Bhasha Van - A Forest of Languages

Initiated by Bhasha in 2010, The Peoples Linguistic Survey of India is a nationwide survey on existing languages across India, which seeks to answer the question 'How many living languages does India have?' As a natural extension to this project, Bhasha also initiated the creation of Bhasha Van, literally ‘a language forest’, on the campus of the Adivasi Academy at Tejgadh.

A project entrusted to Myth, Bhasha Van has been envisioned as an actual and metaphorical forest, representative of both the diversity of flora and languages of our country. Since language is oral before it is written, Bhasha Van introduces its visitors to the languages of India through the means of audio guides, taking the visitor through the physical area of the Van while moving through the tales of its linguistic traditions.

Bhasha Van as it stands today is an  outdoor display consisting primarily of trees representing languages and language families of India. Visitors are encouraged to wander through the Van, approach the trees and listen to their stories. Some of these trees are hung with plaques on which tri-lingual information about little known languages are presented. There are also five rest-stop designed to allow visitors to rest their feet and engage with interactive displays on language families, scheduled languages, non-scheduled languages and even contribute narratives in their own mother tongues. 

 Folk art, in the form of paintings, pottery and wood work installed at various locations forms an integral part of this the Van. Located in the land adjacent to The Vaacha Museum of Voice at the Academy, Bhasha Van as a thriving forest of linguistic diversity complements the diversity of living traditions and material cultures housed within the Museum building.

The transformation of what was previously a plantation area, into the outdoor display of Bhasha Van has been done with great care. Not a single tree has been cut or transplanted and minimal metal and cement has been used. The displays on the trees have been secured with rope (made of natural fibers) as opposed to nails, to accommodate the future growth these trees.

Audio Guides, in English and Gujarati, guide the visitor through this sprawling language complex which currently represents 100 Indian languages. Visitors are encouraged to contribute language samples of their own mother tongues and engage in the conservation and growth of the same. Plans are also underway to introduce a Hindi audio tour and extend the Van to encompass 700 Indian languages in the days to come.



Bhasha Van, located at the Adivasi Academy, Tejgadh is approx. 90km from the city of Vadodara in Gujarat. Tejgadh enjoys good road and rail connectivity with Vadodara. For more details contact Bhasha Research and Publication Centre (www.bhasharesearch.org)

Read More about Bhasha Van:
http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-the-forest-of-languages-and-hope-1357816

http://www.paradisec.org.au/blog/2012/01/the-bhasha-vasudha-global-languages-meet-a-report-by-rnlds-margaret-florey/
http://www.indiantribalheritage.org/?s=Bhasha+Research
http://issuu.com/raviratnam/docs/internship_presentation