The Academy of Tribal Folk Art and Language Development, Madhya Pradesh, in collaboration with the Society for Endangered and Lesser-Known Languages (SEL), Lucknow, organized a four-day training camp (1-4 August 2024) at the Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum, Shyamala Hills, Bhopal.

Under the guidance of Professor Kavita Rastogi, President of SEL, and coordinated by Dr. Dharmendra Pare, the event trained around forty researchers in collecting vocabulary from five nomadic communities—Bedia, Banjara, Kuchbandiya, Pardhi, and Gaduliya Lohar. During the training, Prof. Rastogi covered essential techniques, tools, and ethical considerations for documenting endangered and lesser-known languages. A three -day follow up camp was organized in the month of December at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow.

After the training, researchers were divided into five groups, each led by a linguist coordinator and supported by field investigators. The lexicon collection questionnaire was provided by SEL, and once data collection was completed, SEL members reviewed and managed all audio-visual and IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) data. The finalized data was then compiled into a talking trilingual dictionary, supplemented with grammatical information, and uploaded to the Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum website.

On Republic Day, during the inauguration of the 40th National Folk Arts Festival ‘Lok Rang,’ the Honourable Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Mangu bhai C. Patel, officially launched the Talking Dictionary Page. He also presented Certificates of Appreciation to SEL team members and field investigators from the Tribal Folk Art and Language Development Academy, Madhya Pradesh Culture Council, Bhopal.