JOIN US'We expect people to change without bringing a change in ourselves. The change need not be big but we need to break the barriers that have been built within ourselves so that a small change will lead to new discoveries," said T M Krishna, Carnatic classical musician.
At an event organised by Azim Premji University, Krishna spoke about 'Liberating Urban Commons' at Alliance Francaise de Bangalore on Saturday.
"Schools should not only show the beautiful parts of the city but also places where waste is being segregated and how people live in slums. One will be able to understand a situation only when they experience it," he said.
Krishna recollected an incident in Chennai. "We visited a waste segregation unit at Ennore in Chennai. A group of people were living near it while children used to play around in schools. A temple was also built at the place. The condition of the place was shocking and these are the areas where 'Peramboke' (songs on public places) took birth. We have made an attempt to sing using words used by a layman in a classical way."
Krishna also shared the meaning of one such song: "Public spaces are neither mine nor yours. They belong to the community and it is our duty to protect them. The floods happened and it is gone. But what did we learn from them? We have still not stopped constructing on water resources. The rivers do not flow through a city, instead, a city should be built around a river…"
Prof Harini Nagendra, professor, Azim Premji University said, "There were a lot of lakes during the times of Hoysalas in the city. Singasandra, Hongasandra, Mallasandra, Sulikunte, Kalkere, Tavarekere and so on. Not only kings, people too were interested in developing lakes and save the environment."
She also said lakes and wells gradually started vanishing due to the construction boom.