Mrigen Rathore’s Mari wadi maa
But bitter nectarSustaina India’s exhibitions at Bikaner House, the installations are interactive and far from abstract or interpretive. Solve a puzzle on apricot supply chain establishment (rē)frame By visual artist Anuja Dasgupta, and you win 12 Ladakhi Apricots! An animated video on a girl who finds it difficult to order something durable for her birthday stays with you even after the show. The “invisible bitterness” in our food that comes from labor, climate change or wildlife conflict is painfully obvious here.
Plough (rē)frame’Apricot Supply Chain Puzzle
Another head turner Mari wadi ma. Hundreds of small clay sculptures glow outward from an empty circle in the center of the luminous space. Their size forces you to get down on the ground…only to see that they are actually a pride of 550 lions. By visual artist Mrigen Rathod, it alludes to single-species conservation in the Gir forests of Gujarat, which is an ecological problem as it ignores ecosystem-level health, leading to Asiatic lions moving out of their habitat and encroaching on nearby mango orchards. mango-lion Made from Gir soil.
pride of 550 mango-lion made from fallen soil
Artist designer duo Thukral and Sumir Tagra of Tagra – who curated the exhibition with CEEW (Council on Energy, Environment and Water) – say this was intentional. “The idea is really to translate art into reality,” says Tagara. The pair have also mentored artists. “We haven’t used any walls and haven’t used any art jargon at all. We want people to interact with the art, understand it and take home what they’ve learned here.”
Thukral and Tagra
Thrown Sheets and Veggie Wood
bitter nectar There are 10 installations. Using food and fruit as entry points, they explore how ecological stresses and changing agricultural systems are reshaping everyday life across India. (Recent CEEW research found that heat stress is reducing labor productivity, especially for outdoor and informal workers, potentially leading to the loss of 35 million full-time jobs in India. This is impacting household incomes and economic resilience.) But, as Thukral and Tagra point out, our convenience-driven lifestyles often hide labor, interdependence, and ecological processes.
an installation on bitter nectar
The duo have also ensured that there is as little inherent energy as possible in the exhibitions and logistics behind their creation. Bubble wrap has been replaced with discarded bedsheets and fabric, ‘vegan wood’ has been used for the frames and the walls have been painted in natural colours. Tagara says, “The wall has now become a commercial object. There is no business associated with the art here. There is no buying or selling; it is purely educational.” Perhaps a nod to the recently concluded Indian Art Fair? However, efforts have been made to ensure that the theme of the show remains harsh.
an installation on bitter nectar
A workshop for Valentine’s Day
bitter nectar Has academically strong exposure; In the three editions of Sustaina, up to 17 PhDs have participated. There are three fellows participating in the 2026 edition, all of whom are deeply involved in the ecosystem they are researching. Rathod considers mango monoculture and forest ecology in Gir, Dasgupta explores seasonal knowledge and climate vulnerability through apricots in Ladakh, and Vedant Patil’s artistic inquiry Leakage and loss: How the story of milk reveals its origins, fragility and journey in Delhi-NCR? It traces the journey of nutritious drinks across rural and urban networks, revealing the invisible labor and infrastructure that sustains daily consumption.
Its aim is to communicate in-depth climate research in new ways. According to CEO Arunabha Ghosh, CEEW’s stake in Sustaina is “…to engage and excite the policy and science community that while the data is good, we have all the evidence we need to act on climate change. And we need new ways to tell the story to diverse audiences. We need to find ways to connect with people, to move people”.
an installation on bitter nectar
To help with this, bitter nectar There’s also Sustaina Weekends, a program of panels and workshops – including one on how climate change is affecting the way we date (‘Relationships on a Hotter Planet’ is on Valentine’s Day). Through zine-making, upcycling workshops, theater performances, collaborations with Delhi quiz clubs and poetry clubs, the creator-led interactive showcase is exploring new ways to communicate climate stories.
Kadva Amrit is running at Bikaner House, New Delhi till 15 February.
The author is a permaculture farmer who believes that eating right can save the planet.
published – February 12, 2026 06:31 pm IST