| Adivaani | |
| Foundation: | 2012 |
| Founder: | Ruby Hembrom |
| Location City: | Kolkata |
| Location Country: | India |
| Products: | Books |
Adivaani (stylised as adivaani, in lower case) is a platform that aims to support indigenous expression and assertion, based in Kolkata, India. It is a publishing, archiving and chronicling outfit of and by indigenous people of India's Adivasi Tribes.
In April 2012, Ruby Hembrom attended a four month publishing course,[1] and on being confronted by the absence, invisibility and erasure of Adivasi representation in the curriculum and discourse, a common feature in many spaces she had been at, the idea began there.[2] [3] [4]
Adivaani was registered as a non-governmental organization on 19 July 2012,[5] and became operational, and have produced 19 books thus far, including to anthologies.[6]
Adivaani is the first publishing outfit of and by indigenous people of India to publish in the English language,[7] Hembrom co-opted two others to collaborate with,[8] one of whom still remains with Adivaani as a volunteer.
Adivaani is a combination of Sanskrit word '
Adivaani aims to document and disseminate knowledge systems, tangible and intangible cultural facets of Adivasis in English and bi-lingual, creating a database of the authentic Adivasi voice, as recounted by them, using diverse multimedia channels, which can be accessible to indigenous people themselves.
Adivaani has made a documentary film on the making and playing of the Santhal lute and fiddle, the Banam.
Adivaani's first two books were released at the New Delhi World Book Fair, 2013: Gladson Dungdung's 'Whose Country is it anyway?' and, Ruby Hembrom and Boski Jain's 'We Come from the Geese'.
The theme of the book fair was 'Indigenous Voices: Mapping India's Folk and Tribal Literature'.[10]