Laser show, short films to narrate tales of 1857 uprising at Shaheed Samarak

Nitish Sharma

Ambala, June 23

A laser show and 12 short films will be showcased to narrate the tales of the first war of 1857 and its unsung heroes at the Shaheed Samarak, being constructed in Ambala Cantonment.

The project is coming at a cost of Rs 550 crore of which Rs 149 crore is being spent on the artwork for which a tender has already been floated.

Heroes to get due recognition

Shaheed Smarak is a big project and it is being developed accordingly. It is an attempt to tell the real history of the first revolt. People were tied to trees, tortured and killed, but the unsung heroes never got their due recognition. Directions have been issued to complete the project at the earliest. Anil Vij, home minister

The memorial will showcase the First War of Indian Independence (1857), its circumstances, and events that happened in three parts, including the role of Ambala, followed by the role of Haryana and then the martyrs across the country.

As per the information, a 20-minute laser show, dubbed in Hindi, English and Punjabi languages will be run every evening in the open-air theatre. Besides this, 12 short films of five to 10 minutes duration each, will be run in different galleries of the museum. A team of historians was constituted to verify the facts and avoid any controversy. A storyline finalised by the historians will be given to the agency and most likely actor and writer Atul Tiwari will prepare the shows.

Dr UV Singh, who had done the research on the first revolt and a member of the team of historians working on this project, said, “The first revolt started in Ambala. About nine hours before the outbreak of the mutiny in Meerut, the 60th and 5th regiments openly revolted in Ambala. The content for the laser show is ready and the work on the script is on. While focusing on the outbreak of the revolt from Ambala, all major events and incidents that happened during the first revolt in Ambala, Haryana and the rest of the country will be shown in the show. The information about the unsung heroes will be displayed in the museum.”

Additional Director of DIPR, Haryana, Dr Kuldeep Saini said, “A tender for the artwork has been already floated. Several international firms have shown interest in carrying out the artwork of the memorial. The petals of the lotus tower, which will be a major attraction of the memorial, are being imported from France. The same petals sheets will be used as screens for the laser show in the evening. Different advanced technologies will be used to give a real-time experience to the visitors.”

Meanwhile, Home Minister Anil Vij said, “Shaheed Smarak is a big project and it is being developed accordingly. It is an attempt to tell the real history of the first revolt. People were tied to trees, tortured and killed, but the unsung heroes never got their due recognition. Directions have been issued to complete the project at the earliest.”