PUDUCHERRY: What is the similarity between Ben Stiller from the 2006 film Night at the Museum and M Bubesh Guptha, the founder and director of Universal Eco Foundation? That both have understood the need for humans to be closer to nature and history for the sake of the upcoming generations.
The local Ben Stiller, Guptha’s foundation runs the wildlife art gallery at the Arts and Crafts Village in Murungapakkam, Puducherry, where visitors are greeted with the life-sized statues of animals. The sculpted tiger’s realism, for instance, catches most people off guard. Then there are more - bears, deer, monkeys, and birds.
“Typically, visitors only get to observe animals and birds up close in sanctuaries, safari parks, and cages at zoos. While viewing it from a distance, a person might not recognise its importance, but with a life-size sculpture they can get closer and notice the beauty and uniqueness of these animals, which will pique their interest further in learning more about them,” Bubesh tells TNIE. The wildlife gallery at the Village witnesses a footfall of one lakh visitors.
A researcher, artist, photographer, teacher, and ecological activist, Guptha’s inclination toward ecology was spurred during his undergraduate days pursuing botany. “I did my postgraduate in wildlife, and it increased my interest in ecology,” he adds. Born to a family of artists and art teachers, Guptha says, his familiarity with art was concretised in childhood. Acquaintance with wildlife came with his profession as a wildlife biologist.
Guptha’s work took him to Pitchandikulam Bioresource Centre at Auroville, Seshachalam Wildlife Management Circle in Tirupati, the Biodiversity Research Centre in Srisailam, and the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun, to name a few.
“At Pitchandikulam, Eric Ramanujam, one of my gurus, taught me how one could bring together art and ecology,” he recalls. That’s how the foundation was born in 2017 with a team of artists making life-size sculptures of animals and birds. Some of their works have already been installed in parts of Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Jharkhand.
“We can even include digital displays of extinct birds and animals with information about each particular species. This will help create more awareness among the present and coming generations to safeguard the birds and animals that we have with us now,” he says.
Guptha’s foundation along with the Forest Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu is also working to safeguard the Kazhuveli Wetland ecosystem. Frames of birds visiting the wetland feature on the walls of the art gallery. They have also been releasing monthly calendars for the past two years featuring photographs of the birds, while a book on the subject is due to be released soon.
Guptha has organised nearly 400 nature camps in various bird sanctuaries including Pulicat, Nelpattu, Seshachalam, Nallamala, Kazhuveli, and Ossudu. He has conducted awareness programs for students in schools and colleges, and for local communities near forests and sanctuaries. Furthermore, he has conducted training programs for forest department officials and staff.
Guptha has received the Biodiversity Award from the government of Andhra Pradesh and the Best Presentation Award in the third and fourth Indian Biodiversity Congress held in Chennai and Puducherry, respectively. He has also been appreciated for his research work. In addition to this, he has published six books, including Wetlands and Wetland Birds in Tamil Nadu, and is working as a reviewer and editor for various ecology-based journals.
Now, in a bid to further bridge the gap between Stiller’s character from the film and himself, Guptha aims at creating the country’s first wildlife sculpture zoo for a more immersive experience.