Kumbh Mela meets Virtual Reality, MP Goverment Joins Hands with Twist Mobiles

Aiming to tap a segment, which has not yet been set foot upon by many players, Indore-based mobile gaming start-up Twist Mobiles has ventured into virtual reality (VR) in religious tourism space. The move has been approved by the investors and the first event on the cards is Kumbh Mela at Ujjain.

Held once in 12 years, it is considered as the world’s largest congregation of religious pilgrims. Starting fro 12th April, the Ujjain Kumbh Mela is expected to have 50 million visitors according to officials.

With VR 360 technology, the huge footfall at the Mahakaal temple, which has often been a problem area to maintain and cater to, might be eased out.

SS Rawat, Deputy Mela Officer, Government of Madhya Pradesh, said, “There will be millions going for the visuals of Mahakaal Bhasam Aarti and hopefully, this time, people may opt for the VR darshan of the Mahakaal aarti. It could ease the immense crowd pressure at the temple premises.”

He added, “The MP government will be deploying 40,000 police personnel, 15,000 government employees, and 10,000 NGOs/ volunteers for crowd management.”

“We expect 4.5-million pilgrims to watch VR Mahakaal Bhasam Aarti,” said Virat Singh Khutal, CEO, Twist Mobile.

Apart from the Ujjain Kumbh Mela, there are three other Melas at Haridwar, Allahabad, Nashik. All having similar footfall.

Twist Mobile also intends to tap the tier-II & III market, which has the largest number of religious tourists in the country. According to industry estimates, the VR and AR market are set to be worth $35 billion dollars by 2025.

He further added, “It’s a huge business potential to tap the tourism sector, especially the religious tourism space, providing immersive media platform that can enable brands to engage with customers in an effective interactive way.”