V-C proposes pavitra vanam at HCU

HYDERABAD: The University of Hyderabad may soon add to its lush green campus, a modern-day sacred grove or ‘pavitra vanam’, a dream project of its vice-chancellor Professor Ramakrishna Ramaswamy.“Ancients realized that over-harvesting will lead to extinction.The sacred groves form repositories for protecting plant and animal species and at the University of Hyderabad, we are looking at creating a conservation spot for preserving bio-diversity,” said the vice-chancellor.Linking chaos theory, extinction and the importance of conserving natural resources, Ramakrishna Ramaswamy stressed the importance of sensitizing people to protecting nature. “The story of Easter Islands is a reminder of a civilization that destroyed itself in the process of over-harvesting its trees. Extinction is a certainty for all species, including the human race, but it is important to maintain a balance,” he pointed out.He was delivering the inaugural address of a two-day seminar on ‘Ancient Indian sciences and their relevance to modern society, with special reference to green concepts’ at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) here on Thursday.Providing a different take on the idea of ‘ancient practices’, the vicechancellor warned against “blindly glorifying ancient sciences.” “Ayurveda is a quasi-science which needs more work to be done.It is unfair to say all that is modern and technologically advanced is inferior to all that is ancient. However, preserving nature is a practice that should be gleaned from ancient practices,” Ramakrishna Ramaswamy felt.The seminar organized by Earth System Sciences Awareness and Research Association (ESWARA) aims to project ancient practices which encourage sustainable development. Director of NGRI Dr Y.J Bhaskar Rao presided over the inaugural function.