Profits from history

ITDC gears up to switch on sound and light shows at Ayodhya, Hampi, Chittorgarh and Kanyakumari

Imagine sitting on the jetty in Kanyakumari one evening, facing the Vivekananda Rock. When the sun goes down the rock lights up and projected on it is an audio-visual story of Swami Vivekananda. It is not just a dry narration of his biography found in history textbooks.

Instead, there is music, sound effects, voice-overs and light effects that capture the ambience of the time that the Swami lived in. And in the background, the sound of waves lapping against the rock surface acts as a soother.

Or imagine yourself perched right in the middle of the dusty fields of Kurukshetra and watching a dramatised version of the Mahabharata. Not only does one get a glimpse of the strategy of war but also a sermon on the philosophy of life from the Gita.

While the latter show is already in place, the programme at Kanyakumari will become a reality by October this year. Son et lumiere (sound and light) programmes is the strategy that the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) is focusing on afresh to attract visitors to historical sites.

These shows are a walk-down-the-ages when royalty held roost, kings waged wars and romance and intrigue echoed in palace corridors.

To be sure, Son et lumiere shows are not new to the Indian historical sites. ITDC has been promoting them for some years now (the first started at the Red Fort in the early 1970s). Till date, the company has produced eight such shows and plans to introduce new ones at 10 other sites by the year-end.

In the pipeline are shows in Chittorgarh and Kumbalgarh in Rajasthan this month, Haridwar and Orissa's Udaigiri Caves by April'04, Vivekananda Rock (Kanyakumari) and Hampi by October'04. Towards the end of the year Ayodhya, the monastery in Daman and Deogarh in Jharkhand will also have son et lumiere shows.

A proposal for Sarnath is currently being processed. "Our concept of son et lumiere shows is one where a visitor to these historical sites is both entertained and educated," says Chandni Luthra, senior vice president, ITDC.

According to her it is part of a concerted effort by the state and central tourism departments to increase the tourist flows. "Most of these places had no entertainment facilities for the evening, so tourists made day trips to these sites. With these shows we hope tourists will stay back," says Luthra.

The sudden impetus to ramp up the number of son et lumiere shows is driven by figures. Last year, India featured among the top 10 destinations in the Conde Nast Traveller.

Lured by the Incredible India campaign, there were an estimated 3 million tourists flocking India in 2003. And it is not just the foreign tourists who have taken a liking for the country. Domestic tourism also grew by 20 per cent during October-December last year. This year, 30 per cent growth is projected.

Besides, as Luthra points out, one of the main reasons why tourism departments are keen to promote son et lumiere is that these shows are not too expensive to run.

The basic costs include electricity. The cost of production of a son et lumiere show ranges from Rs 1.25 crore to Rs 5 crore while the returns on ticket sales are rewarding. On an average, Red Fort makes a profit of Rs 6 crore annually.

ITDC is also planning to introduce novel water curtains at the Purana Qila and Ayodhya to narrate their legends at the sound and light shows. According to Luthra, Red Fort will soon have an activity centre which will showcase ethnic life, souvenir shops (run by the ITDC) and restaurants serving the cuisine of Old Delhi.

Meanwhile, ITDC has already completed projects at the Red Fort and Purana Qila (in Delhi), Kurukshetra, Somnath Temple, Cellular Jail (Port Blair), Sabarmati Ashram, Golconda Fort and Chandragiri Fort (near Tirupati).

"We want people to enjoy our past and tradition. On offer is an exciting panorama of not just history but also a lifestyle," says Luthra.

Personalities who have a sense of history and also the gift of storytelling are involved in most of these projects. They include writers, actors and musicians such as Ali Sardar Jafri, Manohar Shyam Joshi, Khushwant Singh, Ali Akbar Khan, Manna Dey, Vimla Patil, Harish Bhimani, Alyque Padamsee and Amrish Puri, among others.