Oran sacred grove

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Oran, the sacred groves of Rajasthan are on display at the official website and social media pages of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya here.

It is part of its online exhibition series-44, which began from Thursday. The sacred groves of Rajasthan are on display in museum’s Open Air Exhibition.

Museum director Praveen Kumar Mishra said Oran means small forest. It is mandatory for every Sathri (temple) to have an Oran where tree felling is prohibited as per customs of Bishnoi community of Rajasthan.

Orans serve as refuge to many birds and are frequented by animals black bucks and gazelles, which have received protection under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

In the museum campus, Oran precinct has been designed with plantation of rare and endangered species collected from western Rajasthan. Major plant species are khejari, roheda, karira and phog.