It's heartening to note the proposal for a sound and light show at the Palace is taking shape. The Rs.1.5 crore project for an hour-long show to be directed by T S Nagabharana is reported to be awaiting clearance from the department of archaeology. (One would think the department should have been involved right from the conceptual stage.). The show, scripted by Lingadevaru Halemane, will have multilingual sound-track - English, Kannada and Hindi - with the voices of Kannada film notables - Vishnuvaradhan, Amabarish and Sudharani. Project co-ordinator, also with showbusiness connection, is Krishnakumar.
That the project is funded jointely by the Centre and the state government reflect the prirority they place on promoting heritage tourism in Mysore. Which makes it imperative that the project be made more inclusive than being perceived a showbiz-bureaucaracy enterprise. We have no doubt Mr Krishnakumar, while working on the show production, will consult local historians and persons such as Mr Krishna Vattam of INTACH and Maj. Gen. S G Vombatkere (retd) of the city heritage committee. For one would like to see the Palace S n L turn out to be not only the first of its kind in Karnataka but also a worthy example of collaborative endeavour of which all heritage stakeholders in Mysore can be proud.
