7th CMS VATAVARAN Environment and Wildlife Film Festival and Forum 2014

Inspire 2013 - is an annual science and technology program of Miranda House, University of Delhi. This year, CMS VATAVARAN film session titled 'Towards a Sustainable Future' was also organized as part of this program on December 15, 2013. Miranda college students along with students from different schools like Ryan International School, Delhi Public School, MCL Saraswati Bal Mandir School participated enthusiastically in this programme. This special program at Miranda House is part of the 10 year celebrations organized across various schools and colleges by CMS VATAVARAN.

The session began with a brief speech addressed by the Miranda House principal, Dr. Pratibha Jolly, which was followed by an introduction to CMS VATAVARAN 2014 to be held at OGNCA lawns from Jan 30 to Feb 3, 2014. The first film to be screened was 'Chasing Waters', directed by acclaimed National Geographic photographer, Pete McBride. This film follows the Colorado River, which supports almost 30 million people across 7 states in the USA. Today, this resource is fast depleting. This film won the Embassy of Netherlands 'Water for All' Award at the 6th CMS VATAVARAN held in 2011.

The second film screened was 'The Darwin Puzzle'. This film is directed by freelance film maker Radhika Chandrashekhar and TV18 news personality, Arjun Bhagat. This film is based on the life of Charles Darwin who at the age of 22, sets out on a sail boat and makes some of the most amazing discoveries in the history of mankind. He puts forward such theories which not only questioned religious beliefs but also altered the face of humanity for all time. This film has been nominated under the Biodiversity section for 7th CMS VATAVARAN 2014.

Post the screenings, there was an interactive session with Dr. Yamini Varma, who is a researcher with the CMS Environment team and also has a PhD. Degree in Environmental Science (spl. Water & Wetlands). The students from the different schools had asked a lot of questions and also showed a lot of interest and enthusiasm in the festival.

The session ended with the principal, Dr. Pratibha Jolly, giving a vote of thanks. She appreciated the festival and its efforts towards making the society aware of preserving their environment and also what can the general public do towards saving nature.