‘Rao’sing cry to save our eco system

Arati Kumar Rao can’t really remember a time when she wasn’t concerned about environmental (freshwater related) issues. In 2014, the photographer-cum-storyteller decided to quit a lucrative corporate job in pursuit of her true calling and began documenting the slow violence of ecological degradation and climate change on ecosystems and livelihoods along South Asia’s rivers. Three years into it, and she’s all set to feature her first solo exhibition for this year at the Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa to be held in December. The exhibit features installations, which were done over the past three years in criss-crossing the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin — the largest river basin in the world. In a candid chat, she tells us more...

“I was raised to be environmentally conscious, to not take natural resources for granted. So, that kind of upbringing helped me be more aware of my privileges,” begins the independent environmental photographer and writer. Speaking about her work at the fest, Arati enthuses, “My work depicts a slow violence that is being unleashed through environmental degradation on marginalised communities that subsist on farming and fishing. It also brings to the fore how large infrastructure projects affect ecosystems and landscapes, especially our rivers.”

 This will be her first solo exhibit this year. Arati was also a part of several other group exhibitions. “I’ve been a part of several exhibits this year, such as the Everyday Climate Change effort and the like. The idea is to draw focus on freshwater issues and I see this as a life-long project. I’m looking forward to inspire and get inspired at this festival,” she states.

The Bengaluru girl, who holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of International Management, MEd from Arizona State University and MSc Physics from University of Poona, did corporate gigs before diving deep to achieve her dreams. “I’ve worked at Intel, as a strategic marketing and market research manager. But, I guess you end up darting towards what you really want, at some point in time,” she smiles. One thing led to another, and she quit in the year 2012, to get things rolling. “I started out by focussing on freshwater issues in the Thar desert, documenting their amazing water ethic.”

She best identifies herself as a storyteller, and states, “I am driven by issues that confront us... and I am trying to shine a bright light on them, through my work and often end up using art, photography, videos to narrate and illustrate the same.”

With travel being a big part of her schedule, Arati considers herself fortunate to be juggling work with passion. “My current body of work demands travel and research. So, that gives me the opportunity to indulge my passion for travel even while working! That aside, I love doing things slowly — preferring to explore landscapes on foot and returning to places often, over time.”