BHUBANESWAR: Tourists can learn the history behind the mystical and ornate Sun temple at Konark through a light and sound show soon. The India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), which is implementing the project, will open the show for public viewing next month.
A meeting on the modalities of installing sound systems at the temple was held by the ITDC on Tuesday.
The show will be held at the left portion of land adjacent to the main temple. There will be three shows every day with a sitting capacity of 200 people and the cost will be included in the ticket price.
As per directions of Archeological Survey of India (ASI), which is in charge of the conservation work at the World Heritage Site, the ITDC has decided not to install speakers in the inner courtyard of the temple. It will provide head phones to visitors during booking of tickets.
While eight high-definition projectors with 3D projection mapping technology have been procured by ITDC for projection, the light and sound shows will be of 35-minute duration that would be shown with laser technology. The show will be in English, Odia and Hindi languages but unlike at Dhauli, visitors will have the choice of selecting language of the show while buying tickets.
At Dhauli, three shows in different languages are held at different times of the day. "At Konark Sun temple, visitors will not have to wait for the show in a particular language. While buying the ticket, they can choose a particular language and the head phones will be set accordingly," said a higher official of ITDC.
While Sekhar Suman has done the voiceover of the script in Hindi, Kabir Bedi has given his voice for the English script and Bijay Mohanty has recorded the Odia one.
Though the project was sanctioned four years back along with light and sound shows at Dhauli Shanti Stupa and Khandagiri-Udayagiri caves, it could not be implemented due to technical delay.