Light and sound to play out Gour history

MALDA: After years of neglect, Gour in Malda, the ancient Bengal capital, is set to come alive with a light-and-sound show that will trace the 200-year history of the area.
The exquisite beauty of Gour, which won it the "jannatabad" title from Mughal emperor Humayun, has been lost. An outbreak of plague as well as the changing course of the Bhagirathi spelled doom for the region, which gradually lost its prosperity.Left behind were the ruins of the Great Golden Mosque, popularly known as Bara Duari or the twelve-door mosque, Firoz Minar and Lukochuri Darwaja. Amid the mango orchard stands the maginificent gateway, Dakhil Darwaza. While most of these monuments are reminders of the past, the mosque, Kadam Rasul, is still used.
Once the show is inaugurated, myriads of lights will play out history on the IndoArabic wall of Bara Duari mosque, which was started by Hussain Shahi dynasty founder Alauddin Husain Shah and completed by his son Nasiruddin Nusrat Shah in 1526. After the Pala dynasty, the Sens -of Ballal and Laksman Sen fame -took over reins of Gour, establishing sole control over Bengal. Mughals and Afghans took over from them. The 13-minute show ends with the reference to the Vaishnav holy place, Ramakeli. During his stint as the to urism minister, Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury conceived the idea and sanctioned Rs 5 crore for the show. "Such a glorious history should not go unheard," he said.
The project was taken up by the architecture department of Jadavpur University, with acoustics expert Anindya Bhattacharya being entrusted with the job. Kabir Suman has lent his voice for the narration. Bhattacharya said, "Unlike at Victoria Memo rial, where only video shows are held, we have designed a son-et-lumiere show like that at Red Fort." Apratim Majumder and Supratim Biswas of Chandrabindoo have directed the music.
The move seems to have instilled hope of employment in the tourism sector among the local youth.
"The ASI took care the ruins were not further damaged but the state did not promote it as a tourist spot," said local youth Subal Mandal.
The shooting of a recent Bengali film at the fort also offered hope of employment.History-lovers feel the ASI should have conducted proper excavation of the area, which "could have unearthed beautiful structures of the city".