Aug 08 2025 to Aug 08 2025 7 p.m.

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Where

Courtyard Koota

Ground floor, Good Earth Tarana Good Earth Malhar, near Rajarajeswari medical college Kambipura, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560074

Event Description

About the talk:

Madhuri Mandava will be in conversation with Kadambari Komandur, Namrata Narendra and Megha Kashyap about their book “Whose River Is It Anyway?”

About the book:

Whose River Is It Anyway? is a collaborative graphic collection of stories that reimagines an urban river through the stories and lived experiences of the communities that engage with her. The book traces the Vrishabhavathi river’s journey through Bengaluru, exploring how her presence shapes and is shaped by the city’s ecosystems, communities, and infrastructure.

Through stories and memories of people who live with the river, the book presents a new way to see rivers—not as human-controlled entities, but as beings with agency who sustain life, shape landscapes, and inspire change. It challenges the traditional narrative of ownership and control, urging readers to consider coexistence with the river and all that depends on her.

The book is divided into four main stories, each exploring different facets of the river’s journey—from its upstream origins to its confluence with Kaveri. Through graphic illustrations and personal accounts, Whose River Is It Anyway? offers an empathetic exploration of the rivers we take for granted, questioning how we relate to, respect, and share our water resources.

About the authors:

Kadambari Komandur is an information designer from NID Bangalore with an interest in landscapes and ecology and training in the study of built landscapes. She is a UX designer by day and a researcher, data visualizer and explorer otherwise. She is currently engaged in projects examining the relationships between communities and urban landscapes. With a belief in using design as a tool for critical thinking and social justice, she imbibes this thought process in her work.

Megha Kashyap 

Megha is a designer from Bengaluru, with an expertise in research, illustration and UX design. After graduating from Srishti Institute of Design, Megha spent a year working in urban sustainability with various organisations such as NCF and IIHS. Her work explores the connections between people, nature, and cities, bringing attention to critical environmental and social issues. Her interest in this field comes from her exposure to ecology and urban upbringing. She has also published her work outside in the form of exhibits on Coimbatore Grasslands as well as a research presentation at IIT, Gandhinagar.

About the interlocutor:

Madhuri Mandava is an Electronics and Communications Engineer with an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University. Her journey toward sustainable living began after reading Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic, which sparked her ongoing efforts to reduce consumption and live more consciously, eventually leading her to focus on river conservation.  She co-founded Paani.Earth as a living platform designed to provide data and insights to support river conservation. While she acknowledges that the cleanup of our rivers may extend beyond her lifetime, she believes that Paani.Earth will enable future generations to experience ‘living’ rivers once again..

She is grateful to apply her engineering skills to river conservation, working full-time with Paani.Earth while juggling her time between family and other responsibilities.

*Tickets are mandatory for all.