The Idea Is To Pause And Reconnect: Artist Aradhana Seth On The Aranyani Pavilion And Its Ecological Relevance

In the heart of Delhi’s iconic Sunder Nursery gardens, an installation inspired from nature’s sacred groves stands as a space dedicated to an essential pause -  enabling reconnection with the diversity and brilliance of nature in its full bloom. The Aranyani Pavilion, an ecological art and architecture commission from South Asia conceived by conservation scientist and creative director Tara Lal and designed by architecture T__M.space led by Tanil Raif and Mario Serrano Puche, presents its inaugural edition, 'Sacred Heart'.

The programme running from February 3 through February 13 will also feature a photo studio by Aradhana Seth and multiple conversations and experiences on ecological architecture, leadership and awareness.

The installation, which unfolds as a spiral, finds its inspiration in a recurrent form of nature - shells, storms and galaxies where the continuation ensures growth without losing the epicentre. The structure tethers one to the roots of existence by accentuating with a meditative aural experience as they explore the Pavilion.

Made of the wood of upcycled Lantana, an invasive species, introduced during the colonial years, the structure is also canopied by indigenous plant species which have been part of the nutritional and cultural landscape of India. 

Named after the Rigvedic goddess of forests, wilderness and animals, Aranyani, the initiative is a microcosmic testament to the fact that architecture can host life, and not replace it. As one moves on to the Aranyani Earth installation, which showcases the initiative’s on-ground initiatives of protecting natural heritage by working with communities and fusing scientific expertise and local ecological wisdom together.

A footage captures Aranyani’s efforts in reviving a 500-year old well in Jaisalmer which now supports water access for many and in Meghalaya, where school meals made of forest-grown ingredients sourced locally are nourishing countless children.

Making way to the Shrine, a nine-tonne soapstone monolith which comes from the Amangarh quarry in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district, helps one connect with the historical tradition of worshipping stones and rocks, where cairns and megaliths mark burial sites and cosmological alignment. As a doorway to the sacred, the shrine weaves together the four elements of nature - fire, water, earth and air through a stone, an off-cut deemed unusable for construction, in harmony with the ambience of the Shrine.

In a world straying away from the connections to the soil, the Pavilion retraces the historical strings connecting human existence and nature through an inclusive idea of conservation and ecological sustainability. 

Highlighting the importance of the essential pause, photographer, art director and production designer Aradhana Seth hosted an exclusive photo studio experience where the studio's colours drew inspiration from nature and Aranyani’s palette. With hand-crafted and painted props in the form of natural elements, Seth’s photo studio highlights the importance of photography, choreographed presence and performance beyond the momentariness of selfies. Seth captured the interaction of her guests with the hand-painted props and background, with the dusk hue settling on the spiral installation, and the lush green spread all around.

“The elements of the photo studio are in harmony with the theme of Aranyani Pavilion. The idea of the studio and the Pavilion is to pause and reconnect - get yourself photographed, think and communicate with nature and the person photographing you. It is a performative experience. We want the person to be connected to the moon, star, and the sky and look at the Pavilion. The background and the foreground interact in perfect harmony, where the props play with the ideas of the natural elements- encompassing the brilliance of nature,” says Seth.