NEW DELHI: Visitors coming to the 17th century Mughal fort-palace Red Fort can now experience the character and atmosphere prevailing at the time of its inauguration at the interpretation centre developed by the Dalmia Bharat located in one of the British era barracks inside the fort.
The Centre offers a unique 360º immersive viewing experience with projections on the walls, ceiling and floor, where a 10-minute long film imagining the day of the inauguration of the Red Fort and showcasing the fort in its original glory is shown.
In the augmented reality photography room, visitors get photographed themselves with ‘Peacock Throne’ or ‘holding the Indian flag at the ramparts of Red Fort. “The Red Fort has been developed to serve as a facility that will create avenues for visitors to get an in-depth understanding of the historic site and set the context for a more enriched visit,” said Puneet Dalmia, managing director of Dalmia Bharat.
The group adopted the 17th-century fort for five years under the Centre’s ‘Adopt A Heritage’ scheme. The British barrack, which houses the Centre, has been conserved and retrofitted to be adaptively reused, where best practices have been followed in all the conservation work to maintain the integrity of the heritage site.
To give visitors the opportunity to see how the history of the fort has left a mark on its built fabric, the interior walls have been left un-plastered. Visitors can see the mix of building materials and bricks including stones taken from the Mughal structures that were razed to the ground to build the barracks.
“The Centre will add a unique dimension to the visitors’ understanding of Red Fort,” added Puneet. The other newly added attractions at Red Fort are a souvenir shop and a snack point run by Café Delhi Heights with a specially curated menu.