Kolkata: Echoes of Earth, the pioneering sustainable music festival, was thrilled to unveil its 6th edition. Set amidst lush landscapes in Bangalore, India’s Greenest Festival is a celebration of music, art, and culture. Encasing a diverse range of musical genres, this year’s festival proudly unveiled its first mini-cert in Kolkata.
As the award-winning music festival set its foot in Kolkata, the extraordinary event promised to be a celebration of the rich local biodiversity and unique ecosystem found in the state of West Bengal.
Seamlessly merging the worlds of music and environment, the Kolkata edition was curated to raise awareness about the intricate balance between nature and art and little known species of this habitat.
In collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) India, the mini-cert , that happened on 4th November, included a thought-provoking panel discussion on “The Royal Stripes: Sundarbans and its tigers”.
The panel had knowledge experts like Debmalya Roy Chowdhury, Senior Project Officer, WWF-India, Joydip Kundu, Member of State Board for Wildlife; Ajanta Dey, Joint Secretary & Programme Director, Natures Environment & Wildlife Society, and Diti Mookherjee, Chief Executive Officer of the Association for Social & Environmental Development, who covered a range of topics from the wildlife of Sundarbans to the Tigers of the region.
Speaking on the occasion Saswati Sen, State Director, WWF-India West Bengal State Office said, “I feel this is a very interesting format to have – story telling and knowledge sharing, with quizzing and music. There is something for everyone of all age groups. I for instance, enjoyed the game “Web of life.” The participants make a huge difference in such formats/programs – we had a very seasoned moderator and panellists today who made this event extremely engaging.”
Saswati Sen added, “This collaborative program on the tigers of the Sundarbans with WWF-India helps make people aware of the various species the region houses. One of the focus are was around the Fishing Cat which is the state animal of West Bengal but few really recall that. The fact is that if poaching continues, many of us will never see the Fishing Cat.”
The convergence of music and culture also consisted of an educative storytelling workshop in partnership with The Fishing Cat Project and the Human Environment Alliance League (HEAL), which aimed to create tolerance and empathy for the elusive wild cat species among the locals.
Tiasa Adhya, Co-Founder of The Fishing Cat Project, stated, “The Fishing Cat remains in the margins of the common people’s consciousness. Even though it works as a sentinel of the critically threatened wetland ecosystem that make our lands fertile by storing and purifying water, and absorbing carbon – all of which have serious consequences for our survival as a species. Therefore, what happens to the Fishing Cat actually mirrorrs our fate.”
Tiasa Adhya added, “I am proud that West Bengal chose such a species as its State Animal and thank Echoes of Earth for giving the species a much-deserved focus in their one-of-a-kind Mini-cert.”
The festival ended on a magnificent note with a performance by Parvaaz and Whale in the Pond. Through this 6th rendition, Echoes of Earth aimed to foster a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness between the local ecosystem and the global need for conservation and sustainability.
With a mission to ignite positive change and inspire a deeper appreciation for the environment, Echoes of Earth will continue to serve as a catalyst for fostering a global community committed to environmental advocacy.
