It is going to be a busy weekend at Anant National University with two events that bring together the spiritual and material realms. The first event, which was inaugurated on Friday morning, is an international conference on indigenous knowledge systems and practices. In the evening, the campus will host WITH 2025, an international festival being organised simultaneously in Ahmedabad, Miami, Quito and Sao Paulo.
Addressing a news conference at the Anant Campus in Ghuma on Friday, Provost Anunaya Chaubey explained the university’s approach to teaching design, stressing the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach. “You need a grounding in the Humanities to understand society’s problems. Then you need Science & Technology to solve the problems. Lastly, you need an understanding of Commerce so that these solutions may be implemented,” he said.
The news conference was attended by several international delegates, many of whom had spent several days at the Kumbh Mela before coming to Ahmedabad. One of these was Nubia Rodriguez from Mexico, who is representing the Muisca community of Columbia at the conference. “We must do inner design first, before we try to design for the outside world. We must integrate the spiritual and material world,” she said.
The two events at Anant thus have a common thread. The conference will discuss topics like sustainable solutions to escalating environmental challenges, social inequalities and economic instability. The WITH festival, meanwhile, will feature a range of musical and theatrical performances, poetry recitals and story-telling sessions by international artists dedicated to conserving indigenous culture.
The performances include a Kashmiri play, a rapper from Madhya Pradesh and a rock band from Meghalaya. Then there are Tirtho Bhuyan and Jadab Borah from Uttar Kalambari Satra, in Majuli, a river island in Assam, who have come with a troupe of dancers. “We were specially invited by a Professor of Anant University to showcase Sattriya Nritya,” says Borah, who himself is a professor.
The recently set up Anant Centre for Indigenous Knowledge Systems & Practices is chaired by Dr Rajendra Singh, otherwise known at the “waterman of India,” for his role in reviving 23 dead rivers. Addressing the news conference, Dr Singh said that Anant’s students have visited his work sites in Alwar and Chambal and gained from the experience. “They have overcome their fears and gained confidence. They have realised it is possible to find solutions to the big problems that our society faces,” he said.
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