Chicago, USA - Indian Americans have extended their support to Ganga Dham, a hi-tech mythological theme park to be set up in India on the lines of Disneyland with characters like Hanuman instead of Mickey Mouse.
The park is to be built on the banks of the Ganges in Haridwar, Uttaranchal, and will bring together an entire pantheon of Hindu gods, including Ram, Krishna and Hanuman.
Shiv Sagar, grandson of film and television maker Ramanand Sagar - whose serial "Ramayana" set an unbeatable record for TV viewership - is on a tour of the US to seek NRI support.
The Sagar family is setting up the park, and Shiv Sagar, who studied at the Les Roches hotel management school in Switzerland, and the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, is the project's CEO.
Ganga Dham, to be set up on a 25-acre site, will feature high tech rides, with Hanuman, among others, recreating great moments in Hindu mythology, an animated mythological museum, food courts, a temple city, a sound and light show and a petting zoo.
"Conceptually, the park is a no-brainer," Shiv Sagar said. Indian epics like the Ramayana had unquestionable brand equity. "Over one billion people have seen the TV serial. It has been shown in 60 languages and in over 100 countries."