On this World Environment Day, we bring to you stories from the banks of the Luni, a river unlike any you’ve imagined. Born in the Aravallis near Ajmer, it winds through the arid heart of Rajasthan, turning salty midway, sustaining life through underground aquifers, and vanishing quietly into the Rann of Kutch. It is a river that makes one rethink the definition of what a river should be.
In 2024, a group of fellows from Veditum India Foundation’s Moving Upstream: Luni Fellowship collectively covered nearly 500 kilometers of the Luni’s length on foot. This session shares stories from two of the fellows, Saurav Vaishnav and Madhuri Sharma, who walked 150 kms, step by step, day by day, through villages, sandy riverbeds, and unexpected pockets of life. The walk allowed them to not just understand the river and its landscape but also connect deeply with the people whose lives depend on it. Through stories of the Luni and its people, the session traces the invisible threads that connect humans to place and to each other. Through storytelling and conversation with the audience, we will collectively reflect on questions of migration and belonging, hospitality and trust, serendipity and chance, and what this reveals about the human experience, whether you come from a quiet settlement on the bank of a river or a fast-paced urban center.
The Moving Upstream: Luni fellowship is part of Veditum India Foundation’s Moving Upstream fellowship program, which encourages and supports Indians to walk along India’s rivers, document the rivers and the lives around them, share these stories through various media, and create long-term public archives of these rivers.
The Regen Residency at Quest Learning Observatory (QLO) invites artists, designers, educators, technologists, researchers, and makers to explore regeneration through creative practice and collaborative inquiry. Located in Kengeri, the residency treats the QLO campus as a living laboratory: a place where materials, landscapes, technologies, and communities become part of the creative process.
Speakers:
Ranjini Rao | Program curator at QLO
Saurav Vaishnav | Regen Resident at QLO
Madhuri Sharma | Architect
