To popularise the parks and memorials built by UP chief minister and promote dalit tourism in Uttar Pradesh, the state government is planning to bring out a coffee table book on dalit memorials in Lucknow and Noida.
The coffee table book will seek to highlight all the parks and memorials, dedicated to dalit icons, present a new face of dalit tourism in Uttar Pradesh.
“At present, tourism in UP is restricted to Taj Mahal and Varanasi for pilgrims. With these sprawling memorials, we see the potential for promoting a new kind of tourism. Dalits as well as upper castes across the world will be encouraged to see these memorials and learn about the contribution of the dalit icons,” said a senior government official.
The book, still in the planning stages, is likely to be a joint venture of the tourism and culture departments. Initially planned in English, the book may have a Hind version later.
The book will have glossy photographs of memorials taken form different angles and at different times of the day. “The Ambedkar Memorial presents a scenic view during the day time but when viewed at night, it presents a scintillating fairyland view. During full moon night, the memorial looks absolutely breathtaking. We plan to capture the different moods of every memorial and park for the book,” the official explained.
The state government plans to organise a contest for photographers who will click the various hues of memorials and the best ones will be suitably rewarded. The award winning pictures will feature in the book. The exercise will begin with the onset of monsoon when the grass gets greener in the parks.
Besides the photographs, the coffee table book will also feature in-depth articles about the icon to which the memorial is dedicated, its architectural style and its uniqueness.