The city’s environmentally-conscious can look forward to a unique fest next week. The RoundGlass Samsara Festival, initiated, organised and hosted by Grammy-Award-winning music composer and Bengalurean, Ricky Kej — who identifies himself as a composer and a conservationist. “In the past three years, my music has been focused towards environmental awareness. Last year and this year, I performed at the United Nations and it was such an inspiring moment. I got an opportunity to share my philosophy at the UN headquarters as opposed to a star hotel, and it was a special experience,” says the passionate musician.
The festival is a conscious attempt at reaching out to people through an art exhibition, a photography competition, a film festival to create awareness about conservation. “There is a famous saying that at the end of the day, humans will only protect what they love. I believe positive reinforcement has a more profound impact. Photography competitions help propagate the importance of bio diversity. There will be an award for the best photograph or film, as awards are a symbol of gratification and motivation for the participants, who via their images or visuals are conveying an important message to society at large,” says Ricky, who has deliberately not opted for an event organiser, for the festival which takes place from October 2 to October 8 at UB City. The event which is open to all Bengalureans for free has a special treat in store for music fans. There will be a historic concert with over 300 artistes, including eight Grammy-Award winners on the steps of the Vidhana Soudha.
“I did not opt for any organisers as I wanted to personally invite the dignitaries. I started reaching out to people in April to confirm their presence,” confesses Ricky, who was inspired by PM Modi to venture into conservation-related music. “In 2015, after I won the Grammy, my wife Varsha and I were invited for a personal meeting with Mr Narendra Modi. What was meant to be a brief 10 minute photo opp turned into an hour-long meeting, where the PM urged me to combine my love for music and conservation and dedicate my life towards my passions. I was very inspired by him,” he recollects. And that is how Shanti Samsara (world music for environmental consciousness) was conceptualised. Ricky invited 500 musicians from over 40 countries to be a part of this brilliant album, which saw contributions from Amitabh Bachchan to Hariharan and even international singers. “I personally handed over the album to Mr Modi. He liked it so much that he decided to launch it at the Climate Change conference in Paris recently.. I will be performing some of these songs. The artistes who performed for this album will also be coming down for the festival,” he adds.
Ricky strongly believes that India will play a pivotal role in climate change. “India is a developing nation, one third of its people do not have electricity, so how are we going to provide the same? We could opt for 100 cold power plants and damage the world or give them renewable or solar energy. India will play a key role in shaping up the planet,” believes Ricky. That is why he has invited the president, of Kiribati, Anote Tong, which has sadly been identified as the first country to go under water because of climate change. “It is pretty much irreversible in 30 years. And in the next 80 years, the tallest point in any one of the islands will be under water. That is why I wanted Mr Tong to come down to Bengaluru and talk about how climate change is going to impact his country. Countries are no longer isolated, the planet will survive, we are not protecting our planet but ourselves from extinction,” he says. So how can we, the citizens of Bengaluru help out? “By being active participants, people can show their support for this cause. The entry is free and if people turn up, that will be the best contribution from their end. I choose Bengaluru because it is my city and I really want to begin this cause here. I will take this festival to another city later on,” he concludes.
