The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Nothing fishy about this meet

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Monday, Jul 06, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Nothing fishy about this meet

Staff Reporter

Fans of fins find common knowledge pool, expert from Japan shares experiences

Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

Smooth operator: Aquascapist Takashi Amano during a demonstration at ‘Aquatika 2009’ in Bangalore on Sunday. —

BANGALORE: More than 1,000 delegates from all over the country gathered on Sunday at the ‘Aquatika 2009’, the convention organised by the Indian Aquarium Hobbyists (IAH) to discuss the art and science of aquascaping, a craft that entails designing and creating a landscape by arranging aquatic plants, rocks, stones and cave work in an aesthetic manner within an aquarium.

Chief guest at the convention Takashi Amano from Japan, a world-renowned nature photographer and aquascapist, gave a live demonstration of the art of aquascaping to the delegates by designing a fresh aquascape in the aquarium tank in 45 minutes.

Briefing the press, Mr. Amano said he was pleasantly surprised by the enthusiastic reception in India and that he was sure that aquascaping would soon become a popular hobby here.

“Aquascaping is both a science as well as an art, and now people are realising its artistic potential . A lot of my work is influenced by the Japanese garden concepts like Iwagumi — the art of arranging stones — Zen rock arrangements, and Wabi Sabi, the Japanese aesthetic that “beauty is imperfect and incomplete”.

An aqascapist designs and creates a landscape within an aquarium and also carefully selects the fish and plant life to create a biosphere as in nature. In 1982, Mr. Amano started Aqua Amino Design, a company that sells aquarium components throughout the world.

Talking about his role as a nature photographer, he said that he soon planned to shoot in some of India’s rainforests.

There was also an Iwagumi competition with six finalists from all over India competing for the first prize of Rs.75,000, which was won by Gautam Jaiswal, a builder from Kolkata. Said the beaming winner: “It is a fun hobby I have been having since the age of six. One learns a great deal about conserving nature from it. With all the equipment and support now easily available in India, it is no more of a niche hobby.”

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