INSTALL STORY - GANDHI MANDAP MEMORIAL
Revisiting Guwahati's Glorious Past: Tricolor India
Schauspiel Delivers Assam's First 3D Projection Mapping at Gandhi Mandap Memorial Museum
PALM + AV-ICN spoke to Himanshu Singh Sabharwal, Creative Director, Tricolor India Schauspiel,
to explore how the company illuminated The Ray of the East at Gandhi Mandap Memorial Museum to
celebrate Assam's history, heritage, and culture at its finest.
Guwahati, Assam has been imprinted with multiple historical and cultural milestones. The most
influential of these milestones, perhaps, is Mahatma Gandhi's visit to the Sarania Hills - the first
one in 1921 and the last one in 1946. The Father of the Nation ignited the spark of freedom in the
minds of Assamese citizens between the aforementioned years, and thus, in his fond memory, on top of
the Sarania Hills, stands tall his namesake monument - aptly named the Gandhi Mandap Memorial
Museum. Created to preserve and exhibit the history and heritage of Assam in all its glory, the
Gandhi Mandap Memorial Museum is touted to be one of the north-eastern state's most popular tourist
spots.
On 2nd October, 2022, Gandhi Mandap's façade was visually transformed. It glowed bright - with
colour and life, thanks to jaw-dropping 3D projection mapping - the first of its kind, not just in
Assam, but in the entire Northeast India. Envisaged by the Government of Assam and brought to life
by audiovisual integration by Tricolor India Schauspiel, the 3D projection mapping and holographic
projection at Purva Prabha or The Ray of the East at the Gandhi Mandap is truly a sight to behold.
PALM + AV-ICN spoke to Himanshu Singh Sabharwal, Creative Director, Tricolor India Schauspiel, to
explore how the company illuminated The Ray of the East at Gandhi Mandap Memorial Museum to
celebrate Assam's history, heritage, and culture at its finest
Shining the light on Mahatma Gandhi's influence in Assam's with 3D projection mapping at Purva
Prabha, Gandhi Mandap
Memorial Museum
Delivering Jaw-Dropping Sight & Sound With Aplomb
It was after a rigorous selection process that Guwahati Smart City Limited entrusted the Purva
Prabha project over to Tricolor India Schauspiel, a creative audiovisual integration company that
breathes life into visionary projects with 3D projection mapping, holographic mapping, augmented
reality, water installations, and more.
"The brief that we received from the client for the Light and Sound Show on the Gandhi Mandap was
that the building façade was to be theme based and was intended to showcase the heritage of Assam
and the life story of Mahatma Gandhi," shares Himanshu Singh Sabharwal. He further adds, "The idea
was to convert the Gandhi Mandap into a vibrant urban space that would provide the visitor a
comprehensive introduction to the heritage of Assam, inclusive of its chronological history,
historical monuments in the city, focusing on Mahatma Gandhi's life, and his message to the nation.
The idea behind the implementation of the project was to add value to the already enhanced
environment in the Gandhi Mandap premises resulting in more visits by the tourists."
But before Tricolor India Schauspiel embarked on the strict time-bound project, the team decided to
perform a recce of the premise to explore the terrain at hand and the elements it could deliver in
order to give rise to something unique in terms of sight and sound. Needless to say, the road to
glory wasn't all sunshine and roses. Challenges were yet to present themselves....
Bringing Assam's history and heritage to life with holographic projection mapping
Turning Obstacles Into Opportunities
Projection mapping is easier said than done. No one knows this better than Himanshu Singh Sabharwal.
He recalls the challenges the terrain produced for the team at Tricolor India Schauspiel while
working on embedding it with 3D projection mapping, "Projection mapping isn't just throwing images
on a surface, one needs to use the given features of the building to better explain the emotion
behind the show and further enhance the experience of the visitor."
Explaining the challenges in detail, Sabharwal adds, "One major issue we faced here was the ‘L'
shaped façade of the Gandhi Mandap. From the seating area, the visibility of the right side would be
distorted and create a parallax effect. This would have wasted the function of two projectors on the
side. The Mandap also had large glass windows and empty spaces on the first floor between the
pillars, resulting in hollow spaces and dead zones for projectors and lighting."
