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A Gardener and a Gentleman: Rao Bahadur HC Javaraya
Book Discussion and Film Screening
Speakers
This programme features a screening of a documentary film and a discussion of a biographical book on the illustrious life and career of Rao Bahadur HC Javaraya (1889-1946), the first Indian Superintendent of Lalbagh Botanical Garden and the first Indian Director of Horticulture in the princely state of Mysore. The book, titled A Gardener and a Gentleman by noted historian Meera Iyer, and the film, by Ganesh Shankar Raj, outline Javaraya’s vital and lasting contributions to the city of Bangalore, to the erstwhile state of Mysore, and indeed, to the country. Based on archival documents, photographs and testimonials from prominent names in the field, the book and film trace the life and work of one of the first Indian Kewgardeners and one of India’s most eminent horticulturists. A ceaseless and passionate promoter of fruit cultivation, he was a pioneer particularly in apple cultivation. In a career bookended by the two world wars, he transformed the face of Lalbagh and nurtured the Garden City.
The programme will begin with a screening of the film followed by a discussion of the book by a distinguished panel of speakers and the author.
Presented by the family of HC Javaraya
Speakers
Meera Iyer
Meera Iyer is a writer, independent researcher and the Convenor of the Bengaluru Chapter of Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). She is the author of a book on Bengaluru’s history and heritage titled Discovering Bengaluru: History. Neighbourhoods. Walks (Oct 2019), and the editor of Eleven Stops to the Present, an anthology of children’s historical fiction set in Bengaluru (Dec 2020). Her other recent writing includes an essay on Hoysala temples in the book Where the Gods Dwell: Thirteen Temples and their (hi)stories (Nov 2021); and several hundred articles on history, heritage and culture in many publications, including Seminar, The Hindu, Indian Express, Deccan Herald, Mint, HIMAL and others. Meera has a PhD in Forest Ecology from Michigan State University. She loves forests, potsherds, chocolate and coffee.
Ganesh Shankar Raj
Ganesh Shankar Raj is a filmmaker and founder of Inner Eye World Films, a film production house. He is also the founder of MINDIA, a digital online platform that presents unknown, untold, unique, and positive stories of India and Indians in a format for the global audience. He is also associated with the National Geographic Channel in India as a producer and director.
Chiranjiv Singh
Chiranjiv Singh is a former Ambassador of India to UNESCO in Paris. An Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1969 batch, he retired in 2005 as the Development Commissioner of Karnataka and Additional Chief Secretary to the Government of Karnataka. After his retirement he has been associated with numerous non-governmental organisations working in the fields of rural development, environment and culture. He was awarded the Rajyotsava Award in 2005 by the Government of Karnataka for his achievements.
Suresh Jayaram
Suresh Jayaram is an artist, art historian, arts administrator, and curator from Bangalore. He is the Founder and Director of Visual Art Collective / 1 Shanthiroad Studio, an international artist’s residency and alternative art space in Bangalore.
He is currently involved in art practice, urban mapping, archiving, curation, and arts education. His keen interest in environmental and urban developmental issues influences his work.
He has worked on the horticultural history of Mysore state and Bangalore, edited a book on GH Krumbiegel, Whatever he touched, he adorned (2010), and authored Bangalore’s Lalbagh: A Chronicle of the Garden and the City in 2021. Currently, he is working on a book on Cubbon Park.
Ullas Karanth
Ullas Karanth was born in 1948, in the wilderness landscape of Malenad. His interest in nature was nurtured by his father, the writer Shivarama Karanth. Following his passion, he obtained his Master’s degree from the University of Florida, USA in 1988 and Doctorate from Mangalore University, India in 1993. Recruited to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), by George Schaller, he led the WCS India Program for the next 30 years.
He is now the Director of the Centre for Wildlife Studies that he founded in 1984. Dr. Karanth is an Adjunct Professor at the Universities of Florida and Minnesota as well as the National Centre for Biological Sciences-TIFR, India. His expertise covers large carnivore ecology, modelling animal populations as well as conservation policy. He was elected a Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences (2008). His work has been featured in global media, including the New York Times, Time Magazine, Scientific American, New Scientist, National Geographic, BBC, CNN, Discovery and Animal Planet.
