Patna: Bapu Tower — the state-of-the-art museum, which will showcase the life and times of Mahatma Gandhi, especially his connection with Bihar — is expected to be thrown open for public by the end of this month.
Located in the Gardanibagh area of the city and spread across over seven acres, the tower has two structures on the campus — a G+6 rectangular building and another inverted cone-shaped with ramps from top to bottom and interconnected with all the floors of the first structure.
The rectangular building has a big mural of Gandhiji on its facade, which can be noticed from far away, while the conical structure too has a face line of Bapu.
The use of murals; 3-D multimedia; statues of Gandhi and his associates made of silicon, with grafted artificial hair; interactive touch screens; and galleries made of fibre reinforced plastic will give the visitors a feeling as if they have entered the era of Bapu. The galleries like London Street and Porbandar House depict the miniatures of the real structures.
About the unique features of the Bapu Tower, building construction department secretary Kumar Ravi said it has copper cladding on the outside, which is world-class. “One will get the minute details of the life of Mahatma Gandhi, his teachings, vows, his association with Bihar, especially, and even the impact of his teachings across the globe after his death.”
Officials working closely with this project — one of chief minister Nitish Kumar’s pet — said recently a gallery for children has also been added in the Bapu Tower. This gallery will have a hologram of Bapu, with whom children can have an artificial intelligence-powered interactive session. Children can question anything related to Bapu and will get the answer. There will also be a walk with Bapu, where the children will get the feel of the historic Dandi March.
The visitors, after entering the campus, will be first taken to an orientation hall where they will be introduced to the entire museum and various galleries inside. Interestingly, this hall will have a rotating table and a moving screen. “People will get a lifelike experience of the things being told to them,” said BCD SDO Ashutosh Pratap Singh who is handling the project on the site.
After introduction, the visitors will be taken to the fifth floor of the rectangular building where Mahatma Gandhi’s story will start. From the gallery in the rectangular building, the visitors can enter the ramp of the conical structure and be back to the gallery on the fourth floor. “There are history walls in each gallery, 3-D multimedia, projectors to showcase small videos and interactive touchscreen. On touching any part of the mural, one will get the details on the screen,” said Singh.
The building will also have a canteen, which will serve only vegetarian food, apart from a parking facility and souvenir shop. Sources said the ticket price has not been decided yet.