarpur. 6.45 am and there we were beside the lake. There was a certain kind of nip in the air, different from other days. The lake was green, little smelly and hard plastic litter all around. Despite all this, as we began watching, we were able to see different species of birds in large numbers. From Northern Shoveler, ibis, heron, partridge, Dungaroo, cuckoo, hornbill, purple sunbird, black grip, a few raptor birds and the others. Silently, Hussain Bhai asked us to observe their movements, behavior so as to be able to learn to distinguish and identify them. The males usually brighter than the females, it was a delight to find them in large numbers. Felt some solace, there were still these pockets in the city where they were allowed to exist ( even though not in the most pristine environment). For once I saw all the Northern Shovelers move in the same direction all at once as if some kind of video game. As it began to get warmer, the activity of the birds started changing. We started seeing more of some and less of the others. They become more chirpy and just when Hussain Bhai was telling us about all this, I saw something, I heard something, like never before….two birds running on the surface of the water!! …………………..
The morning started with a short drive to the village of Lavarpur. 6.45 am and there we were beside the lake. There was a certain kind of nip in the air, different from other days. The lake was green, little smelly and hard plastic litter all around. Despite all this, as we began watching, we were able to see different species of birds in large numbers. From Northern Shoveler, ibis, heron, partridge, Dungaroo, cuckoo, hornbill, purple sunbird, black grip, a few raptor birds and the others. Silently, Hussain Bhai asked us to observe their movements, behavior so as to be able to learn to distinguish and identify them. The males usually brighter than the females, it was a delight to find them in large numbers. Felt some solace, there were still these pockets in the city where they were allowed to exist ( even though not in the most pristine environment). For once I saw all the Northern Shovelers move in the same direction all at once as if some kind of video game. As it began to get warmer, the activity of the birds started changing. We started seeing more of some and less of the others. They become more chirpy and just when Hussain Bhai was telling us about all this, I saw something, I heard something, like never before….two birds running on the surface of the water!! …………………..
In the afternoon, I was updating the blog and then went to Citypulse, where I experimented with writing words like makaan, ghar, aashiyana, pinjara with jowar and bajra (grains for birds). The idea was to see the birds eat up all the grains and symbolically dissolve the boundaries between such notions of space and become one with ‘our space’. But, as it was afternoon, and the birds being unfamiliar with me, the grains lay there, only to be noticed by the squirrels and devoured with much joy. My idea had also been to actually see the pigeons inhabit spaces (room/Gallery) meant for humans and for humans to watch them from the other side through the glass. This, as a reminder to make people think and realize that it is us who actually invaded their space and also as a reminder that if we do not Negotiate well, there will come a time when the sight of birds will be a rarity, only as a spectacle, as a remembrance of what once was… So, in the evening I got lucky to find a welder who agreed to weld/ cut the jaali/pinjra to my measurement. And then, some more people from the Citypulse community helped to fit it all together and viola, the pinjra was FINALLY ready for the part of In conversation on the day of culmination of the residency. Hussain Bhai has been so instrumental in enlightening us with so much. I am truly lucky that because of his deep inclination towards art and community and my concerns for the neighborhood, the Ecology helped us to forge collaboration for one common concern of embracing nature with all our heart and soul.
So grateful to Tracing A city for providing that trigger which helped me establish a deep, more meaningful relationship with the birds, with Hussain Bhai and many more people from the community of Gandhinagar who are directly and indirectly getting involved in our research of negotiating neighborhood. It feels like a complete circle.
So grateful to Tracing A city for providing that trigger which helped me establish a deep, more meaningful relationship with the birds, with Hussain Bhai and many more people from the community of Gandhinagar who are directly and indirectly getting involved in our research of negotiating neighborhood. It feels like a complete circle.
Open-Day at Gallery City Pulse, Nilesh Shidhpura
Negotiating neighborhood- Open day
6 am and we were on our way to Versoda village for a Birding with Buddies session. Riding in a Thar, with romantic music in the background and conversations around what we expect to see, we drove through the ravine to finally reach the campsite. Sunrise, birds waking up to the activity, sitting and sunbathing.
Apart from, egret, eagles, doves, sunbirds, pigeons, parakeets and bagels, we spotted a whole bunch of pelicans flying by over the dried river. The same river that flows from behind my house had its path here, but because of less human intervention in the area, we came across the biodiversity.
Just listening, feeling, sensing, soaking and observing we learned a lot. I realized that the birds were a lot like us. They sunbathers in the early morning and as the day brightens, they become more chirpy and active. Then they go out in search of food, rest in the afternoon and return home in the evening
(another time when they are extremely chirpy).
6 am and we were on our way to Versoda village for a Birding with Buddies session. Riding in a Thar, with romantic music in the background and conversations around what we expect to see, we drove through the ravine to finally reach the campsite. Sunrise, birds waking up to the activity, sitting and sunbathing.
Apart from, egret, eagles, doves, sunbirds, pigeons, parakeets and bagels, we spotted a whole bunch of pelicans flying by over the dried river. The same river that flows from behind my house had its path here, but because of less human intervention in the area, we came across the biodiversity.
Just listening, feeling, sensing, soaking and observing we learned a lot. I realized that the birds were a lot like us. They sunbathers in the early morning and as the day brightens, they become more chirpy and active. Then they go out in search of food, rest in the afternoon and return home in the evening
(another time when they are extremely chirpy).
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Once back from Birding, I went on to get my act together for the open day. The pinjra had already been put in place for an experiential installation, the photographs printed and the video readied for projection. Once in the gallery at Citypulse, with the help of Chi, Nilesh and Vishnu Bhai, we were able to ready the Gallery for viewing, for experiencing and for the in conversation.
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As evening drew close, Papiya(meaning papiha-bird) my neighbor from the 3rd floor, came with her little daughter. Patiently she waited till the time we finished installing. Then ensued the conversation on negotiating neighborhood. The moviegoers/the ones who had finished watching the film, trickled into the Gallery, to see, know of and experience something unexpected. The girls and boys inhabited the pinjra, which made them realize all at once, the oh so familiar feeling of being in their home….(which in turn is actually surrounded by jaali to keep the birds out!)
The interactions were interesting as some kids from IIT Gandhinagar interacted very promptly. Chi, as an initiator got the people to come and experience the space. Some even tried to engage by scanning the QR code of podcast to understand what we had been up to.
As luck would have it, Hussain Bhai, sent his books on Birding for display and reference but due to unavoidable circumstances, he was unable to be with us during the evening. We met late in the evening, learned of his situation and parted ways, only to collaborate again in the future!! 😊🐦