Narendra Modi - 3D magic in Gujarat - speaks at 4 places using holograph

Sujatha wrote so much about Science fictions and was clearly ahead of his times – do read his Meendum Jeano [the return of Jeano] about the exploits of a dog, the technological marvel.  Even he could only visualize, - in a way Narendra Modi has put that into a reality.  You may or may not like his party or his views, but you must admit that he is different, far different than most other Chief Ministers and their agenda.

The man who earlier started the lead was NTR – yes NT Ramarao whose Chaitanya Ratham was a trail-blazer – after him many politicians have converted many luxury buses to their mobile propaganda van with state-of-art gadgets.  If there is an award for a vehicle winning the maximum number of elections, the celebrated “Chaitanya ratham,” a customised Chevrolet van that helped Telugu Desam founder N.T. Rama Rao ride to power, will grab it.  When he first hit the road with it in 1982, soon after founding the party, the vehicle was an object of ridicule by the Congress. The election was a landmark in the country’s political history, as NTR stormed to power within nine months of founding his party defeating a century-old party.  For months, the ‘Chaitanya Ratham’ trundled along the lush green paddy fields of coastal Andhra Pradesh, the dry landscape of Rayalaseema and Telangana and through the busy thoroughfares of the towns. The ‘ratham’ had rotating flood lights on either side and loudspeakers that blared the familiar soul-stirring song Maa Telugu Thalli Ki Mallepudandacatching the attention of the passersby. Driven by his son Harikrishna, it is said to have logged 75,000 km in the run-up to the elections in 1983.

Chief Election Commission VS Sampath announced the poll dates and plan for Gujarat assembly polls on October 3, 2012. Polls in Gujarat will take place in two phases: First phase on December 13, 2012 and second phase on December 17, 2012. The counting will take place on December 20, 2012. Gujarat has 182 assembly constituencies,  BJP has held a majority in the state since 1995 and will go to the election under the leadership of Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

In a land, where many politicians would have not have ever handled a laptop, Narendra Modi proves himself to be too tech-savvy.  He touched a new high this Sunday, a first of its kind, when  he launched his election campaign for Assembly by addressing rallies in four cities simultaneously.  His speech was telecast on specially erected screens in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot and Surat with the help of 3D holographic technology and satellite link-ups while Modi spoke from a studio in Gandhinagar.  Modi claimed it was for the first time in the world that an election campaign was being launched using 3D technology and telecast in four places. “You are witnessing a unique and first-ever incident,” he said.

At the Ahmedabad gathering, BJP MP and former cricketer Navjot Singh Siddhu, former minister and Modi’s close aide Amit Shah and BJP national vice-president Purushottam Rupala were present.  Modi’s image, projected on screens at the four places, was clear,  albeit there were some technical glitches.  He is proving his wide spectrum – a  month ago, Modi was campaigning in a very conventional style– via a yatra named after spiritual icon Swami Vivekananda; now as the polls draw closer – the man has changed gears and has unleashed hi-fi virtual audio-visual campaign. 

According to a report in Business Line, the phenomenon requires  setting up of a special type of stage, on to which a 3-D image of the chief minister is projected. It is stated that  the crowds will be able to view a three dimensional Modi as if he was speaking in to them person, even without using special glasses.  In his speech, telecast on specially erected screens in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot and Surat with the help of 3D holographic technology and satellite link-ups, Modi, who spoke from a studio in Gandhinagar, took on Congress for comparing him to “monkey” and “rats“.  He said he took pride in being called so, because “Devotion and services of lord Hanuman are known globally....I have got the chance to serve Gujarat, so the six crore Gujaratis are like Ram to me, I am their Hanuman,” Modi said.

In the tamil fiction ‘Meendum Jeano’  (The Return of Jeano), a sequel to En Iniya Iyanthira – which some believe to be precursor to Rajni hit Enthiran, Sujatha, wrote about the holographic images.  In the novel, the ruler of the Country – Jeeva eventually is a holographic image made.  2 persons controlling the Govt make a virtual image and makes a beautiful dumb woman Nila to be name sake ruler.  Jeano, the robo pet dog  for Nila helps her to find her husband and exposes  many truths about the real situation.  

In 2007, Modi masks were the rage. This time, Modi is there - everywhere- in 3D.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

19^th Nov. 2012.