No light-&-sound show at Victoria after tech glitch
Times of India | 17 May 2025
Kolkata: The popular Son-et-Lumiere show at Victoria Memorial was suspended on Thursday due to technical issues with its sophisticated projection system.According to Victoria Memorial Hall director Anurag Kumar, a fault initially affected three of the 10 projectors during Wednesday's performance. Whilst two were fixed, the third requires an imported part from Hong Kong."The component has to be sourced from abroad. That could take around four-five days," he stated.The 3D visual experience on the building's eastern facade requires several projectors working in unison through projection mapping technology.The present show, ‘Kolkata — The City of Joy', introduced two years ago, presents Kolkata's heritage through a dialogue between a personified Kolkata and an animated Angel of Victory statue from the memorial's central dome. It covers various aspects including the Independence movement, notable personalities, artistic luminaries, social reform contributions and cultural narratives.Weekly attendance peaks at 4,000 during winter but has reduced to approximately 600 in recent weeks during the summer lull. The programme is suspended during rainfall. VMH generates annual revenue of Rs 30 lakh from the Son-et-Lumiere.The programme operates in three languages: Bengali (Tuesday, Friday and Sunday), Hindi (Thursday and Saturday), and English (Wednesday). The outdoor venue with open-air seating necessitates cancellation during wet weather.