Monsoon Regatta Waterscapes 2012

Hyderabad… 23 June 2012: The second edition of Monsoon Regatta Waterscapes, an exhibition of paintings is kicked off here at Hyderabad. The exhibition this year features works of five renowned contemporary Indian artists on display and sale to draw awareness to the precious theme of Water. The artists whose works will on display at the exhibition are Thota Tharrani, JMS Mani, S Jayaraj, Alphonso Arul Doss and Sowmya Das Gupta. Curated by Kaali Sudheer, Monsoon Regatta Waterscapes was conceived to draw awareness to the deteriorating quality of our lovely water bodies. This year additionally, a fresh local Hyderabadi face, Dr. Neeraj Raj, an entrepreneur and water color artist will also exhibit his works. Organised by Yacht Club of Hyderabad, the exhibition will be held from 24th June 2012 to 8th July at the Muse Art Gallery, Marriott Hotel. Mr. Neerabh Kumar Prasad, IAS, Metropolitan Commissioner, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) and Ms. Katherine Dhanani, US Consul General, US Consulate Hyderabad graced the preview today.

HMDA (Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority) has put up a special section expressing their strategic implementation of diversions and sewage treatment plants to cleanse the Hussain Sagar lake providing hope to the common citizen.

Waterscapes in the brain child of Suheim Sheikh, a graduate from IIT Madras, an entrepreneur turned philanthropist who has taken full time to his passion of Sailing. Under the banner of the Yacht Club of Hyderabad, Suheim trains underprivileged children to sail and in the process realized that the water they sail on at Hussain Sagar is in a state of dystrophy and neglect.

Monsoon Regatta Waterscapes 2012 is organized by Suheim Sheikh of Yacht Club of Hyderabad in collaboration with Arghyam, a Bangalore based charitable foundation set up with a personal endowment from Ms. Rohini Nilekani that does focused work on Water and sanitation. The Arghyam Vision is ‘Safe, Sustainable Water for All’. The Art exhibition and sale hosted by Marriott Hotel is organized in aid of the Sailing Academy, Hyderabad to give the underprivileged children an equal opportunity to learn the sport of Sailing. The proceeds will help underprivileged children achieve a sense of dignity and livelihood through the sport of Sailing, informs Mr. Suheim.

In a message to Waterscapes, Rohini Nilekani congratulated the organizers for laying emphasis on the importance of Safe Water. She further added that this exhibition envisages focusing people’s attention on the importance of safe water and that it is never too late to change attitudes and perceptions, and start protecting and preserving this precious resource.

Lamenting on the condition of the lake Mr. Suheim informed that the Hussain Sagar Lake had become impossible to sail in, given the level of surface debris and the incredible thickness of the water. While sailing it felt like a chocolatey gooeymess with each boat leaving a thick wake behind it and of course the ubiquitous smell. It is thanks to the HMDA and its leaders that the Hussain Sagar has begun its journey towards becoming the jewel of Hyderabad. Over the last three years the government has promoted the cause with varying yet steady improvement. “The more we use the lake for non polluting purposes the more we shall all be compelled to keep it clean”, he added.

Monsoon Regatta Waterscapes 2012 is supported by Arghyam, Deloitte, Transworld Group and LiquidHub. The exhibition will be open from 11 AM to 5 PM daily from 24th June will conclude on
8th July 2012.

For further information, media may please contact:
Solus Media, D. Ramchandram – 9848042020

About Arghyam
Arghyam, meaning ‘Offering’ in Sanskrit is an Indian public charitable foundation set up with an endowment from Rohini Nilekani, working in the water and sanitation sector since 2005. The Arghyam Vision is ‘Safe, Sustainable Water for All’.

As a funding agency, Arghyam works primarily through partnerships – with Government, NGOs and various types of institutions – for impact and scale. The emphasis of all of Arghyam’s work is on equity and sustainability. Addressing the issues of the poor and the vulnerable in accessing water for their basic daily needs is a priority for Arghyam. Specifically, Arghyam projects strive to understand and address issues of quantity, quality and access to domestic water and improved sanitation practices in communities across the country.

A note from Deloitte
Deloitte supports the effort of The Yacht Club of Hyderabad to highlight the way in which we often tend to ignore and neglect our water resources.

A note from Transworld
“It gives Transworld great pleasure to associate with the Monson Regatta and all the events connected with it. The obvious connection is that we are a shipping company and this being a water-based event the fit could not have been any better. Sailing as a sport has long been considered an elitist sport in India and has therefore not gotten the recognition it deserves. However, with the advent of the Monson Regatta and with the efforts put in by The Yacht Club of Hyderabad, it brings us to the not so obvious fit to the event. Not only do they promote the sport but also make it more accessible for all tiers’ of society is what made us agree to sponsor the event almost immediately. Kudos to everyone associated with the event and may the Monsoon Regatta 2012 be a successful event.
--- Ritesh Ramakrishnan. Director, Transworld Group

A note from Marriott Hotel, OUR HOSTS
The Marriott is proud to host Waterscapes for the 2nd year in succession. Being on the banks of the Hussain Sagar we are constantly reminded of the sad deterioration of the water here. We salute the idea of using Art as a forum to raise awareness about the importance of keeping our water resources from further decimation.

It is rare to have such a wonderful lake in the middle of the city and I urge the citizens and government to do our very best in improving the quality of the water and level of pollution.
--- Ramesh Jackson, General Manager, Marriott and Courtyard Hyderabad.

A note from LiquidHub
LiquidHub is a global technology consultancy focused on fueling business transformation for their clients in the healthcare, life sciences, financial services, insurance, commercial and the public sector. With 1,000 associates in both the USA and Hyderabad, India, LiquidHub is recognized as one of the fastest growing IT Services businesses in the U.S. The rapidly growing global delivery centre at Hyderabad in addition to being a significant and pivotal component of the delivery capabilities of the company also actively encourages it's associates to participate in socially responsible initiatives like the Monsoon Regatta. The company has deeply engaged with this event as a solidarity partner consistently over the past two years.
--- Ganesh Parameswaran, Executive Director, LiquidHub, India

Contact Numbers:
Mr. Kaali Sudheer, Curator, Muse Art Gallery: 9396444424; Ms. Nivedita Mani, Arghyam, Bangalore (Sponsors of Artists) - to connect with the artists: +91 9243492951; Arohi Tambe, Marriott Hotel: 9177555064