After years of wait, a full-scale museum that explores the unique relationship between the elephants and humans is finally set for a launch at the elephant training centre in Konni on February 19.
The museum—a mix of curated, professional works on the life and evolution of elephants and different stages of captive elephant management—will be the first of its kind in the country. The entrance wall of the building has huge-scale murals of elephants with a mixture of bright colours while touch screen kiosks and information panels narrating stories of human-elephant relationships have been set up inside. “It is designed as an investigation into the profound impact elephants have had on the life of Kerala and the extraordinary things we have learned from them.
It is not about looking at the past, but rather find it as a place where people can take pride in their culture while educating others about this heritage of tradition, culture, and wisdom that has been passed on for generations,” explained K.N. Shyam Mohanlal, Divisional Forest Officer, Konni.
One with nature
The overarching theme of the project, according to the official, will be about creating awareness on ‘coexisting with nature’.
The exhibits also include a set of implements used for capturing and training wild elephants in Kerala and 14 art pieces procured from the Wildlife Trust of India, besides an art gallery exhibiting 10 paintings on the concept of elephant and nature. This is in addition to a life-size statue of the animal, its skeleton, and a set of miniatures showing the evolution of captive elephant training in Kerala.
The museum will also expose the threat wild elephants are facing amid wanton destruction of forests, in addition to poaching.
3D theatre
Official sources said the authorities were also planning to establish a 3D screening theatre and procure artifact with assistance from the Kerala Museum. The building that houses the museum, which was originally opened in 2006 by displaying an elephant skeleton and implements associated with the training of captive elephants, was awaiting renovation for the past several years. The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation had renovated the building at ₹49 lakh recently and it took the authorities nearly three months to complete works on the museum.
