After the consecration of the Ram Temple the focus has now shifted to the making of a museum at Ayodhya which will let visitors get a live experience of the epic ‘Ramayana’ through immersive 3D technology.
Being touted as an international museum — second only in significance to the Ram Temple for the devotees visiting the city — the new premises will use new-age technology like kinetic art, holograms, animatronics and augmented artificial reality to provide a live experience of the Ramayana as well as the Ram Temple movement. Visitors will also be able to get a live view of the deity through cameras placed inside the temple premises.
The project is being handled by Tagbin Services Private Limited whose earlier projects include the 3D hologram of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate in New Delhi. They have also handled the entire interactive technology platform at the Pradhanmantri Sanghralaya (PM Museum) at Teen Murti Bhavan.
The three-storied museum in Ayodhya is coming up at the Ram Katha Park, barely a kilometre from the Ram Temple. Sources said the museum is being designed to accommodate 50,000 footfall per day.
Initially the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, the trust handling the construction and management of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, had planned a museum on the Ram Janmabhoomi campus itselfbut the plan was dropped due to security reasons,. Thereafter, an existing museum at the park which had been under the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Board was handed over to the trust through a State Cabinet order in November last year.
To be built over an area of 30,000 sq feet, the project is estimated to cost ₹75 crore and would be completed in two phases, sources told The Hindu.
While the first phase, which has a timeline of nine to ten months would focus on upgrading the existing building, the second phase, to be completed within the next two years, would see the museum expanding horizontally with a new building being added.
The existing building known as the Ram Katha Sangrahalaya houses arts, artefacts, palm leaves manuscripts and stones which were unearthed when the foundation stone was being laid in 2020. Before it was handed over to the Temple Trust, these had been housed in four galleries.
As part of Phase-I, experiential technologies such as immersive scenography, virtual shows and multi-lingual languages would be used to showcase the Ramayana. At the end of the story, visitors will be able to get a live view of the deity through cameras placed in the temple premises.
“This has been planned to manage footfall at the temple. Thus, visitors who are short on time can do a ‘darshan’ of the idol at the museum itself,” Saurav Bhaik, CEO and Founder of Tagbin told The Hindu.
In Phase-II, the museum will be expanded horizontally. A new structure will be added which will have galleries showcasing stories from the Ramayana from different countries like Indonesia, Cambodia and Malaysia.
It will also house archaeological and epigraphic evidences of all the places where Lord Ram travelled. There shall be kinetic art installations at various places in the museum to give it a blend of the modern and contemporary.
While Tagbin has been tasked with design and project management, sources said the temple trust is working on finalising an expert committee to curate the content.
The ‘Pran Pratishtha’ or consecration of the idol of Lord Ram at the Ram Temple took place on January 22 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries in attendance.
