Mumbai, Feb 12: The song Jai Ho, sung by the melodious voice of A.R. Rahman, has gained world fame. The opportunity to enjoy this beautiful song will now be available to motorists travelling on a special road. A 500-metre-long road will now resonate with the Oscar-winning singer’s ‘Jai Ho’. This is the first time in India that the people of Mumbai’s coastal region will get the idea of being the most beautiful in the world.
It has been installed on a 500-metre-long road in the northbound lane for motorists travelling from Nariman Point to Worli in Mumbai. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has inaugurated India’s first “Musical Road” on Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Coastal Road.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde inaugurated it and experienced this musical wonder.
How the musical road works
This amazing idea is a testament to how much technology can do today. A series of rumble strips called ‘grooves’, designed at precise intervals and depths, are carved into the asphalt. When a vehicle runs over them at a speed of 60-80 kmph, the friction between the tyre and the road causes vibrations. Those vibrations produce sound waves, which together recreate the Jai Ho raga composed by A.R. Rahman from the Academy Award-winning film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.
First in India
This is the first such experiment in India and the fifth in the world. Similar musical roads have already been created in Hungary, Japan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates. The idea was conceived by former MP Rahul Shewale and was implemented as part of the Mumbai Coastal Road project. The concept has been introduced on a pilot basis and there are plans to extend it further along the coastal road.
For the first time, a signboard has been put up to ensure that motorists travelling on this road do not get scared. For now, motorists will get the feeling of driving on one side of the Arabian Sea while driving.