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View of Man Mahal from River Ganga

Ras Ras Banaras, Virtual Experiential Museum, Man Mahal, Varanasi
A case of Adaptive Reuse as a tool for Heritage Conservation

Man Mahal, built by Maharaja Man Singh in 1600 AD at Dashashwamedh Ghat, Varanasi, was developed as a Virtual
Experiential Museum (VEM) by the Ministry of Culture in 2018. It has been conceptualized, designed and curated by
Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), in collaboration with National Council of Science Museums
(NCSM) for site execution. The museum was remotely inaugurated on 19th February 2019 by Shri Narendra Modi,
Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, who later visited the museum on 6th July 2019. He was highly appreciative of the
interactive experiential concept and the state-of-the-art exhibits.
The ASI protected monument, is a 3-storeyed palace building, covering an area of approximately 1220 sq. mts,
comprising a courtyard at the center and rooms around it and the palace is intricately ornamented with stone Jharokhas,
brackets and carvings. The virtual museum has been designed carefully by not altering its physical characteristics and
by integrating the original elements. The museum has 7 galleries:
1. Introduction to Kashi 4. The Descent of Ganga 6. Knowledge & Salvation
2. Kashi at a Glance 5. Yagya: Havo-hotra-havan-hom 7. Symphony-Warp & Weft-Pageant
3. Made in Banaras
The Galleries are designed with the exhibits using innovative technologies such as 3-D projections, holographic
projections, multi-view image reconstruction with web-based interfaces etc.

RAS RAS BANARAS, VIRTUAL EXPERIENTIAL MUSEUM, MANMAHAL, VARANASI

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