National Consortium

The tribal heritage of India is amazing in its variety of cultural and artistic traditions. Eighteen Tribal Research and Training Institutes (TRTIs) have been set up by the government in the country to preserve and document this diversity and these in turn have 14 Ethnographic Museums, with a collective holding of over 25,000 artifacts.

The National Consortium of Tribal Arts and Culture (NCTAC) was initiated by Bhasha with the support of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India with the aim of consolidating all the holdings of the TRTI museums into a digital format.

The project has materialized into the creation of VAACHA, a specially conceived touch screen installation for these ethnographic museums. The interactive combines elements like animation, films, illustrations and photography to exhibit a striking visual presentation of tribal art and culture. Akin to a virtual village, one can get a glimpse of tribal lifestyles through a magnificent display of artisans weaving, making pottery, and painting in addition to sections on hunting, forest produce, worship, marriage, dance and music.

The Tribal Arts in India (Book) and Vaacha: An interactive village (DVD) are available for sale with Bhasha.