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“Dialogue with Nature”, an exhibition of photographs by Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, President of Soka Gakkai International, was held from April 11-25, 2004 at the P.L. deshpande Maharashtra Kala Academy, Ravindra Natya Mandir, Prabhadevi, Mumbai. It consisted of 105 photographs, of which 95 were on display.
The exhibition was organised by Bharat Soka Gakkai, an affiliate of Soka Gakkai International, which has members in 187 countries throughout the world. Dr.Akash K. Ouchi, representative in India of Soka Gakkai International and Naveena Reddi, Director General of Bharat Soka Gakkai gave a backgrounder on Dr. Ikeda’s photography before the inauguration. Renowned professional photographer Gautam Rajyadhaksha was also present as an invitee for the inauguration.
The exhibition debuted in Japan in 1982 and the first international showing was held in 1988 in Paris, France.
Since then, it ha toured 71 cities in 32 countries, attracting more than 7,5 million viewers. It was also held in November 2003 at India Habitat Centre,New Delhi, where it drew over 24,000 viewers.
The uniqueness of Dr. Ikeda’s photography is that he composes the photographs without looking through the viewfinder. As he says, “I use my heart to photograph and………

SEEDS OF CHANGE: M.S.Swaminathan, Chairman, MSSRF, flanked by Naveena Reddy, Director-General, Bharat Soka Gakkai (first from left), M.S. Ananth (third from left), Director, IIT-Madras and Vimala Menon (right) Deputy Director-General, at an exhibitio n organised by Bharat Soka Gakkai at IIT on Saturday. — Photo: Shaju John

CHENNAI: Education is too much of a responsibility to be left to educationists, according to IIT director M.S. Ananth. Speaking at the inauguration of an exhibition showcasing endeavours to help protect the Earth, Dr. Ananth highlighted the need for society to be actively involved in the building of character. While the tools of survival for a professional were self-confidence, knowledge of jargon and common sense, the tools of survival of a civilisation were different.

Importance of tools

He listed the tools as knowledge, values, objectivity, aesthetics and a sense of history. He said educational institutions and government support were important to teach these tools to students.

Organised by Bharat Soka Gakkai, the exhibition titled “Seeds of change: The Earth charter and human potential,” is being held at ICSR Building, IIT, till June 26.

Lauding the exhibition, agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan recalled the contribution of Daisaku Ikeda, president of Soka Gakkai International, and the importance of peace and harmony in taking care of nature. He cited an incident in the Andamans when his team of scientists visited the islands.

When a member of an non-governmental organisation asked the tribals living there how much money they needed for an orphanage, the tribals merely said, “We have no orphans here. They are all our children.”

Dr. Swaminathan highlighted the need to be “one among ourselves and Nature.”

A short documentary film titled “A quiet revolution” was screened on the occasion with three success stories of sustainable development from India, Kenya and Slovakia. The film told the story of Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai who created a tree nursery in her backyard and encouraged other women to do the same.

Now over 20 million trees have been planted in the area.

This exhibition was initially created by Soka Gakkai and the Earth Charter Initiative for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.