Prajna Chowta (born in 1970, Accra, Ghana) is an Indian conservationist, wildlife researcher, writer and filmmaker specialised in the Asian elephant. She is the co-founder and managing trustee of the Aane Mane Foundation,[1] founded in Bangalore, India, in 2000.[2]
Prajna Chowta | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1970 Accra, Ghana |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation(s) | Conservationist, wildlife researcher, writer and filmmaker |
Studies and research
editPrajna Chowta graduated in 1993 from the School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS, University of London, with a Masters in anthropology.[3] She spent the last two decades in elephant camps and communities of mahouts in south and north-east India and is one of the rare women mahouts in Asia. Since 1995, she has focused on the migration of Asian elephants on the Indo-Myanmar(Burma) border; the communities and traditional techniques of mahouts in India and Burma; and the management of elephants in their natural habitat. Since 2011, she developed ElephanTTrackinG, a remote monitoring system for elephants using GPS collars currently deployed in India, Bhutan, Thailand.[4] Prajna Chowta has recently been researching the history of the Andaman elephants.[5][6]
Early life
editPrajna Chowta was born in Ghana, grew up in Nigeria and later in Bombay and Bangalore, India. She is the daughter of D. K. Chowta, a Kannada author and businessman, and the sister of music director Sandeep Chowta.[2][7]
Awards
editIn 2016, Prajna Chowta was made Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite (Knight in the National Order of Merit), by the President of the French Republic.[8][9]
Publications
edit- Chowta P., Gautier P. (2000) Hathi, l'éléphant (French) Published by Les 400 Coups, Montreal, Canada ISBN 978-2-921620-55-0[10][11]
- Chowta P. (2000) The Old Elephant Route, A Research on Elephant Migration between Myanmar and India, Asian Elephant Conservation Fund Report, Fish & Wildlife Service, Washington D.C., USA[12][13]
- Chowta P. (2010) Elephant Code Book, revised by S.S. Bist, R. Sukumar, B.C. Chittiappa, published by Asian Nature Conservation Foundation & Aane Mane Foundation, Bangalore, India ISBN 978-81-909731-0-6[14]
- Chowta P., Ledoux S. (2014) Enfant d'Eléphants (French), published by Elytis Editions, France. ISBN 978-2-35639-144-5[15][16]
- Chowta P. (2016) A Brief History of the Andaman Elephants, Aane Mane Foundation, India.[6]
- Chowta P. (2022) Cultural Aberrations in the Management of Captive Elephants in The SOAS Elephant Reader, edited by Ed Emery, SOAS, London, UK. ISBN 978-0-906305-16-4
Filmography
edit- Hathi (1998) directed by Philippe Gautier, written by Prajna Chowta and Philippe Gautier, produced by Rock Demers, Les Productions La Fête, Montréal, Québec, Canada[17][18]
- The Old Elephant Route (2000) directed by Philippe Gautier, written by Prajna Chowta and Philippe Gautier, produced by Les Films d'Ici (Paris) & GA&A (Rome), Discovery Channel, USA.[19]
- Elephas Maximus (2005) documentary trilogy directed by Philippe Gautier, written by Prajna Chowta and Philippe Gautier, Produced by Les Films d'Ici & 24images, Arte Television, France.
Episode 1: Of Elephants and Men Episode 2: Meetings with Remarkable Animals Episode 3: God and the Elephant[20]
References
edit- ^ "The Aane Mane Foundation | Asian Elephant Conservation | News". aanemane.org. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
- ^ a b "May we have the trumpets please?". Deccan Herald. 29 October 2010.
- ^ "Elephant Conference @ SOAS 2016 – SOAS University of London". www.soas.ac.uk.
- ^ "elephant tracking". www.elephanttracking.org. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
- ^ Adlakha, Nidhi (4 November 2017). "elephants crossing" – via www.thehindu.com.
- ^ a b "The Aane Mane Foundation – Asian Elephant Conservation – News". aanemane.org.
- ^ "Sandeep Chowta". IMDb.
- ^ "Remise de l'Ordre National du Mérite à Prajna Chowta et Jean Riotte". La France en Inde / France in India.
- ^ Staff Reporter (4 October 2016). "France confers knighthood on elephant researcher". The Hindu – via www.thehindu.com.
- ^ Gautier, Philippe; Chowta, Prajna (July 2000). Livre : Hathi, l'éléphant. Les 400 Coups. ISBN 9782921620550.
{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help) - ^ Gautier, Philippe; Chowta, Prajna (2 January 2018). Hathi, l'éléphant : l'aventure d'un tournage en Inde. Les 400 coups. ASIN 2921620553.
- ^ https://www.fws.gov/international/pdf/summary-report-asian-elephant-1999-2000.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "The Aane Mane Foundation – Asian Elephant Conservation – Asian Elephant". aanemane.org.
- ^ "Books – ancf". asiannature.org.
- ^ "Beaux livres Elytis". elytis-edition.com.
- ^ Chowta, Prajna; Ledoux, Stéphanie (2 October 2014). Enfant d'éléphants. ELYTIS. ASIN 2356391444.
- ^ a b "Prajna Chowta". IMDb.
- ^ Hathi de Philippe Gautier - (1998) - Film - Comédie dramatique (in French), retrieved 12 June 2018
- ^ "The Old Elephant Route – smh.com.au". www.smh.com.au. 6 September 2003.
- ^ "Elephas Maximus – 24images". www.24images.fr.
- ^ "DiginextWeb". www.diginextfilms.com.