The battle for the Taj 3 Jun, 2007 l 0010 hrs ISTlMohammed Wajihuddin/TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Print Save EMail Write to Editor These are ominous times for the Taj Mahal. It's yellowing, Mayawati is back and Indians are not picking up the phone. To bag the honour of featuring in a new list of the seven wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal requires votes - through calls, sms messages or the internet. But, astonishingly, even though Indians own many population-related records, the greatest monument that a man has ever built for his wife is lying 20th in a list of 21 contenders. And time is ticking away. On the sixth of July, at the stroke of the midnight hour in Greenwich, the polling will be over. On the seventh of July, at a glitzy declaration ceremony in Lisbon, the new seven wonders of the world, from the 21 finalists, will be announced. A global poll is in full swing. The Pyramids at the famous plateau of Giza in Egypt have already made it, the jury having decided that they are beyond contest. That leaves the other 20 contenders competing for six slots. Almost every Indian has grown up believing that the Taj in Agra is among the seven wonders of the world. Like so many exaggerated accounts of a medieval monarch's exploits, in bed and on the battlefield, this boast is a consequence of good public relations. The myth of the Taj's wonder status has been propagated by the fact that there have been several 'seven wonders of the world' lists. These are orphan lists. Nobody knows how they had been compiled or by who. History gives sanctity to only one list of seven wonders, the one compiled in 200 BC by Greek mathematician Philon of Byzantium. The Taj does not figure in it because, obviously, it didn't exist then. The monuments that featured in the ancient list were the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Temple of Artemis, the Statue of Zeus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Babylonian Hanging Garden, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus and the Pyramids of Giza. Now, there is a global movement to choose the new seven wonders of the world. It is, in a way, a private enterprise but there is a structured international polling. Initiated by Swiss entrepreneur Bernard Weber, the polling is open to all, prince or pauper, from across the world. Kicking off the campaign in 2001, Weber's New7Wonders (N7W) Foundation, after scanning the aspirations of thousands of people, zeroed in on 77 nominations. The campaign made it mandatory that the structures must be man-made and be in a sufficient state of preservation. Ruins, no matter how well they were reconstructed, were kept out of the contest. In January 2006, former Director-General of UNESCO, Federico Mayor Zaragoza, announced a shortlist of 21 monuments. The Taj barely made it - at the 20th spot. From January 2006, the final round of polling began to identify the top seven wonders. The prospects of the Taj have not been bright since. Alarmed at the indifference of Indians, Mumbai-based digital marketing company I Media Corp Ltd (IMCL) approached the N7W Foundation and got the right to be an official agency in India to enlist votes. "Anyone who is romantic and has ever loved anyone should vote," pleaded Bharat Kapadia of IMCL, flagging off the campaign called "India Unites for the Taj" in Mumbai last week. Kapadia roped in A R Rahman to compose the campaign's anthem which opens with lilting reminders of some fairytale romances in history: Adam and Eve (well, they didn't have a choice), Laila and Majnu, Heer and Ranjha, Shah Jahan and Mumtaz. The anthem's visuals, shot with the Taj as the backdrop, will soon hit television screens. Hitting the roads, with musical shows encouraging people to vote for the Taj, will be some of our film stars. Atop open jeeps and cars, the stars will sing and dance, taking the message to millions in at least 15 cities. A mobile van with an internet connection is being stationed outside the 17th-century monument in Agra, enlisting the support of tourists. The seventh of July is a little over a month away. But the response has so far been dismal. "The number of votes for the Taj so far is very low," says a spokesperson of the campaign who declined to give any figures. "The Taj will not make it unless the voting picks up in the coming days." The inclusion of the Taj in the list of new seven wonders of the world is beneficial. It will attract attention to the dangers the UNESCO world heritage site faces. Also, it is a monument that is not only truly impressive in photographs but mesmerises the tourist once he is coaxed into visiting it. The omission of the Taj from the wonders list will further discourage those who are petrified of an Indian holiday. Historically, the Taj Mahal has been fortunate. Not only has it survived Mayawati, it has overcome more serious catastrophes. There have been rumours that there were several attempts to demolish it or auction off its marble. During the 1857 uprising, British soldiers chiselled out precious stones from its walls. None of the stones are left today. For years, the Mathura oil refineries have hung like Damocles's sword over the Taj, lashing it with acid rain that is increasingly yellowing the tomb's white marble which were brought from Makrana in Rajasthan on bullock carts. But somehow, though diminished by the times and countrymen. It now needs an excuse to be pampered with renewed vigour.
