case study on br ambedkar
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Pan Intellecom discusses how it married technology and content to honour Dr. B. R. Ambedkar as the integrator worked against the clock to deploy AV systems for a national memorial and museum.
Museums serve as a place where visitors can engage with their history and the past. More and more, technology is being deployed as the tool to make this engagement possible.
Harbir Singh, managing director of Pan Intellecom, talks about the impetus behind the development of a new museum: “It was long felt by the government of India that Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the messiah of the downtrodden, can be portrayed as a model to instil a sense of achievement and pride for the deprived segment of the masses. His humble background, deprived childhood and upbringing in a caste-sensitive society touches the major population of India.
“The decision of selecting a befitting memorial place zeroed down to Delhi, where he had culminated most of his aspirations into action as a crusader of justice for all, emancipator of the poor, a parliamentarian and architect of the Indian constitution. The site, 26 Alipur Road, where he spent many years of his life and breathed his last, was acquired by the government in 2003 and was declared a national property.”
The government assigned the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment with the task of turning the residence into a befitting memorial.
The move also forms part of a greater strategy being implemented by the government of India. Singh explains: “The museum is also a part of the ‘Panchteerth’ being developed by the government in honour of Dr. Ambedkar. This memorial was inaugurated by the honourable Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on the eve of Dr. Ambedkar’s 127th birth anniversary.”
Pan Intellecom was engaged by the Central Public Works department of the Government of India as the system integrator for the project. Work commenced in August 2017 and was completed in May 2018.
Singh says: “Pan Intellecom was assigned the task of providing a lively recreation of the major facets of the life and activities of Dr. Ambedkar. This task was achieved by deploying high-end audio visual technology comprising direct view LED videowalls and high-end projectors, mannequins and holograms. We were also involved in the content production, with integration and programming, exhibits and art work development Dr. Ambedkar National Memorial (DANM).”
Regarding the work on content development Singh says: “The content aimed to focus upon real and authenticated artefacts and manuscripts so as to convey the multiple facets of Dr. Ambedkar. He was the emancipator of the downtrodden, crusader for equality, father of the Indian constitution, economist, nationalist, humanitarian, analyst, writer, orator, philanthropist, labour minister, law minister, lawyer, political analyst, parliamentarian, sociologist, educator, music lover and animal lover. The client wanted the content to be carefully worded in order to avoid hurting the sentiments of the masses. Also, the client wanted the content to enable the masses to get acquainted with Dr. Ambedkar and not with the dark sides of any religion or community.”
On the technology side, the end user had a clear idea of what purpose the AV systems would serve and this was conveyed to Pan Intellecom. Singh says: “The museum at this memorial aimed to create an immersive experience into the life of Dr. Ambedkar and his contribution, through extensive use of static and dynamic media, with AV content and multimedia technologies, towards shaping of modern India.”
Both content and AV were to fuse seamlessly to help the museum convey its message. Singh details: “A key aspect of the work was the creation of an AV document based on the content advisory note included in the tender and according to items mentioned in the contract. The creation involved a high degree of research, both factual and historical and and we interacted with institutions and specialists identified in the content advisory note. The approved content document formed the basis of all the content creation for the museum – static, dynamic and audio visual content.”
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