Our guest for the evening was Ms. Ketaki Ghate, who interacted with SI members for more than two hours on the subject of Forests!

Mr. Amol Umbarje, welcomed all the guests and participants. Ms Ketaki Ghate presented her talk on the subject of “Devrai” – The Sacred Groves of Maharashtra. She spoke about overall efforts of tribal communities to conserve these hundreds of old rich forest patches, which are essential for our ecosystem. Ketaki also presented their own work in this area and enriched the participants with so many anecdotes about their interaction with tribals and villagers working for the Sacred Groves.

The evening was full of images of these beautiful and rich forests which form an important natural resource of our Mother Earth. Ketaki also implored all the participants to become stakeholders in conserving Forests, by just start loving one tree in their respective neighborhoods. She asked everyone to start observing its foliage, its changes, the birds that inhabit it and generally start mindfully acknowledging trees around us. She believes that even a simple act like this, can go a long way in conserving forests in India.Ar. Anagha Paranjape- Purohit concluded the event with a concluding note and thanked Ketaki Ghate, guest and participants for being a part of the event.