Projection mapping at places, comic books to mark 100th 'Mann ki Baat'

From projection mapping at centrally protected monuments to release of comic books telling stories on the themes of Prime Minister's 'Mann ki Baat', the Culture Ministry has lined up a host of events to mark the monthly radio programme's 100th episode.

Union Culture Secretary Govind Mohan on Thursday said that an exhibition of artworks produced by 12 prominent artists will also be put up at the National Gallery of Modern Art here as part of the series of events.

The 'Mann Ki Baat' programme was started on October 3, 2014 and is broadcast on last Sunday of every month at 11 am on entire All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD) network. The 100th episode of the 30-minute programme is slated to be aired on April 30.

The 'Mann ki Baat' marks the prime minister's "conviction and desire to have an inclusionary and people-centric approach to governance," Mohan told reporters here.

Inspirational stories of ordinary people are taken up, and woven around the themes, which are "critical to nation-building", and the PM shares his various thoughts on nation-building which are "totally non-political and people-centric", the culture secretary said.

Two big curtain-raiser events have taken place here to mark the landmark episode that will air on Sunday, one chaired by the Vice President of the country where book on 'Mann ki Baat' was released, and other by the Union Home Minister where panel discussions were held, Mohan said.

In order to join this "revolutionary idea of direct dialogue" with the people -- the 'Mann ki Baat' -- the Culture Ministry has taken three initiatives, he added.

"As part of the first initiative, we have selected certain themes from 'Mann ki Baat' on the basis of which projection mapping and sound and light shows will be done at 13 different locations across the country on April 30 evening," Mohan said.

These 13 sites included Red Fort and Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya in New Delhi, Sun Temple in Odisha, Golconda Fort in Hyderabad, Vellore Fort in Tamil Nadu, Gateway of India in Mumbai, Navratnagarh Fort in Jharkhand, Ramnagar Fort in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur, a fort in Assam, the Residency in Lucknow and Sun Temple, Modhera in Gujarat, and Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan, he said.

The projection mapping will encompass various themes of 'Mann ki Baat' and will be open to visitors "free of cost", the culture secretary said, when asked more details about this initiative.

These projection mappings will encompass various themes of 'Mann ki Baat', highlight the heritage value of the site and the region they are located in, he said.

Besides, the exhibition of artworks made by the 12 artists on various themes such as water conservation, 'Nari Shakti', awareness on COVID-19, Swachh Bharat, environment and climate change, yoga, science and space, Amrit Kaal and India at 100, and Northeast of India will be hosted at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mohan said.

The exhibition will open on April 30 evening and well-known artist Anjolie Ela Menon will inaugurate it. Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy and Minister of State for Culture Meenakashi Lekhi are also slated to join the event.

Asked about the total budget allocated to various programmes for the three initiatives, Mohan said these programmes are "part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, so funds come under that and no extra fund has been sought" from the government.

Sharing details on the third initiative of release of comic books produced by Amar Chitra Katha, he said "a series of 12 Amar Chitra Katha comic books will be released".

"The first one in the series will be released on April 30, while the rest will be released, at a regular interval of one per month subsequently," he added.

These books have been produced especially for the occasion as part of our partnership with the Amar Chitra Katha to mark Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the culture secretary said.

"Each of these comic books will carry four stories, and each story will draw from the themes of 'Mann ki Baat'. The books will tell stories of ordinary people and their accomplishments, whose names have been mentioned in the monthly programme," he added.

The plan is to bring out these books, each having 40-odd pages, in 13 Indian languages, and distribute them for free in CBSE-affiliated schools, and various other schools, Mohan said in response to a query.