The use of cutting edge AV technologies to communicate the contemporary relevance of The Guru Granth Sahib
S. Sundeep Singh (Bobby) Bedi
Abstract
The talk will explain, with audiovisual examples, the use of 360° projection, 4DX technologies that work on all the senses, multi-channel spatial sound and holographic imaging to explain the contemporary relevance of the core values ensconced in Gurbani. The values showcased will be relevant to contemporary life and easily relatable to the youth of today, irrespective of their faith. What we ultimately want to achieve is to impress on young Sikhs and non-Sikhs as well as the international community, that Sikhism is a modern faith and it promotes values that apply today and apply to all of humanity. The values highlighted will be Secularity, Caste and Gender equality, the use of strength only for the protection of others, irrespective of their faith, caring and sharing and deep respect for nature and the environment.
Video of Presentation
Body of Paper
Communicating the contemporary relevance of Guru Granth Sahib using cutting edge AV Technology
Thousands of years of history have shown that whenever mankind strays into an undesirable space there is a need for correction and some enlightened person takes on the role of a master and attempts to redefine a way of life. Over a period of time this way of life matures into a programmed set of actions and then takes on the shape of a faith or religion.
The suggested practices start being followed in letter, not in spirit. This leads people away from spirituality and into blind faith. People are again led astray, the cycle is complete and a new Master comes onto the scene and we start again.
Krishna and Moses existed more than four thousand years ago, Buddha and Mahavira walked this earth two thousand five hundred years ago. Five hundred years later there was Christ and four centuries after Christ came Mohammad. In that context Sikhism is a very young religion. The five centuries that have elapsed since its founder GURU Nanak walked upon this earth are but a blink of an eye in the history of men. Events happening at that time are well known; men who lived at that time are easily remembered. It was at that the time that Christopher Columbus stumbled upon the new world, that Vasco da Gama found the route to India, that Magellan completed the first voyage around the world.
William Shakespeare was writing his plays and his complete works were compiled before he compilation of the Granth Sahib. All this just demonstrates how recent and contemporary The Granth Sahib is. More recent than Shakespeare which is taught in schools even today.
The Lodhi tombs are from the time of Nanak’s lifetime; Humayun, whose tomb is not far away, was battling to save his fledgling kingdom when Nanak passed into eternity. The Qutub Minar, in fact, was already dominating Delhi’s skies two centuries before Nanak was born. The beauty is that the text is available with us in its original form, fully authenticated and set to music in specified ragas. This is the story of a very young religion. Its concerns are immediate; its message, fresh.
However, even though it is the most recent and probably the most relevant faith, it is still centuries away from the present world – especially the youth of today. The development of AV technologies in the past few decades have pushed even current written matter into the past. Science text books are supported by animated diagrams comics have become animated films, novels and books are now films and TV. Virtual and augmented reality have enabled people to transport themselves into immersive experiences and environments. All this just means that today’s young people are very unlikely have either the inclination or the languages or even the time to read the spiritual texts – the Gita, Bible, Quran or even the recent Granth sahib, the words of masters or Gurbani. This is sad because many of the values captured in our Gurbani are relevant and even taught today.
Some of them are
- Secularism
- Gender equality
- The use of Violence only in the defense of the defenseless, not for personal gain
- Caring and sharing
- Deep respect for Nature and Environment
The Mool Project is an initiative that takes Gurbani that relates to or expresses the above five values and communicates them to two key target audiences. The first and primary target is our own children who would otherwise be unwilling to imbibe the values of their faith. The second and equally relevant audience is the international community. People who have a reluctance or difficulty in understanding the tenets of Sikhism. Recent events in the US and other parts of the world have shown that the distinct identity of the Sikhs is confusing them and confusion naturally leads to uncertainty and even negative impressions and actions.
using the latest Audio-Visual technology such as
Dome Projection
Mechanised seats
Multichannel sound
Holography
Technology that uses motion, breeze, perfume etc.
In other words, we talk to young people about core values using their language, their aesthetic and their technology. I believe it is a natural form of evolution.
The Mool Project is designed as a show which is written by well-known writer and Diplomat Navtej Sarna, many of whose words are reproduced in this talk. It will be presented through the medium of Holographs by Kabir Bedi and will be directed by a host of young directors. The Gurbani and other music will be done in a non-traditional manner by contemporary singers and artists and produced by a many time Grammy award winner.
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It will take several forms. Initially it will be shown as a permanent show housed in a special building in Central Delhi, a stone’s throw from India’s parliament, a location akin to the Smithsonian Institution of Washington DC and subsequently on devices using immersive and wearable technology such as Google Glass etc.
Finally, the content will be formatted to be made available globally to anyone who wants to showcase it in locations of their choice.
Bobby Bedi
About the Author
S. Sundeep Singh (Bobby) is a graduate in Economics and an MBA in Finance. He has worked with HCL Technologies Ltd. Philips and Sony before he started Kaleidoscope Entertainment Private Limited. Bobby has produced several national and International award winning films which have featured in Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, Venice, Locarno, Montreal, Goa, Pusan, London and Valladolid film festivals. Some of his films are Bandit Queen, Fire, Mangal Pandey, Maqbool and Saathiya.
Bobby has received the National Award for Best Film by the President of India twice and in 2016 he received a lifetime achievement award by the Valladolid Film Festival in Spain. Apart from producing feature films and directing documentaries, Bobby designs, and produces content for Museums. These include Virasat E Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib, The Mahabharat Multimedia Gallery at Kurukshetra , The Bihar History Museum at Patna and the Baba Baghel Singh Museum at Bangla Sahib.
At present Bobby is creating the MOOL PROJECT, a multi-dimensional show using holography, 360° Projection, and 4DX Technology in New Delhi. Bobby has conceptualized the building and is designing and producing the content.
Bobby has been invited to speak several times on Intellectual Property issues at WIPO, Geneva and has represented the FIAPF (The world Producer Body) at Internet Governance Forum Brazil (2015) and Guadalajara, Mexico (2016) and at the Beijing Treaty (2012). Bobby is on the board of Indian Motion Picture Producers Association and a Vice President of the Film Federation of India. He is also on the board of TiE.