Turn over a new leaf

An installation in Delhi invites visitors to walk through a spiral structure crowned by living plants with a 9-tonne rock at its heart, inspired by sacred groves. Inside, two galleries will host sessions on ecology and leadership, architecture, slow living and plenty more

- Snehil Sinha

t looks like a spiral land formation rising out of the lawns of Delhi's Sunder Nursery.

The Aranyani Pavilion is made primarily from upcycled Lantana camara stems (notorious for invading and choking native landscapes), turning ecological debris into an architectural statement.

‘A biodegradable bamboo skeleton holds it up. It is crowned by a living canopy of jasmine, neem and tulsi plants.

At its heart, a nine-tonne rock that was dredged up as waste during a mining operation in Rajasthan sits in a still, shallow pool, the water reflecting the sky above.

The spiral walls that lead visitors inward form a rib-like cage that seems to breathe in the damp air.

The Aranyani Pavilion is the centrepiece of a 10-day event curated by conservationist and artist Tara Lal (left below), from February 4 to 13.

“It is inspired by the idea of sacred groves, which, around most cities, may eventually be the only forest patches that are truly preserved, safeguarded by local communities for generations,” says Lal, founder of the ecological restoration initiative Aranyani (named for the Hindu goddess of forests and wild animals), which has worked with local communities on rewilding and groundwater recharge projects in Meghalaya, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.