Ranchi, May 1: A young tribal man raises a guerrilla army against British colonisers and strikes terror in their hearts. Caught, he dies mysteriously behind bars at 25, but lives on as Bhagwan Birsa.
Ranchi residents can now see Birsa Munda's uprising come alive near Kanke Dam next to Rock Garden. A son et lumiere, or a light and sound show, titled Ulgulan (Uprising), featuring the tribal revolutionary, started from April 30 onwards.
Billed as a "trial run", for now the 40-minute show is being shown from 8pm.
A gift to the capital by the state tourism department, Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) took the onus to give a touch of magic to the bald rocks beneath the Rock Garden water tower with the show. ITDC engaged Gurgaon agency Tricolor India Schauspiel Pvt Ltd, well known for handling son et lumiere projects. Tribal Research Institute (TRI), Jharkhand, approved the show's contents.
Ankur Srivastav, project engineer for the overall set-up of the show, said big names were involved.
"The concept and creative direction of Ulgulan has been done by the company's chief creative officer Himanshu Singh Sabhrwal, who has to his credit India's first permanent projection at Purana Qila, New Delhi. The background music is by Indian Ocean and voiceovers are by Om Puri in Hindi and Kabir Bedi in English."
Watching the show with rapt attention on Thursday evening were tourism secretary Avinash Kumar, Ranchi DC Manoj Kumar and scores of Rock Garden visitors.
"Wonderful presentation," DC Manoj Kumar said. "I am sure people of Ranchi will enjoy it. It was full of information, it was captivating. I thoroughly enjoyed it."
Tourism secretary Avinash Kumar said he was enthralled but pointed out some logistical issues, "which must be addressed at the trial run before the show is formally inaugurated".
"Before hosting two shows a day and asking people to buy tickets, which is our plan, there are three things to take care of. They are parking, mosquitoes and entrance," he said.
"Considering the show is for 220 people at a time, we must have parking space for at least 100 vehicles. Secondly, Kanke Dam being nearby, mosquitoes need to be tackled with fogging. Third, the gate opens near a local vegetable market, so we need to think of an alternative entrance."
"After the official launch, for the first three months, our company will manage the shows. Later, it would be taken over by the state's tourism department, with persons trained by us," Srivastav said.
