Surreal world of virtual reality
He stepped into Shat Gambuj Mosque, took a look around and climbed up on the roof to see the panoramic view.
On the roof, he felt an urge to experience how it would be like to look down from its edge.
While looking down, he felt a gravitational pull and scrambled to hold onto whatever was near him to stop himself from falling to the ground. Only seconds later he was glad to realise that what he was experiencing was in a virtual world through a VR (virtual reality) headset.
He was among many other visitors who gathered around to try out this virtual reality simulation showcased by Virtual Museum at the Digital World-2017 fair on December 6 last year.
Virtual Museum was displaying a virtual reality content simulating a person's movements at the 15th century mosque known for its impressive architecture in Bagerhat.
The visitors took turns to wear the headset along with a hand gear to take a tour of the historical site.
The simulation is so real that one even feels the sun's rays sneaking into the corridors and then disappearing deep inside before a staircase leading to the rooftop. The visitors were seen fidgeting their hands and feet for light in sheer darkness to find their way to an aisle or to get out.
Many of them trying out the simulation never saw the mosque in real life. And the others in the queue -- that continued to grow longer by the minute -- were excited in anticipation just by witnessing the gestures and screams one was making from fear of an imminent fall with the VR gadgets on.
Ahamed Jaman Sonjib, who developed the digital content with two others, was there to assist visitors for their ultimate experience of the mosque's virtual tour.
Perhaps one of the first of its kind in the country, the initiative was awarded by the government as one of the three best innovations at the fair that year.
In developed countries, VR experiences -- from plunging into deep sea to landing on the moon -- have become highly popular in recent times.
Sonjib said he would like to develop contents “that would bring us closer to our history and heritage”, which in most cases have not been recorded or preserved well.
Before developing the VR content of the mosque that had been declared “Unesco World Heritage Site”, he had taken help from archaeologists, visited the real mosque and taken pictures of it.
“VR contents have commercial use as well, like in the real estate businesses where a client can have an experience of a property beforehand,” Sonjib said.
According to a project plan sketched out by him, his team would develop 30 more VR contents on historical sites, tourist spots and events. To make the project a success, they have plans to include researchers and other contributors in the next three years.
“The experiences will be fun and educational for all, especially for the young generation,” Sonjib said.
Once finished, the contents will be made available online with a pay package, he added.
Their project plan also includes setting up Virtual Museum stations at the National Museum and at popular tourist spots such as Ahsan Manjil, Lalbagh Fort and Saat Gambuj Mosque.
Sonjib said if adequate financial support is made available to them, they could launch educational campaigns for unprivileged children across the country with their mobile Virtual Museum units. Thus the disadvantaged children would also get the opportunity to visit many historical places and learn about the legacy of the rich cultural heritage of the Bangalees.