Karur Vysya Bank Partners with University of Madras to Launch South India’s First Indigenous Languages Lab

Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) in partnership with the University of Madras recently inaugurated the Indigenous & Endangered Languages Laboratory (IELLAB) on the University campus. The facility, supported under the Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, is South India’s first dedicated laboratory focused on the documentation, preservation, and academic study of indigenous and endangered languages. The Lab will focus on audio-visual archiving of languages, oral histories, folklore, rituals, and cultural practices, while also enabling structured linguistic research and publications. A strong emphasis will be placed on community engagement, with indigenous elders, scholars, and students collaborating to ensure inter-generational knowledge transfer and continuity of living cultural traditions. The Lab will focus on the documentation and study of indigenous and endangered languages including Soliga, Kota, Toda, Irula, and Badaga, which are deeply rooted in the cultural landscapes of Southern India and are at varying levels of vulnerability.