Book Launch - Lalbagh by Suresh Jayaram

An event by Heritage Beku

Listen in to Artist, Curator & Author Suresh Jayaram as he walks us through his beautiful new book on Lalbagh, a space that mirrors the spiritual journey of Bangalore itself.

Suresh is in conversation with eminent ecologist & author Harini Nagendra.

Intuitive and resonant, Harini asks Suresh about the beauty of art and literature that seems to be the only tool to lift Nature, Green and the environment from the gloom & doom we find ourselves in, and chats about the process of research that this book entailed, and what next – a book on Cubbon Park maybe?

While on that, the chat moves to creating accessible information repositories for visitors or converting this book into a documentary. Who knows, these plans have a way of fleshing out if the universe conspires.

The story remains one of hope, of exploring the past and the roots of Bangalore’s most famous Garden, with all its trailing tendrils of people, sketches, snapshots and postcards – and of investing in city heritage for the future.

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/bceAqRcapFE.5pm 22 Sept 2021:

This talk will segue into a charming treasure hunt at Lalbagh based on this book, next week so watch this space and RSVP for that now!

Organised by: #HeritageBeku

About the Author & Panelist

Suresh Jayaram, Author

Suresh Jayaram is a visual artist, trained as an art historian, arts administrator and curator from Bangalore. He is the Founder of 1.Shanhtiroad Studio an international artist’s Residency.

He is currently involved in art practise, urban mapping, archiving, curation and arts education. His keen interest in environmental and urban developmental issues influences his work. He taught Art History at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat, the College of Fine Arts in Bangalore and later went on to become the Dean from 2005-2007.He obtained his BFA in painting from the College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat

1990 and MFA from M.S.University, Baroda in 1992 in Art Criticism

Harini Nagendra, Panelist

Harini is an Indian ecologist who uses satellite remote sensing coupled with field studies of biodiversity, archival research, institutional analysis, and community interviews to examine the factors shaping the social-ecological sustainability of forests and cities in the south Asian context Her areas of interest include Urban sustainability, Ecology and development, Land change, Biodiversity and conservation.

Nagendra is currently a professor of sustainability at the Azim Premji University, Bangalore.[5] She coordinates the Centre for Urban Sustainability in India at Azim Premji University.[6] Larger global crisis of sustainability motivates Nagendra to research on the subject.

She was a visiting researcher at the University of California, San Diego in 1998. She was an independent researcher from 2003 to 2013.[2] She has worked in a variety of contexts in forests and cities of South Asia and globally.[7] Nagendra served as Hubert H Humphrey Distinguished Visiting Professor at Macalester College, Saint Paul, Minnesota in 2013.

Nagendra's recent book “Nature in the City: Bengaluru in the Past, Present, and Future” (Oxford University Press India, 2016) examines the transformation of human-nature interactions in Bangalore from the 6th century CE to the present, addressing the implications of such change for the urban sustainability of fast-growing cities in the global South.