BHUBANESWAR: The much-awaited light and sound show at Sun Temple in Konark was inaugurated by Chief Minister Naveen on Saturday. Tourists will be able to know about the history and religious significance of the mystical and ornate Sun Temple, believed to have been built by King Narasimha Dev-1 in 1255, through the show.While earlier, the show was to be held in the left portion of land adjacent to the main temple, which housed kitchen of the temple, it will now be held in the front facade of Sun Temple and Dancing Hall (Natya Mandir). The decision was taken as scaffoldings from the left portion of the temple are yet to be removed.
The show will begin at 7 pm every day with the sitting capacity of 250 people and its cost will be included in the ticket price which is `50 per head, informed Director of Tourism Department Nithin B Jawale.
The project has been implemented by the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) at a cost of `5 crore while the budget sanction was `6.56 crore.As per directions of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which is in-charge of conservation work at the World Heritage Site, ITDC decided not to install speakers in inner courtyard of the temple. Visitors will be provided wireless head phones during booking of the tickets.
While eight high-definition projectors with 3D projection mapping technology have been procured by the 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 that at Dhauli, visitors will have the choice of selecting language of the show while buying the ticket. At Dhauli, three shows in different languages are held during 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 AK Gupta, former Director of ITDC, who had prepared the modalities of the project.
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 recorded the Odia one. An agency, Tricolour Pvt Ltd, will maintain the project for the period of five years at an expenditure of `85 lakh to `1 crore.Although the project was sanctioned in 2014 along with light and sound shows at Dhauli Shanti Stupa and Khandagiri-Udayagiri caves, it could not be implemented due to technical delay and clearances by the ASI.