“Rotary Avani” Environmental Festival in Bengaluru

22 April 19 (International Mother Earth Day) – 5^th June 19 (World Environment Day)

Let’s together Celebrate, Heal Bengaluru

Rotary Club of Bengaluru Lalbagh, in association with Rotary Club of Bangalore Peenya and other clubs of Rotary Dist 3190, and Beantown Union, is organising 'Rotary Avani', a festival of ecology in Bengaluru.

Avani was first conceived and executed by Rotary Club of Bengaluru Lalbagh  in 2018. The club’s theme is ‘Urban Ecology Redefined”.

Sustainability is an integral part of Rotary International’s Six areas of Focus:

Peace and conflict prevention/resolution

Disease prevention and treatment

Water and Sanitation

Maternal and Child health

Basic education and literacy

Economic and community development.

Rotary International President Barry Rassin mentioned in his July 2018 message: “The environment plays a key role in all six of our areas of focus, and that role is only becoming greater as the impact of climate change unfolds. It’s time to move past seeing the environment as somehow separate from those six areas. Clean air, water and land are essential for healthy communities – and essential for the better, healthier future we strive for.”

Encouraged by the response to AVANI 2018, Rotary Lalbagh has embarked on an ambitious upgrade of the festival for 2019 with a programme which has been curated by Beantown Union, a company of creative professionals.

The Avani calender includes the following:

1.       An art exhibition (April 22 to June 5, at BIC)

2.      Parade of Bicycle floats (June 1 – 5, in five city areas)

3.      Film Festival (April 22 to 28, at BIC)

4.      Panel Discussion (Apr 22, at BIC)

5.      Avani Series of Talks (April 23 – 28, at BIC)

6.      Ben Elton’s comedy play – 'Gasping' (produced by Bimal Desai and Directed by Prakash Belawadi, May 31 – June 4, at BIC)

7.      Dance performance (‘Nayani” by Rukmini Vijayakumar, June 5, at BIC)

8.     Musical evenings (Ramya Vasishtha) at two venues (to be finalised).

The AVANI event, to be held between 22 April (International Mother Earth Day) and 5 June (World Environment Day) aims to raise public awareness about urban ecology, themed around the Five Elements – Sky, Air, Fire, Water and Earth

The 5 Elements – a Panel Discussion to be held at 6:00 PM on Monday, 22nd April, at the Bangalore International Centre, will feature subjects and experts on the theme:

1.       SKY: ‘Eyes in the Sky- Earth Watch’, by Dr PG Diwakar, ISRO

2.      AIR: ‘Health Impact of Transport’, by Prof Ashish Verma, IISC

3.      FIRE: ‘Sustainable Energy – a Perspective', by Hariprasad Hegde, Wipro

4.      WATER: by S Vishwanath

5.      EARTH: ‘A Map for the Future’, by Naresh Narasimhan, Architect

The key note address, ’Samaaj, Bazaar, Sarkaar: Converging for Conservation,” will be by Rohini Nilekani, Philanthropist.

Panel will be introduced by Prakash Belawadi and moderated by V Ravichandar.

The AVANI series of talks: Bangalore International Centre, 5:30 – 6:00 PM everyday, will feature the following:

1.       Tue, 23rd April: ‘Reviving Our Lakes’, by Anand Malligavad, Lake Conservationist

2.      Wed, 24th April: ‘The Miyawaki Method of Rapid Afforestation’, by Sundar Padmanabhan

3.      Thur, 25th April: 'Planning for Bengaluru', by Leo Saldanha, Environment Support Group

4.      Sat, 27th April: 'Sustainable Menstruation', by Dr Meenakshi Bharath

5.      Sun, 28th April: 'Endangered Species', by Raviraj Joshi

A Bicycle Float to create awareness about Endangered Species, the theme of Earth Day 2019, will be inaugurated by Actor Yash at 10 PM, on 22 April, at BIC.

10 floats will be designed by leading installation artists, which will be featured in parades from June 1 to 5, as the closing event.

Dates & Venues:

1st June 2019: Lalbagh

2nd June 2019: Sankey Tank

3rd June 2019: Bangalore International Centre

4th June 2019: Rajaji Nagar

5th June 2019: Vidhan Soudha to Rangoli, MG Road

The Art Exhibition at Bangalore International Centre, 22 Apr – 5 June 2019. This is being organized to sensitise visitors about ecology through the 5 Elements theme and raise funds for the cause.

AVANI is conceived to evolve as an annual city event, something Bengaluru will be proud to own. Rotary Lalbagh has also planned interventions to improve the ecological awareness and wellness of Bengaluru citizens, with urban afforestation and tree planting, air pollution monitoring Green Boards, QR coding of the trees of Lalbagh and RO drinking water installations.

As a special intervention, Rotary AVANI is planning to provide quality air pollution prevention masks designed by Wipro to 4,000 traffic policemen. They constitute the most vulnerable segment risking prolonged exposure to polluted air.