But these challenges were not insurmountable. A smart team with a proven experience in projection
mapping and audiovisual integration is all it takes to turn the obstacles into opportunities to give
rise to excellence. Sabharwal shares how he and his team put their minds together to come up with a
solution for the aforementioned problems, "To overcome the L shaped façade, we proposed to have two
projectors on the front façade and further extend the vista by utilizing holographic projections on
the terrace of the mandap. The innovation gave us more surface to project on and create a
larger-than-life experience."
He continues, "For the glass windows, we used two-way films which allowed sunlight to pass through
during the day, but acted as light blockers at night, providing a surface to be projected on. As for
the first floor, retractable screens were used to cover the hollow spaces between the pillars which
acted as surfaces for projection and lighting."
With the challenges now overcome, the task for Tricolor India Schauspiel team was to translate the
brief by the client into a thematically enriched audiovisual projection that existed in synergy with
Assam's cultural and spiritual history and allow the site to mirror it effectively.
Tricolor India Schauspiel's 3D projection mapping at Gandhi Mandap shines
the light on Assam's rich history & culture
The Key To Successful AV Integration: Using The Right Equipment
Good design cannot happen without good equipment. When it came to the technical bits and pieces,
Himanshu Singh Sabharwal comments, "As part of the guidelines laid down by the client, a BOQ was
already in place which was to be complied with. We worked alongside the client, meeting their
requirements at every step in terms of the hardware to be installed. Premium quality equipment was
used for the install for durability and longevity. To name a few, four high-end projectors each of
20,000 lumens from Christie, lasers from LPS, all-weather sound systems from JBL, weatherproof
enclosures for various equipment by Warrior, and a combination of architectural façade lighting in
sync with the show for a dramatic visual experience."
Bringing The Vision To Life: Creating A Texturally & Thematically Larger-Than-Life 3D Projection
Mapping
Adding substance to the symbol isn't an easy task. While a mundane 3D projection mapping, done for
the sake of it, would not be any less eye-grabbing, the idea behind installing a 3D projection
mapping at Gandhi Mandap was to invite footfall and result in thought-provoking dialogue. This is
where Tricolor India Schauspiel team's creativity comes into play. Himanshu Singh Sabharwal decided
to turn the river Brahmaputra into a narrator for the Purva Prabha show. But what story did the
river narrate?
Himanshu Singh Sabharwal answers: "With respect to the story, we picked up instances from the
history of Assam, talking about its various empires and prominent rulers, while touching upon
cultural developments that took place down the ages - leading up to the freedom struggle and how
Mahatma Gandhi mobilized the people of Assam to fight against the British rule. Also, the Mandap
sits next to the third highest tricolour in the country, which instills a sense of pride in the
minds of the visitors, adding to awe of the show."
Going Beyond The 3D Projection Mapping At Gandhi Mandap
Needless to say, the completion of a project that demanded more than technical mastery would have
resulted in an emotionally-fulfilling moment. Himanshu Singh Sabharwal affirms the same, "We are
extremely ecstatic to present Assam their first 3D projection mapping show and it has been well
received since its inauguration on 1st October, 2022 by Shri Ashok Singhal, Honourable Minister of
Housing & Urban Affairs and Irrigation, Government of Assam. It was a great experience working in
tandem with the clients and the understated talent pool from Assam, learning new things about the
heritage and culture of this beautiful state. We aim to share this show with more people, a show
that is gradually becoming the talk of the town in the infotainment space, providing insight into
the story of Assam in a larger-than-life AV experience."
Tricolor India Schauspiel will not stop at just that. The techno-creative company has several other
projects in the pipeline for the near future, which includes, but is not limited to: SEL Cellular
Jail, Andaman & Nicobar Islands; SEL Gwalior Fort, and SEL Agra Fort.
Inventory:
- Four Christie DWU20 HS Projectors
- Four JBL in-audio support system for a 5.1 surround sound experience
- Two hydraulically-operated holographic meshes to elevate the façade and the vista
- Two RDM
- One Cisco 24 Gigabit Port Network Switch
- Four Lightware AV Switchers
- Three Media Servers
- Two WatchOut Dongles
- LPS Lasers
- Intelligent Lighting: Moving heads and dynamic architectural lighting