I remember that when I was a 9-10 year-old in school, we were once asked to draw any one thing that symbolizes India. Some students drew the Indian flag; some etched out the Ashoka Lions; some settled for the map of the country; some sketched peacocks & tigers (our national bird and animal, respectively); while some more artistic ones tried their hand at a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi. I, on the other hand, sketched a simple-to-draw building – Taj Mahal.
The Taj Mahal has always captured my imagination as not just something that is the pride of India, but as something that the world should be proud of. Therefore, it was no surprise for me that the Taj Mahal finally made it to the New 7 Wonders of the World this weekend. Rather, it comes as a greatly satisfying feeling to me to see this architectural marvel find its rightful respect worldwide. If anybody in the world thought that the Taj Mahal needed a vote to become a part of the Magnificent Seven, the only thing I can say to that person is, “well, you need a vote to prove that you exist”.
I do not wish to even get into the historic and cultural background of building the Taj. The sheer magical impact that its mere mention has on lovers is emphatic enough to place it right at the top of any list that is created to honour such monuments. And while such comparisons can tend to be odious, there is nothing more obnoxious than comparing anything else to the Taj. How can anyone commit such an act of blasphemy?
Anybody who has seen the Taj, up close and personal, would more than vouch for this. Who can not be mesmerized by the sheer beauty of this memorial of love? And who, in his/her right senses, would ever put any other place in the world ahead of this as a wonder?
So, for over 1 billion Indians who swear by the beauty of the Taj, this is proof that we’re not alone in this world. But did we need it in the first place? To my heart, we did not. To my mind, we probably did. For this will give just the right boost to tourism into India, and open the floodgates for millions of global visitors queuing up to get their Visas stamped to India to catch a glimpse of this wonder. And that, to me, will not be just Taj’s victory, but India’s victory.
As far as I am concerned, there are 2 kinds of people who exist in this world – those who have seen the Taj, and those who long to see it. Period.
A maverick Indian, who loves writing on things & issues that are essentially Indian in nature. Subjects range from cricket to fashion to economy to current affairs to everything under the sun. I enjoy writing in a certain style... essentially humorous & satirical; with a tongue in cheek approach. I have been writing since I could hold a pencil, and it was my friends who encouraged me to share my writings with the world. Hope you find my musings interesting!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Copyright Regulations for Content on this Blog
This blog is syndicated & copyrighted. The entire text appearing on this blog is copyrighted to its original author, Shailesh Nigam. Why has this been done? Well, for the simple reason that the thoughts expressed herein are original creations, and as such the author has an exclusive right to intellectual property over them. And while I surely welcome people to use/quote some or all of the articles here, I would definitely like to be acknowledged for such usage as the original source.
You are free to share, distribute or transmit any single article or multiple/all articles (fully or a part thereof) on this blog electronically, by printing, by handwriting, orally, photographically, audio-visually, or through any other medium not mentioned herein, only under the following conditions:
* Attribution. You must attribute the content that you’ve used by prominently displaying a credit link back to the specific article page. The credit link used should point to the article page and not just to shaileshnigam.blogspot.com’s homepage.
* Content Usage Limit. You are allowed to republish an ENTIRE article or blog post on your website or print publication or e-document, only under the condition that I, Shailesh Nigam, am given credit as sole author of such an article, and the url for the blogpost pointing to the specific article page is published with the article, citing it as the source. An attribution link to this blog must be included even if you use an excerpt.
* Non-commercial Usage. You may not use this work for commercial purposes unless given pre-authorization in writing by me only. Content on shaileshnigam.blogspot.com cannot be used as is or by repackaging, rewriting, remodeling and sold to anyone for cash/kind; nor can it be used in its entirety as a free gift or bonus or charity that can be used for commercial gains or for the sake of gaining publicity. If you want to syndicate or distribute any full article on your website, please email me for permission. Explicit written permission must be granted before you can do so.
© 2005-2017 Shailesh Nigam
You are free to share, distribute or transmit any single article or multiple/all articles (fully or a part thereof) on this blog electronically, by printing, by handwriting, orally, photographically, audio-visually, or through any other medium not mentioned herein, only under the following conditions:
* Attribution. You must attribute the content that you’ve used by prominently displaying a credit link back to the specific article page. The credit link used should point to the article page and not just to shaileshnigam.blogspot.com’s homepage.
* Content Usage Limit. You are allowed to republish an ENTIRE article or blog post on your website or print publication or e-document, only under the condition that I, Shailesh Nigam, am given credit as sole author of such an article, and the url for the blogpost pointing to the specific article page is published with the article, citing it as the source. An attribution link to this blog must be included even if you use an excerpt.
* Non-commercial Usage. You may not use this work for commercial purposes unless given pre-authorization in writing by me only. Content on shaileshnigam.blogspot.com cannot be used as is or by repackaging, rewriting, remodeling and sold to anyone for cash/kind; nor can it be used in its entirety as a free gift or bonus or charity that can be used for commercial gains or for the sake of gaining publicity. If you want to syndicate or distribute any full article on your website, please email me for permission. Explicit written permission must be granted before you can do so.
© 2005-2017 Shailesh Nigam