New exhibition in Mumbai celebrates India's ecology and native art forms

Assimilation by Mayank Shyam Milan, 2019. Pics courtesy/Sarmaya Arts Foundation

From the old baobabs giving way to concretised roads, to the green parks slowly vanishing, the city is a living reminder that citizens need to awaken. A visit to the Kamalnayan Bajaj Art Gallery down in Nariman Point might serve as visual motivation. The ongoing exhibition, Atlas of the Wild: In Photography and the Living Traditions of India, at the gallery uses the visual aesthetic of works on nature by indigenous communities from across the world, paired with award-winning photography of natural life.

Prakritik Jeevan by Japani Shyam, 2016

"It takes very little intelligence to say that nature is both aesthetic and essential for our survival," observes Paul Abraham, founder, Sarmaya Arts Foundation. The curation, Abraham adds, is an attempt to showcase the tradition of observing nature among communities, and researchers through the years. "The paintings, for instance, are a spectrum of works across community lines where nature is venerated.

Bada Dev by Ram Singh Urveti, 2019. The work depicts the Gond myth of Bada Dev, a deity who resides within the Saja tree. The tree is worshipped, and protected from being cut down

In their depictions, it is mysterious, about survival, and livelihood," he shares. For instance, the Gond community believes in the deity Bada Dev who resides in the Saja tree, a precious source of water during times of drought. "Through years of trial-and-error culminating in a ritualistic practice, the community has now learned that these trees have to be protected and conserved," he explains.

Tough Love by Rumna Mukherjee depicts a clash between a male and female leopard in the Jhalana-Amagarh Conservation Reserve, Rajasthan. Mukherjee won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award in 2025 for this work. Pics Courtesy/Sanctuary Asia Foundation

This knowledge of observation is mirrored in the more modern photographs from the award-winning collection of the Sanctuary Asia Foundation. The works ‘record rare natural history moments, capturing conservation issues and proof of climate change," writes its founder Bittu Sahgal.

A Flight of Life and Death by Adam Taylor. Runner-up at the Sanctuary Wildlife Photography Award 2025, it captures a Changeable Hawk-Eagle at Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand carrying off a prey

The veteran shares, "We have become record keepers of rare natural history moments, events that researchers have spent years in the field to study, and of the increasing human-wildlife interactions when forest animals are forced to adapt to urban environments. We also document minuscule insects, which discerning nature lovers bring to the notice of the larger public," he shares. Like Dr Seuss's Lorax, the works at the exhibition seem to say, ‘I speak for the trees/for the trees have no voice'.

Paul Abraham and Bittu Sahgal

TILL February 28; 11 am to 7 pm
AT Kamalnayan Bajaj Art Gallery, Ground Floor, Bajaj Bhavan, Nariman Point.