The Waste Land

But the food was only a part of Khanna’s story. Around the hub were installed three giant trash bins with the symbolic words “Use Me”. As one looked down the bin,one saw the other side of consumption— men and women sorting the trash,from paper plates to plastic bottles,before sending them for disposal. “It forces you to think of the process that begins once the garbage is tossed out — about the people who sort the waste and dispose of them,and earn their livelihood,” says Manish Kansara,the sculptor who has created the installations. The garbage sorters,he adds,are the other end of the consumption chain.

Till today,a different performance will take place at the National School of Drama to highlight the same issue,about rampant consumption and waste. A waterfall made of plastic bottles draws attention to the Yamuna,while on Saturday,a recreated garbage site had actors studiously sorting through waste for an hour. “I deliberately kept the action minimal and repetitive. The actor either eats constantly for an hour,or walks slowly through a waterfall or sorts through garbage. This makes for a greater impact,” explains Khanna,an NSD graduate from 1993. Today,the audience can watch real NDMC workers go about their work of cleaning the garbage heaps.

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