Audio guide concept for Tamil Nadu's heritage sites

Foreign tourists who visit four of the five heritage sites in Tamil Nadu can soon be free from the nagging of "unreliable" tourist guides and access authentic information about their history independently. Tamil Nadu Tourism plans to introduce the "audio guide concept" in these sites, in line with a similar facility existing in the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai and the National Museum in Delhi, said officials in the tourism department.

The heritage sites are Mahabalipuram, a testimony to the exquisite Chola and Pallava architecture, Thanjavur's Brihadeeswara temples, Gangaikondachozapuram, and the Airavateeswara Temple at Darasuram, all of which are exemplary 11th and 12th century temples. The sites will soon be equipped with audio cassettes that will provide information in a sequential order on each spot. These "audio guides" can be rented with hi-tech audio gadgets plus headphones, a tourism official said.

A sum of Rs.151 lakh has been sanctioned for the project, of which a major chunk - Rs.88 lakh - will be allocated for Mahabalipuram alone, considering the large number of foreign tourists visiting the temples there. The tourism department plans to entrust the technicalities of the project to the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ElCoT) and is seeking the Archaeological Survey of India's approval for preparing a "script" on the sites.


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