Tum mujhe bhula na paoge,Himachal banks on Rafi,TV & natural beauty to attract tourism

The Himachal Pradesh government is stepping up its efforts to attract tourism and will use the television route to grab attention. The state’s tourism department is all set to release a one minute advertisement that has been themed ‘ Unforgettable Himachal’ and will showcase different sights of the state even as a Mohammad Rafi score,Tum mujhe bhula na paoge,plays in the background.

The advertisement was scheduled to go on air on Tuesday but television channels are urging the state to reschedule the campaign as social activist Anna Hazare’s fast is set to begin on the same day. “ I am fighting hard for space as most news channels are dropping their commercials in view of Anna’s fast,but entertainment channels Sony,Colours among others have no such pressures .Our ads campaign – Haan !! Tum mujhe bhula na paoge – will hit the prime time slots from Tuesday in any case”,says Arun Sharma,the state’s tourism director.

The one-minute ad opens-up with a shot of Shimla’s popular landmark,Christ Church at the Ridge and then moves on to beautiful valleys of Kangra before showing the narrow gauge train and the para-gliding events of Bir mountains. The famous temples of Himachal Pradesh,the Gompas (Buddhist) circuit,trial belt,snow,heli-skiing and Shimla’s vice-regular lodge all feature in the advertisement.

Sharma adds that the theme and the state government’s tourism promotion drive have already started drawing attention after the tourism department brought out its first coffee table book,“Har Ghar Kush kehta hai”,dedicated to Shimla. Another such book,Har Gaon Ki Kahani,is on the cards and will promote rural tourism.