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"Jal, Jungle, Jameen" — water, forest, land. The slogan was coined by Komaram Bheem, a revered Gond tribal hero from the Komaram Bheem Asifabad district of Telangana. More than a rallying cry, it was a clear and urgent demand for the restoration of the forests and lands that Indigenous and tribal communities had inhabited for generations.
For these communities, the land is not merely territory, nor are the forests resources to be used or monetised. They are living, breathing parts of their world, extensions of their homes, and their spirituality. Together, they form the threads that weave the fabric of their identity, histories, and livelihoods.
Being showcased at the Nine Earths Summit in London occurring on 29th November is ‘Jal, Jungle, Jameen’, by the Economic Botany Institute of the Raj. Created by Elsewhere in India and Antariksha Studio, the series is an animated collaboration between the botanical archives of India and the United Kingdom. The exhibition as a whole is a climate showcase that connects India’s ecological heritage with the world’s current climate crises through audio-visual components, including this series of remixed archives.
The animated series itself feels like a mystical re-imagination of plants indigenous to South Asia. Featuring multiple species of orchids, the visuals unfold like a slow, meditative study of flowers in various stages of bloom. Each frame captures the delicate choreography of petals unfurling, colours deepening, and textures revealing themselves — almost as if the viewer is witnessing time stretch and settle around the moment of blossoming. There is an archival beauty to the animation, too. The imagery resembles pages pulled from an old botanical textbook tucked away in an ancient library; yellowed at the edges yet rich with knowledge.
Through this interplay of archive and animation, the series becomes more than a visual experiment; it becomes a reminder. A reminder of how deeply intertwined our ecological past is with our present realities. In many ways, ‘Jal, Jungle, Jameen’ circles back to Komaram Bheem’s timeless call, a call to protect the environments that shape us. As the animated orchids breathe life into colonial archives, they also gesture towards a future where the land, forest, and water are not just remembered, but actively safeguarded.
