The wonders that make India

The other day I happen to catch glimpses of interview with Union Culture Minister in front of the Taj Mahal. Glimpses here means just about a minute or was it the promo? Anyway this particular Minister is not someone whom you would give second thought. I guess the occasion was the hoopla over ‘wonders of the world’. For this blogger the ‘wonder of the world’ is the Union Minister herself!! The poster girl of Emergency as Culture Minister of 2007 is nothing short of ‘wonder’.

One of the dictionary meanings of ‘wonder’ is ‘the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising’. I don’t know whether in Indian context it is ‘strange or surprising’. Since we have another ‘wonder’ in the name Sharad Pawar who is a disaster as Agriculture Minister as also BCCI President- it’s a shame, but that doesn’t prevent him from clawing for ICC President. Wonders of the world!! Yes it is also about sacred ‘competence and merit’.

Ambika Soni is a study on sycophancy: Selected to Rajya Sabha as early as 1976 (during Emergency to be precise), then in 2000 as also 2004. When one is into sycophancy getting elected by people is for lesser mortals. Ambika Soni is not one of the rare ‘leaders’ who have never got elected to Lok Sabha. The ‘wonder’ is she has been ‘national leader’ for close to three decades, not mean achievement by Indian standards, very tenacious indeed.

As most sycophants worth their salt she has now realized the spin off of Market savvy. So some disgusting TV program in other country does keep her awake. She has absolutely no qualm in spending Tax payer’s money in coming out with ‘full page’ ad to ‘invite’ some third rate actor of third rate program to ‘experience Indian hospitality’. The alacrity and timing I am told was admired by NRI couch potatoes. Quite audacious our lady, I guess we need not blame her, market suaveness does have its deep pits!

There seems to be frenzy going on in certain market driven circles to ‘declare’ Taj Mahal as ‘wonder of the world’. It is a huge market gimmick which the common people should definitely be wary of. Who are the people deciding these ‘wonders’? Surely the mobile phone companies are a major beneficiary. And why should we spend our money to sms for market gimmick. No self respecting Indians should indulge in these.

A tourist should not visit Taj Mahal because it is classified by some people as some ‘wonder’, it might excite children though. This blogger has visited Taj Mahal when he was in school (as also all India tour in college). It is great to look at particularly from a distance. It is definitely an architectural wonder like the Pyramids. However the romanticization part is bit overdone. Shah Jahan’s love for his wife Mumtaz is understandable but what is not understandable is cruelty met to the workers and builders of Taj (if the stories of them being maimed are true). Surely the workers also had their loved ones, how Shah Jahan’s love precedes their’s is not clear to this blogger. This darker side should be mentioned in the brochures. The miseries of hundreds of people shouldn’t be lost in the packaging. History is not only about rulers it is also about common people, and democratic India is duty bound to spell these, inspite or despite the Market compulsions. The civilized societies around the world should take note of these whether it is Coliseum or Pyramids, the history/brochure on these should be comprehensive, and need include miseries of common people. It is not history otherwise…