A few monuments have been this recognisable and photographed as the Taj. The seventeenth century Taj is a widely seen as a metaphor of love and romanticism. The completion of the monument, paradoxically, marks both the height and the start of the decline of the humongous Moghul Empire. It is easy to criticise the smitten emperor squandering his royal treasure at the cost of a great famine and an ‘economic-recession’ for a whimsical fancy. Sahir called it a great blot on the face of world. I guess Sahir was very much egalitarian and his words referred to his sympathies for the labourers and tax-payers. But vision and change, as history corroborates every time, asks for sacrifices at the lower schema of things. But, also, I doubt it is that easy to be this grandeur even if you have all the money of this world. Thanks to invaders and British, this country has some remarkable architecture and towns. And deep down the psyche, we all are megalomaniacs anyway.
Sahir: the greatest poet ever to write for movies, nevertheless, vouched for the downtrodden:
ye mahalon ye takhton ye tajon ki duniya (This world of palaces, monarchy and Tajs.)
-Pyaasa, movie
ye chamanzaar ye jamunaa kaa kinaaraa ye mahal
ye munaqqash dar-o-deevaar, ye mehraab ye taaq
ik shahanshaah ne daulat ka sahaaraa le kar
ham Ghariibon kii muhabbat kaa udaayaa hai mazaaq
meri mehboob kahiin aur milaa kar mujh se
(This bank of Jamuna, this edifice, these groves and lawns,
These carved walls and doors, arches and alcoves,
An emperor on the strength of wealth,
Has played with us a cruel joke.
Meet me hence, my love, at some other place.)
-Taj Mahal, nazm
Sahir’s words stand the test of time. What Shah Jahan did for the Mughals four hundred years back, a bahenji is replicating today. This time, ironically, branding herself as the purveyor and advocator of the downtrodden. History can recall none, who built up monuments and statues to commemorate oneself in his very own lifetime. Incidentally, among all the smears in her profile, the Taj corridor scam stands unclassifiable.
The Taj, taking liberty of the literary figures, is at least as much ironic and oxymoronic as it is hailed romantic. All symmetric and white, you just have to step out to see the wretched incongruity of the city and ‘blackness’ which engulfs the lives of the downtrodden. The city is full of filth and people swarming towards you from every direction. People are cynic and touts are more aggressive than their counterparts everywhere else. This place makes you feel sick. This city just got lucky to host Taj on its soil. This city does not deserve the gloriousness of Taj. And it is one end of the golden triangle consisting of Delhi and Jaipur; two far better and cleaner cities. Indians never excelled in making cities like the British and knows-not the art of preserving the past and ruins like the Italians.
I just hope that the Taj’s resplendence lasts till eternity with the un-moderated traffic of visitors, who do everything opposite to the guidebook. With the hues of ‘yellow’ imbuing the pristine ‘white’, the Taj, for the moment, is in a desperate need of Colgate.
PS: This city has awful raunchy accommodations and pathetic transport (that includes the airport which is still domestic, I wonder why) Rush out of this place the very same day and don't eat ANYTHING unless you're dying of starvation.
PS: This city has awful raunchy accommodations and pathetic transport (that includes the airport which is still domestic, I wonder why) Rush out of this place the very same day and don't eat ANYTHING unless you're dying of starvation.
© Rakesh 2011
