Theatre festival to go paper-free in Bangalore

BANGALORE: Going eco-friendly seems to have become the latest trend and mantra in the city. Trees huggers and dirt worshipers have never been as popular as now. Corporate giants and individuals collaborate on different levels to organise events that spread awareness and impart ‘nature-education’.In a bid to do their bit in being eco-friendly, Indianstage, an art and culture portal is organising an eco fest, ‘Be Green at Home’. The first of it’s kind, the theatre festival is a paper-free festival.“The meaning of paper-free is that the event will not have any tickets. Instead, we will be giving the audience who comes for the plays, a clay tablet,” informs Sajesh Nair, co-founder of Indianstage.Seeds of special flowering plants have been embedded in the tablets. Butterflies are drawn to this species of plant due to the high nectar content in its flowers. “Butterflies indicate the health of the environment. The current population of these insects in the city speaks a lot about the state our environment is in,” say Dr Harish, AGM,  Bio Diversity Conservation India, the title sponsor of the event.According to Harish, certain studies have shown that these plants can absorb up to 40 kilograms of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in a year. “These plants help in cleansing  and detoxing the micro environment,” he adds.Apart from the use of clay tablets, the event will see a number of eco-friendly activities.“This time we have decided to organise a theme event that is in-sync with our tittle sponsors. Our aim is to encourage people to adopt eco-friendly ways and imbibe it in their day to day life. For example, every person who attends the fest will be given a cloth bag. They will be educated about the advantages of using such bags,” reveals Nair.Car pooling is another concept that will be encouraged during the fest and the biggest group will win a free tune-up for their car. The audience will be exposed to pottery making and kitchen composting. They are also introducing a concept called Eco Walls. “Trees can be grown on an Eco Wall which will help in better oxygen circulation in a house,” informs Harish.