Adyasha Priyadarshini
Adyasha is an architect, artist, and researcher who is passionate about preserving the rich cultural traditions of India. Her work focuses on the intricate web of relationships between humans, animals, and the natural world, with a goal to ensure that cultural tales continue to have relevance for generations to come by combining traditional methods with contemporary design.
The Pattachitra historic village in Puri, Odisha, and Yelahanka, Bengaluru are two places where she has documented methods and engaged alongside others in fostering cultural preservation and inventiveness. The shifting dynamic between mankind and nature is an important theme in my photography and narrative works, which explore the ways in which the creatures and the natural environment impact our perceptions of self. In the future, she hopes to keep the harmony and make sure that original traditions and old ways of doing things will be around to encourage the next generations by exploring how nature and wildlife shape cultural identity, using photography and documentation to capture the evolving relationship between humans and nature.
Farai Divan Patel
Farai is an ecologist who has been fascinated by how people perceive, interact and manage natural spaces. He has previously worked in Lakshadweep and along the Konkan coast, researching coral reefs, and is currently working with WCS-India to understand how people have traditionally used and perceived the highly threatened laterite plateau ecosystems across Goa. Farai is motivated by a desire to create equitable and just conservation programmes that balance the needs of both the natural world and the people dependent on it.
Mohammed Hisham K
Hisham is interested in understanding how people view fellow animals around them and how animals perceive fellow humans. Before joining WCS-India, he worked on the unique relationships between urban communities and the animals around them, particularly Black Kites in Old Delhi and their interactions with the Muslim community.