‘Vanvaas - A year in the Silent Valley’, photo exhibition by NP Jayan begins

New Delhi, April 29, 2008: An exhibition of wildlife photographs taken by the award-winning photographer NP Jayan during his year-long photo-expedition in the Silent Valley national park began yesterday at the Travancore Art Gallery in the Capital. Titled ‘Vanvaas – A year in the Silent Valley’, the exhibition is the first of the kind by the photographer, who spent the year 2007 in the national park, armed only with his camera and accompanied by Mari, a forest watcher. Twenty percent of the proceeds from the exhibition will be channelised for the welfare of the Silent Valley forest watchers through the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), a sponsor of Jayan’s project. 

Beginning first week of December 2006, Jayan along with Mari trekked the forests of the Silent Valley for a year, walking 10-15 km everyday capturing its life in thousands of photographs along the way. “Silent valley is teeming with leeches and it rained for eight out of 12 months we spent there,” said Jayan recalling his experience.

The project was Jayan’s way of advocating for the ‘Save Silent Valley Campaign’ which was revitalised in 2007, after the Government of Kerala sanctioned about 250 crore rupees for the Pathrakkadavu Hydroelectric Project (PHEP). Naturally protected since the historic times by the terrain, the pristine tropical rainforests of the Silent Valley has in the recent past required legal protection from developmental activities, especially the construction of dams. The campaign, initiated in the 1970s against the construction of the Silent Valley Hydro-Electric Project (SVHEP) across the Kunthipuzha River, had resulted in the SVHEP being discarded and Silent Valley being declared a national park in 1984. 

“The government said no plants and no animals would be affected by the project. My project was aimed at proving otherwise; to show that the submergence that would be caused by the construction of the PHEP will affect a large number of wildlife,” said Jayan. The PHEP was temporarily abandoned and a buffer zone of 148 sq km was also declared to protect the national park, which forms the core area of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

“Images have the power to move people when even stark facts don’t. We were all a part of the campaign during the 80s. We believed that we had won, but 20 years later, the spectre of destruction is upon us again. What Jayan has brought out of Silent Valley is the beauty of nature that is often difficult to put into words and the picturisation of what we will lose if an ill-planned development is to take place,” said Vivek Menon, executive director, WTI.

In addition to the threats from developmental activities, Silent Valley also faces threats from global warming. “Effects of global warming are clearly visible. Changing climatic patterns can threaten the rainforests and these have been documented in the form of completely sunny summer days which are uncharacteristic of rainforests,” said the photographer.

Through this exhibition, Jayan attempts to spread awareness on the unique and rich wildlife of the Silent Valley national park to the general public. “After Delhi, we intend to take the exhibition to Bangalore, to Kerala and even rural areas of India to convey the importance of wildlife,” he said. “Twenty percent of the proceeds from the sale of my pictures will be given to the Wildlife Trust of India for purchasing items such as boots, raincoats etc for the forest watchers who guard the national park,” he added. 

About the photographer:
Born in Nenmenikunnu, a small village in the Wayanad district of Kerala, NP Jayan entered the profession as a press photographer at the age of twenty. A versatile photographer, he has won several prestigious awards for photography including the Government of India’s Photo Division National Award in 2000 and 2004, the Sanctuary Asia Magazine’s International Wildlife Photography Award, the Government of Kerala’s Manaveeyam Award, Green Vision 2003 Award and State Bank of Travancore – National Sports Photography Award.

About Wildlife Trust of India:
Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) is a non profit organisation committed to conserve nature, especially endangered species and threatened habitat, in partnership with communities and governments. Principally concerned with managing wildlife crisis and providing quick and efficient aid to the wildlife in need, WTI through pro-active reforms works to secure the natural heritage of India.