Third edition of GLF makes a strong case for painting the town green Premium

The Green Lit Fest held in Bengaluru saw activists, biologists, authors, illustrators and film-makers coming together to advocate for a greener future

Professor Anil Gupta, scholar and social sector activist, has travelled all across India and has a bag full of stories that speak of creativity shown by people in every part of the country. From the living tree root bridges of Meghalaya to the stitch-less Kurtas of Bargarh district in Odisha, he tells tales of people who combine creativity with craftsmanship and extraordinary zeal.

“There is not a place where we haven’t found people who haven’t surprised us,” Mr. Gupta said, talking to the audience gathered at the third edition of the Green Lit Fest in Bengaluru.

He recollected an instance when he was in Meghalaya.

The indigenous communities of Khasi and Jaintia hills in Meghalaya have been building the living root bridges for centuries. These bridges, which found a place in the UNESCO tentative list of world heritage sites, are made by guiding the natural growth of pliable roots of Ficus elastica tree to achieve the desired bridge structure over the course of time. The process takes several years.

When Mr. Gupta asked the people why they build bridges this way, they responded saying they wanted to build bridges in a sustainable and durable way without causing harm to the nature.

“Science is like alphabet, technology is like words, institutions are like grammar and culture is like thesaurus,” said Mr. Gupta, adding that minds on margins are not marginal but generate completely unexpected solutions to problems that others may have learned to live with.

Rising above barriers