Project Dastaan- A Bridge between the displaced refugees and their childhood.
The partition of India in 1947 was not only marked by the cessation of British rule in India, but it was also one of the largest displacements in the history where more than 14 million people were forced to abandon their homes and migrate across the border. Not only that, but it also witnessed extensive violence where thousands were killed, and those who survived still bear the trauma, fear, and longing for their birthplace inside their hearts.
Project Dastaan was launched by Sparsh Ahuja and his team in an effort to take back 75 immigrants, from both India and Pakistan to their maternal hometowns using the Bespoke 360 VR technology. The process involves interviewing the witness of partition and then, the volunteers cross border indulge in finding out the location. Although, since partition both the countries have evolved immensely, still there may be found some traces of a mandir, a well or some neighbor’s home that survived through the times. A filming team next takes its turn to recollect the images of areas that still exist and it is being edited into a 6 min. experience video, which is then shown to the partition witness and then to the general folks in an attempt to enlighten them about the history of partition and the survivors’ trauma.
A mere series of images won’t suffice the longing of survivors and thus, ‘Child of Empire’ was introduced which comprises an interactive animated voyage the survivor experiences as a child where he is not just watching but he is the ‘migrant’ himself and that his moves along the journey would affect the narrative.
Now as this journey has already inspired a massive population, the idea that stems from the innovation is that why don’t we use the same technology to reveal the wonders of the world to those millions of underprivileged and tribal communities who can only dream of traveling across the seas to ponder at what the planet served us all. Wouldn’t it be a fascinating experience for a child who has always looked at the sky wondering where its limits would end? Or for an old lady who had never stepped beyond the boundaries of her little town… The 360 experience of different corners of the globe could be captivated in the form of documentation which could actually make their dreams come true without having to physically visit those places.
Contributed By- Simran Khurmi, Content Writer at Mitti Ke Rang
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