Faith and environment: bridging the gap

Lakhs of pilgrims visit Badrinath, part of the Char Dham pilgrimage circuit for Hindus, every year. But even as they visit the temple and take a ritual bath in the Alaknanda river in an attempt to cleanse their soul, they end up polluting the river. This dichotomy inspired artists Asim Waqif and Vaibhav Dimri to come up with ‘Badri Jal Abhiyan’, a conceptual art project currently on view at Khoj Studios in New Delhi.

Centred around the idea of water being at the centre of the Badrinath pilgrimage, Badri Jal Abhiyan creates a water shrine, with a copper pot dripping water from its spout, which you approach through a ring corridor. Following are edited excerpts from an interview with Waqif:

What was the inspiration for Badri Jal Abhiyan?

I have been trekking in the Himalayas for many years and have visited Badrinath several times. In 2008, Vaibhav and I came across a copy of the proposed master plan for Badrinath. We were appalled at the insensitive suggestions — the plan seemed to have been copy-pasted instead of being designed keeping in mind the region and its climatic conditions. For example, infrastructure should be increased only in a manner where it can be scaled down when the place is shut, which is for six months every year.

How did you approach the project?

We decided to focus on a simple aspect: drinking water. Even as pilgrims come to Badrinath to have a ritual bath in the Alaknanda river since it is considered to be pure, they rely on packaged water bottles for consumption, thereby creating a large amount of trash. We tested various water sources, including the river water, in the region for potability and found it safe for consumption. The initial part of the project was spent trying to develop local networks and understanding the transformation of the pilgrimage over the last few decades. We especially looked into mythological and ecological histories of water and its local sources.

Tell us about the initiatives that were part of the project.

We installed signs in Hindi and English that spoke of water bodies and their significance. We also set up a pyau (free water kiosk) in a stall donated by the temple committee. We distributed water from a local spring, Kurm Dhara.

You mentioned that a limited number of toilets leads pilgrims to defecate in the open. Do you have a future project in mind with regard to this?

This is a project that should be on the mind of the temple committee, the district administration, and the pilgrims themselves. Vaibhav and I would like to develop a model of pilgrim centres in the high Himalayas, but we don’t want to make a report that will only gather dust.

What made you choose Badrinath over Kedarnath, which has been in the news for the devastating floods of 2013?

We did this project before the calamity in Kedarnath. However, the issue is relevant to the entire Char Dham yatra starting from Haridwar/Rishikesh. We chose Badrinath since Vaibhav’s family belongs to the region and is involved in the upkeep of the Badrinath temple. This also gave us political access that would not be available in Kedarnath.

Several of your projects are related to the environment. Why do you feel that conceptual art is an effective way to highlight environment related issues?

Art can overcome the didactic necessities of activism in certain situations. Activism can be aggressive and confrontational, often presenting an extreme view point in order to counter the capitalistic exploitation of resources. Art has the potential to bypass these pitfalls and get to the heart of the issue. It does not claim the burden of providing a workable solution but can compel people to question their preconceived notions without threatening an individual’s way of life.

(The exhibition is on view till March15)