Project Gaja?Lok

Why in news?

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) to launch “Gaja-Lok: Elephant Lands and their Cultural Symbolism in Asia”.

• Project Gaja-Lok – It is a pioneering transnational initiative launched by INTACH and supported by the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Division.
• Aim – To explore the transnational connections of the Asian elephant, highlighting the entangled cultural, historical, ecological, and climate resilience narratives across elephant-range countries in Asia.
• It blends heritage conservation with environmental awareness, positioning elephants as icons of both tradition and climate resilience.
• Exhibition Themes – Features six thematic panels tracing the human-elephant relationship:
  • From prehistoric art and ancient trade routes
  • To sacred traditions, royal symbolism, and modern innovations (e.g., Kerala’s robotic temple elephants).
• Gaja‑Lok Roundtable Conference – It brings together leading scholars, conservationists, and cultural experts from India and abroad.
  • Discussions will feed into the Gaja-Lok Dossier—a multidisciplinary research document supporting transnational recognition of elephant-linked heritage.
• Cultural significance – Elephants have shaped Asian civilizations for millennia, appearing in Indus Valley seals, temple carvings (e.g., Konark, Mahabalipuram), folklore, rituals, and royal symbolism.
• Ecological significance – The project highlights elephants as a living symbols of ecological balance, agents of cultural continuity, and indicators of climate vulnerability and resilience.

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Quick Fact

References

1. PIB | Project Gaja‑Lok
2. INTACH | Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage