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Project:
A spiritual theme park named “Sagar World”
set on a 10 acre site near “Karjat Phata”
(fork of Karjat Road and Mumbai-Pune highway), outskirts
of Navi Mumbai at a distance 67 kilometers from Mumbai
targeted towards the city of Mumbai and the tourists
it brings. Mumbai is India’s largest metropolis
with a population of over 18 million. It receives 10
million domestic tourists per year. It also receives
1.35 million foreign tourists per year.
Sagar World will
have an animated mythological museum, themed rides,
central park, temple city, amphi-theatre, Dr. Ramanand
Sagar Museum, food & beverage, merchandising of
souvenirs and a 50 room 4-star hotel and spa. The concept
is of “Fun with Wisdom” or “Edutainment”
where children are able to enjoy while they soak in
the knowledge from the various stories of Indian mythology.
The Sagar software of 2,000 hours based on their television
serials such as Ramayan, Shri Krishna, Jai Ganga Maiya,
Alif Laila (Arabian Nights), Jai Maha Laxmi, Vikram
Aur Betaal etc. will be incorporated into the park in
various forms.
Promoters: The Sagar Group of “Ramayan”
TV serial fame. Ramayan is estimated to have been seen
by 650 million people world-wide according to BBC.
Scalability:
The Mumbai project is only a “seed” project.
There are plans to cover 9 ‘Worlds’ for
example Sagar World in Haridwar, Krishna World in Mathura
and Shiv World in Benaras, Ramayan World in Delhi. These
places account for 50% of India’s total domestic
tourist population of 250 million people. The last phase
of expansion is in International Tourist Destinations
such as Bali, Mauritius, Trinidad, London etc. There
are over 25 million NRI’s around the world. There
is a tremendous interest in Indian culture and religion
such as Yoga, Ayurveda and Meditation etc. which can
be tapped through such venues under the realm of “spiritual
tourism”. There are an estimated 25 million
people practicing Yoga in North America.
Advisory
board: has been formed consisting of Mr. P.K.
Kaul (Ex-Ambassador to US), H.H. Pujya Swami Chidanand
Saraswati Maharaj – “Muniji” (President,
Parmath Ashram, Rishikesh – Chief Editor of the
Encyclopaedia on Hinduism project), Mr. Anupam Govil
(President of TIE in Austin, Texas), Dr. Vijay Mahajan
(Ex-Dean of Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad,
presently John P. Harbin Centennial Chair in Business
- Marketing Department, University of Texas, Austin),
Braham Agarwal (Chairman – Hindu University of
America) and Dr. L. M. Singhvi (Member of Parliament
and former High Commissioner of India to U.K.)
Latest
Information: Sagar Theme Parks has already
raised close to $ 1 million in private equity from many
prominent NRI’s including Mr. Braham Agarwal from
Hindu University of America in Orlando, Mr. Anil Deshpande
from Orlando and others. Other non-Indian investors
include Alice Coltrane or Swamini Turiya Sangitananda
– wife of the Jazz Legend John Coltrane who runs
the Sai Ananta Ashram in Los Angeles. Investments for
this prestigious project have poured in from NRI’s
from all over the world including countries like Japan,
Trinidad and Tobago, Surinam and Canada. The project
has been written about by the leading press of the world
including BBC, Washington Times and Business Week (USA)
other than the local Indian press. |
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INDIAWEST
[ SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 05, 2004 01:07:06 AM ]
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A
hi-tech ride with Hanuman? Skeptics may have their doubts,
but if anybody can make it happen, it’s surely
the Ramanand Sagar family of Ramayan fame. And he is
getting jazz legend John Coltrane’s wife, Alice
Coltrane, a musician who now runs the Sai Ananta Ashram
in Agoura, California, to help him do this.
People rolled their eyes when writer and filmmaker Ramanand
Sagar announced in 1987 that he had an idea for a TV
show based on the Ramayan.
But television was still an unproven medium then, and
Sagar was seen as taking an unwise gamble.
It was a gamble that paid off handsomely for him—Ramanand
Sagar’s Ramayan, in 78 weekly half-hour episodes,
broke world records and until last year remained the
world’s most-viewed mythological serial. For years,
on every Sunday morning in India, life came to a standstill
as fans massed around television sets to catch the latest
episode.
Sagar’s 27-year-old grandson, Shiv, is impressed,
too. “Six hundred and fifty million people saw
The Ramayan,” Shiv Sagar says. He was in San Francisco
last week to spread the word about the Sagar family’s
latest venture, which may be its most ambitious one
to date.
Sagar Theme Parks Pvt. Ltd is planning to bring Krishna,
Hanuman, Ram and the rest of the Hindu pantheon to life
by building the world’s biggest mythological theme
park in Haridwar, on the banks of the river Ganga. To
be called Sagar World, the 25-acre park will feature
high-tech rides recreating great moments in Hindu mythology,
an animated mythological museum, food courts, a “temple
city” that will show different architectural styles,
a sound and light show, a petting zoo and a center where
visiting NRIs and others can set up remote poojas and
other rituals over the Internet.
The park was the idea of Prem Sagar, Ramanand’s
son and father to Shiv. Shiv explained that the family
had been thinking about it for over 10 years but now
that the business plan is in place, Sagar World is close
to being a reality. Shiv said: “It’s taken
time, but now it’s at the concrete stages”.
The park could be completed in as quickly as 18 months’
time, he said, at a project cost of Rs 29.5 crore ($6.4
million).
The holy city of Haridwar would seem to be the perfect
place to create a destination like Sagar World. The
town, where Vishnu is said to have left his footprint,
attracts between 23,000 and 66,000 visitors per day.
It is situated in the newly formed state of Uttaranchal,
whose Congress-led government is aggressively courting
tourism projects by providing a 100% income and entertainment
tax exemption. The state’s chief minister ND Tiwari
is an old friend of Ramanand Sagar, said Shiv. “The
state wants to attract tourism, more than other industries
like manufacturing, because it’s such a beautiful
place,” he says.
Should the project work out to be a success, the company
plans to open eight other theme parks in places like
Ajmer (Alif-Laila Museum), Mathura (KrishnaDham), Kolkata
(DurgaDham) and Tirupati (Balaji/VishnuDham).
The family, still led by 87-year-old Ramanand Sagar,
has far-reaching interests that include everything from
filmmaking to business to high tech and the visual arts.
But Shiv Sagar has found his niche in the hospitality
industry. Educated at the Les Roches Hotel Management
School in Switzerland, Shiv spent time managing Sagar-owned
properties in Haridwar and Manali.
He notes that the existing ashrams and low-budget hotels
in the Haridwar area have served pilgrims well until
now, but have not offered much in the way of attracting
new visitors. “The tourism infrastructure is not
so good. It’s been neglected by the big international
hotel chains,” he said. Shiv Sagar’s latest
visit to the US has already borne fruit – he’s
met with members of The Indus Entrepreneurs in several
cities, and he’s secured a $1,00,000 investment
from spiritual teacher Alice Coltrane.
Though the park will incorporate religious themes, it
is meant as an educational, rather than religious, center,
said Shiv. “We’re not doing this as a religious
project,” he told India-West. “It’s
not propaganda. We want to make it fun, a place where
people can learn the Indian stories.
” Plans are in the works to donate a portion of
the proceeds to charity, but Sagar World will be aligned
with no one religious organization in particular. Sagar
World, said Shiv Sagar, is purely a business proposition,
because that is the best way to maintain a transparent
and sustainable project.
The company will build on India’s trust and familiarity
with the well-loved Ramayan TV serial to create awareness
for Sagar World, though Shiv notes with a smile that
“no one has a copyright on Krishna!”
“Mythological tales such as the Ramayan and the
Mahabharata are a very integral part of Indian culture
and ethos and very little needs to be said about their
penetration to the grass roots level in India,”
he adds.
“Sagar World will be an ‘infotainment’
destination where families are able to show their children
the rich cultural heritage of India in an entertaining
fashion that is fun for the entire family.”
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World's
first Hindu theme park By Kathleen McCaul
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Its backers describe it as the "world's biggest
ever mythological theme park". Hindu gods such
as Ram, Hanuman and Krishna will be the central attractions
for a 'Disneyland on the Ganges' in India.
The aim of the 25 acre park, called Sagar World, is
to recreate great moments in Hindu mythology through
hi-tech rides, an animated mythological museum, a "temple
city", food courts and a sound and light show.
The park is to be on the banks of the Ganges, in the
north Indian pilgrimage town of Haridwar.
It is where the Hindu god Vishnu is said to have left
his footprint. The town attracts more than 18 million
visitors a year.
"There is a huge amount of pilgrim traffic in Haridwar,"
says Shiv Sagar, the project's chief executive.
"People come to take a bath on the bank of the
Ganga river because it is a Hindu belief that this cleanses
a person."
Unusual mix
"But after they take a bath there is nowhere for
the pilgrims to go to learn about Hindu stories.
"Sagar World is a spiritual theme park where children
and families can go and have a good time, while learning
about stories from Hindu mythology," Mr Sagar says.
Construction of the park is due to start later this
year. Mr Sagar hopes it will be ready by 2007 - in time
for the next Kumbh Mela. This huge religious festival
will take place in 2010 and is forecast to attract up
to 50 million people.
Although the mix of religion and entertainment may seem
unusual, Shiv Sagar is no stranger to the combination.
His grandfather, Ramanand Sagar, produced and directed
the hugely popular TV serial Ramayan.
The dramatisations of Hindu mythology were broadcast
around the world in 60 different languages. An estimated
650 million people tuned in to watch.
"Sagar World is based on the work of my granddad.
The idea has been so popular because people already
know Dr Sagar's work and know he shows the Gods in a
respectful and devotional way," Mr Sagar told the
BBC.
People come to take a
bath on the bank of the Ganga river because it is a
Hindu belief that this cleanses a person
Sagar World Chief Executive Shiv Sagar
Shiv has also enlisted the help
of Alice Coltrane, the wife of legendary Jazz musician
John Coltrane.
"Alice is a very spiritual person and runs an ashram
in [Los Angeles]. She knows our family well and stays
with us when she is in India. She is one of the main
investors in the park," he said.
Mr Sagar argues that Hinduism is a religion versatile
enough to adapt to theme parks and TV shows.
Disrespectful
"The Hindu religion is well suited to something
like this, religions like Islam are not allowed to depict
forms but we have many different forms and representations
of Gods," he said.
But Sagar World does have its critics. Some say making
the Hindu Gods into figures of fun is disrespectful.
Devas Samaroo, a Hindu priest and doctor based in London,
disagrees.
"If a theme park means to expand on the pantheon
of Hindu philosophy, to bring understanding to people
within a limited area, to spread the knowledge of so
many deities and aspects and qualities of god... I don't
think there is anything wrong with a theme park,"
he said.
Other people criticise the park for being built on the
Ganges - there are strict regulations to prevent building
on the banks of the river in Haridwar.
Remote pujas
The aim of the project is to build on 25 acres just
by the river.
"We have the full support of the government of
[the state of] Uttaranchal in terms of all the regulations
and other such aspects. They are very keen that this
project comes to Haridwar," Mr Sagar says.
The park is not only aimed at domestic tourists. Shiv
realises the park's potential in attracting the 25 million
Indians living abroad.
A centre is also being planned that will enable Indians
living abroad to set up remote pujas and other rituals
over the internet.
News of the park caused excitement at the Eelapathhswarar
Hindu temple in Wembley, North London.
"This project sounds unique and I would like to
go with my family. If I am alive I will definitely be
there for the Kumb Mela!" said Bahi Jayadeyan,
chairman of the temple.
Although the park is rooted in Hinduism, Mr Sagar wants
to attract visitors of other religions too.
If the project takes off, it will move on to an international
level. The plan is to open parks in Trinidad, Bali,
Fiji and Thailand - and perhaps even Orlando, Los Angeles
and London.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4494747.stm
Published: 2005/04/28 17:02:37 GMT
© BBC MMV
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NEWS
& ANALYSIS By Nandini Lakshman
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Dubbed "Disneyland
on the Ganges," the pet project of Bollywood's
first family will celebrate history, religion, and entertainment.
The tree-lined streets of Bombay suburb Juhu is Bollywood
country, home to many of India's cultural glitterati.
Big homes are the norm. Shiv Sagar, the grandson of
a fabled Indian film producer and media mogul, greets
a visitor in a spacious room that could pass for a film
set. It's decorated with a gargantuan painting featuring
Hindu deities. That's fitting. After all, the Sagar
clan is Bollywood's first family of Hindu mythical drama,
a hybrid of solemn pageantry and entertainment that
has shaped Indian popular culture for decades.
Throughout much
of India 's early post-colonial era, family patriarch
and film director Ramanand Sagar, who founded production
company Sagar Arts in 1950, turned out a string of films,
mostly historical dramas and love stories. He's best
remembered, however, for a hugely successful TV series
in the late-1980s called Ramayan, based on the Hindu
god Ram.
The elder Sagar
passed away in late 2005. And now a new generation of
family entertainment entrepreneurs including Shiv, 28,
wants to make its own mark by building what it says
will be, "the world's first spiritual theme park."
It will be called Sagar World. "We are positioning
it as a fun place with wisdom and trying to make it
cool," explains Sagar.
SACRED
AND PROFANE. Construction on the first phase
of the planned infotainment park (costing $6.5 million)
is expected to begin later this year, and the Sagar
family hopes to have the theme park up and running by
late next year or early 2008. It will feature high-tech
rides, knowledge centers about India's spiritual heritage,
food courts, and other attractions.
Sagar has already
secured a 25-acre site along the banks of the Ganges
River in the northern holy city of Haridwar. This is
a revered pilgrimage spot for Hindus and attracts 18
million visitors every year, some of whom, in accordance
with Hindu legend, take a dip in the Ganges to cleanse
themselves of sin.
On top of that
built-in potential audience, Sagar World would also
surely see a huge influx of visitors in 2010 during
a Hindu festival called Maha Kumbh Mela that takes place
in Haridwar only once every 12 years. That makes for
a big incentive to see the project through. "They
are expecting 50 million people for the Kumbh, and that's
a huge number," says Sagar.
DEITY PARADE.
This Disneyland on the Ganges, as it has been dubbed,
isn't just a commercial proposition, though making money
is clearly a priority. The park's design will feature
replicas of ancient Hindu temples, and theaters in which
actors representing major Hindu deities such as Krishna,
Ram, Sita, and Hanuman will impart cherished spiritual
wisdom.
The park will
also include entertainment and retail outlets. Every
evening there will be a Disney-style parade, complete
with fireworks and music. But the characters will take
the form of Hindu religious figures instead of Mickey
and Donald. "It definitely is for the masses,"
says Homi Aibara, partner at consulting firm Mahajan
& Aibara, which worked with the Sagar family on
the park's design.
Sagar and other
park backers have been careful to stress the educational
aspect of the park so as not to offend devout believers
or the powerful Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party
in New Delhi. So far, the reaction has been cautious,
but not hostile.
STORYTELLING.
"The merchandising of religion is happening all
over the world to a certain extent. Since it is an issue
of beliefs, it has to be done with restraint,"
says Vinay Sahasrabudhe, director general of Rambhau
Mhalgi Prabhodhini, the training and research Institute
of the BJP.
Indeed, the Indian
state government of Uttaranchal, the site of the park,
is backing the project and has even provided tax breaks
to the Sagar family. "This is not propaganda, but
a place where young and old can learn about their heritage
through our stories," insists Sagar.
Raising financing
has also been tricky, though Sagar says that, thanks
to funding from private investors, his family, and bank
loans, he has secured the $6.5 million needed to kick
off the project.
Sagar won't say
which individual Indian investors are backing the park,
though he did confirm his family last year approached
well-heeled expats in the West including Gururaj "Desh"
Deshpande, founder of telecom switch maker Sycamore
Networks (SCMR); Sabeer Bhatia, co-founder
of Web e-mail service Hotmail, which was acquired by
Microsoft (MS); and Mohan Mittal, father
of global steel baron Lakshmi Mittal. Alice Coltrane,
the wife of the late jazz legend John Coltrane, has
publicly disclosed her role as investor and adviser
to the Sagar World project.
THEME
PARK GROWTH. From an investor's point of view,
the Sagar family certainly has a solid track record
delivering the kind of entertainment the public loves.
The 1980s TV series Ramayan drew massive ratings at
home and was syndicated in 100 countries abroad, including
Pakistan.
Capitalizing
on this success, the Sagars churned out a number of
other popular epic dramas with good-conquers-evil plot
lines. What's more, as India prospers and living standards
rise, the country's $752 million theme park business
is now growing at about 25% annually, according to the
Indian Association of Amusement Parks.
The younger Sagar,
Shiv, also points out the park's backers can draw on
"2,000 hours of television software, which we can
leverage" to develop characters and sell video
entertainment. Sagar is a graduate from the Les Roches
School of Hotel Management in Switzerland and also holds
a management degree from the Indian School of Business
in Hyderabad. Yet part of his motivation is living up
to the religiosity of his family. He practices yoga
and meditation daily.
WHY NOT
AMERICANS? Another target market for Sagar
World is the 25 million Indians living abroad. "When
they come to India, a visit to the temples is mandatory
to acquaint their kids with their heritage. So we are
trying to make it cool for even a teenager," explains
Sagar.
Some foreign
tourists without family ties to India might be lured
into coming as well. Josephine Troy, a music teacher
from Minnesota currently visiting Bombay—who spends
three months every winter practicing yoga in the Himalayas—thinks
that "visiting the park and attending the discourses
would only enhance my India experience."
If Phase 1 of
the park succeeds, Sagar says he will move ahead with
a $5.4 million addition to the site that would include
a 100-room hotel and spa offering yoga and Ayurvedic
healing treatments. He doesn't rule out expanding the
concept to other parts of India or even overseas. Will
Sagar World click with Indian consumers? Perhaps only
Ganesha, the Hindu elephant god of prosperity, knows
for sure. Yet Shiv Sagar definitely likes his odds.
Lakshman covers India business for BusinessWeek
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