By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 1 Sep: The Doon School hosted the closing ceremony of ‘The Fearless Baagh Exhibition’ on 27 August.
The Chief Guest on the occasion was IFS officer SS Rasaily, a senior forester and ex-Director, Rajaji Tiger Reserve. Other dignitaries present included Headmaster Dr Jagpreet Singh, senior researcher Dr Ayaan Sadhu, as well as principals and teachers from other schools. ‘The Fearless Baagh’ exhibition is Uttarakhand’s first touring exhibition which is set to travel across India over the coming months to raise awareness about tiger conservation. Comprising photographs, infographics and camera traps, the exhibition was a testament to the majestic nature of a tiger, and the need to protect them.
At the closing, Svanik Garg opened with a statement, after which Ruhaan Goel, boy-in-charge of Doon’s Science Society – NEST, gave a talk on the exhibition and the involvement of society in the programme. The Headmaster stated his eagerness to hold more such programmes in the future.
This was followed by a film on counting tigers and a talk on wildlife careers, which opened the audience’s perspective on a variety of opportunities.
Chief Guest Rasaily, in his address, brought humour, anecdotes and key learnings to help the audience understand the role everything in existence plays. The idea behind the concluded exhibition was to explore the glory of a Tiger, in order to prompt viewers to protect it as a species. The exhibition helped provide a perspective on a serious problem often overlooked. This exhibition painted a picture of a tiger’s life in exquisite detail and quality. Furthermore, it highlighted growing problems with tiger populations in and around south Asia. Given that three countries are now devoid of tigers altogether and others are slowly declining, India’s success in tiger conservation is both appreciable and an exemplar for the countries around it. While the situation is much better than in the last decade; India must maintain its guard, and persist with prevention measures as the tiger population still stands at the threshold of vulnerability. There is so much India has done to conserve the ‘fearless baagh’, yet a substantial chunk of the population doesn’t know about these efforts. Deputy Headmaster Kamal Ahuja, Dean of Academics Rajesh Majumdar and HOD, Sciences, Anand Mandhian, handed over the exhibition baton to Dr Dushyant of Himalayan University, marking. Avi Sahni, the President of NEST, proposed the vote of thanks.
