e mërkurë, 4 korrik 2007

Taj, Wonder why?

Amid all the noisy hosannas and humdrums surrounding your inbox, newspapers, radios and TV screens that are demanding your vote to "elect" the Taj Mahal to become the "wonder of the world" (an exercise conducted by a certain Mr Mischievous Webber), sense finally prevails. A colleague dropped this in our inbox. It is UNESCO's little note proclaiming no connection whatsoever with this sham exercise and it sincerely prods us to be more objective in our affection towards heritage sites and monuments.

Surely, a recommended reading for those blinded by feelings of hollow nationalism and for whom symbols and sloganeering mean more than reason and intellect.

While the media's feverish frenzy in running 'Taj specials' (which includes Rahman composed numbers, expert panel discussions and SMS polls) is understandable for causes of viewership and revenues plugged by unrelenting gibberish watched by an undiscerning audience, what is not understandable is this!




Stuff like this makes our blood boil and skin crawl. Not only does one idiot take time out to frame something so boisterously naive, but thousands take time to forward it and feel a sense of pride at having done their part.

Look at it like this: Here is a Chief Minister, who, not a very long time ago, wanted to make an amusement park out of the Taj Mahal that alarmed and outraged conservationists and environmentalists alike. She poured enough money into this benami project from the Government's coffers and is now fighting charges of bribery and is accused of alloting prime land near the Taj to close friends and relatives. And then, unmindful of all these charges and an ongoing CBI probe, an entire state goes and "castes" her back into power. Following which, the whole of Indian media jumps into a frenzy by calling her Master Strategist, MayaJaal, Dalit Queen, Brahmin Messiah and other such ludicrous names. If we care enough about the Taj (and other such assets) to place it in the hands of queens as corrupt and stupid as her and worse, celebrate, is it any surprise that we hazard ourselves with gestures that are merely symbolic and achieve nothing?

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