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  Life   More Features  20 Sep 2018  An afternoon in London on Indian culture and wildlife

An afternoon in London on Indian culture and wildlife

THE ASIAN AGE
Published : Sep 20, 2018, 1:47 am IST
Updated : Sep 20, 2018, 1:47 am IST

Concentrating on the reserve forests of Ranthambore, he introduced the legendary tigress Macchli and her family.

Baithak UK director Sangeeta Datta with cultural activist Sundeep Bhutoria.
 Baithak UK director Sangeeta Datta with cultural activist Sundeep Bhutoria.

Baithak UK presented Kolkata-based activist, culturist and wildlife enthusiast Sundeep Bhutoria at an exclusive event at the Taj Room in London’s St. James Court Hotel on Saturday, September 15, with Baithak UK director Sangeeta Datta welcoming the guests and also being in conversation with Mr Bhutoria about his amazing feat of spreading boutique literary and performing arts events in 25 cities in India. Through his Prabha Khaitan Foundation, Mr Bhutoria has developed regular literary events for English, Hindi and regional writers. He also spoke about partnering with women in local towns and inner cities who now work towards sustaining these regular activities thus building female empowering models. Sangeeta Datta remarked that it was important for the London audience to know about the important work that Mr Bhutoria is doing. He has also extended his Hindi literature events to London, which take place in Quilon at the same hotel.

During an exciting, interactive session, Sundeep Bhutoria presented his Tiger Talk, introducing the enthusiastic audience to the tiger conservation issue and its ecological foundation. Concentrating on the reserve forests of Ranthambore, he introduced the legendary tigress Macchli and her family.

He spoke about poaching problems, the rehabilitation of local villagers and the pivotal role of the forest officers in this programme of rescue and conservation.

Sundeep Bhutoria has written a book on tigers called The Safari. A travel diary grew into a book along with his wife Manjari’s photographs. He is now writing a book on the leopards of Bera. The audience was riveted with the rare conversation on literature, women’s empowerment and tiger conservation.

Baithak UK is a not-for-profit arts organisation founded by Sangeeta Datta. It is a cross-arts organisation offering a platform for discussion, debate and new work. Baithak has presented events at key venues in London including the Royal Festival Hall and Royal Albert Hall, and previous guests include Sharmila Tagore, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Prakash Jha, Farhan Akhtar, Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Ustad Zakir Husain, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and Pandit Jasraj.

Sundeep Bhutoria, on his current UK visit, will be meeting universities and NRR organisations in Birmingham, Nottingham, Oxford and Edinburgh to explore possible collaborations and partnerships to spread the activities of the Prabha Khaitan Foundation.

Tags: hindi literature, sundeep bhutoria, sangeeta datta