eBook | Giving ‘voice’ to Adivasi communities in India and inspiring projects in other states: Bhasha Research and Publication Centre – Gujarat

Adivasi Stories from Gujarat >>
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Bhasha Research and Publication Centre was founded in 1996 with the purpose of giving ‘voice’ to Adivasi communities in India. The Adivasi Academy is founded by Bhasha at Tejgadh in Chhotaudepur district of Gujarat as an institute to combine the functions of the national academies, museums and literary bodies in the country, with respect to Adivasi culture, arts and literature. Over the years, the Adivasi communities with whom Bhasha has been actively involved, have voiced themselves through various spaces and mediums as arts, theatre, publishing, journalism and cultural activism.
Bhasha has an extensive collection of audio-visual documentation being presented here in form of a free online resource created under the Scheme of Center of Excellence, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, for the study of Adivasis of India.

Source: Welcome to Bhasha Research Archival Website
Address: https://www.bhashaarchival.org/
Date Visited: 30 March 2020

Artists, DJs in cities latching on to tribal songs
Jay Pachchigar, Times of India, 13 October 2017 | To read the full article, click here >>
[…] The centre made 1,000 CDs of the audio songs and distributed them for free among the truck drivers, local shops, bus stands and other places. But, these songs have also been picked up by mainstream artists due to which they are now being heard in urban areas as well.
“The communities have songs for all occasions, festivals and seasons and these were passed on orally. We documented these songs so that it can reach a larger society. This has started happening since past few years,” said Vikesh Rathwa, museum assistant of BHASHA at Tejgadh in Chhota Udepur.
Not only the mainstream artists, but even the DJs, who play in the city during weddings and festival processions, helped in taking the songs to a larger audience,” he added. “The style of music was changed by them but the lyrics are same which is more important as these are sung in different tribal dialects,” said Rathwa. The folk songs used to be played during Navratri in the tribal regions, but these are now also being played at big venues in big cities like Vadodara, Surat and Ahmedabad.
The centre had initiated the project under the Central for Excellence scheme of Union ministry of tribal affairs. “Artists from Gamit, Rathwa, Chaudhary and other tribal communities of Panchmahal and Chhota Udepur had come together and recorded the songs,” Rathwa said. After the project in Gujarat became successful, the centre undertook a similar project in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Source: Artists, DJs in cities latching on to tribal songs | Vadodara News – Times of India
Address: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/artists-djs-in-cities-latching-on-to-tribal-songs/articleshow/61059543.cms
Date Visited: 22 May 2022

Mahasweta Devi memorial unveiled in Tejgadh
Times of India, 4 February 2017 | To read the full article and view a photograph of the memorial, click here >>
VADODARA: A memorial dedicated to eminent author and tribal rights activist late Mahasweta Devi was unveiled at the Adivasi Academy at Tejgadh on January 31. The memorial was unveiled by retired IAS Vibha Puri Das, chairperson of the Vadodara-based Bhasha Research and Publication Centre, which manages the academy. Other trustees of Bhasha including professor Kanji Patel, Dr Joseph Bara, Dr Madan Meena, Sandhya Gajjar attended the function which saw presence of Bhasha’s founders – Dr Ganesh Devy and Dr Surekha Devi as special guests. Magsaysay award winner Mahasweta Devi had passed away in July last year. As a trustee and later a mentor to Bhasha Research and Publication Centre and the Adivasi Academy at Tejgadh, she used to visit Vadodara and Tejgadh quite often from 1998 till 2012, after which she fell ill and could not travel across the country from Kolkata.
Her wish was to be buried at the Adivasi Academy and in keeping with that wish, her family had offered Bhasha a ‘kalash’ with her mortal remains. The memorial was designed by architect Karan Grover, who has also designed the main building at the Adivasi Academy and it was constructed by local mason Ramesh Rathwa. […]

Source: Mahasweta Devi memorial unveiled in Tejgadh | Vadodara News – Times of India
Address: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/mahasweta-devi-memorial-unveiled-in-tejgadh/articleshow/56962262.cms
Date Visited: Sun Nov 12 2017 12:57:16 GMT+0100 (CET)

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“The tribal world and the tribal way is complete in itself.” – Mahasweta Devi quoted by Gopalkrishna Gandhi in “Swearing by Mahasweta” (The Hindu, 6 August 2016)

“The practice of religious rituals, ceremonies and sanctions by specific cultural groups allow such sacred landscapes to be maintained, emphasizing that humans are intrinsically part of the ecosystem. Taboos, codes and customs specific to activities and community members restrict access to most sacred groves. […] The inclusion of local people’s needs and interests in conservation planning is increasingly accepted as essential, both to promote the well-being of human populations, and to ensure that biodiversity and conservation needs are met in the long-term.” – Nazir A. Pala, Ajeet K. Neg and N.P. Todaria in “The Religious, Social and Cultural Significance of Forest Landscapes in Uttarakhand Himalaya, India” (International Journal of Conservation Science, Vol. 5, Issue 2, April-June 2014) | Sacred groves | Biodiversity and development – Himalaya >>