Tired of political discussions, bombings or kidnapping news at WA forum..well lets have some romance then…
India’s symbol of love turns 350
Monday, September 27, 2004 Posted: 8:46 AM EDT (1246 GMT)
Up to 15,000 people a day visit the Taj Mahal at Agra.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TRAVEL/09/27/india.tajmahal.reut/index.html
AGRA, India (Reuters) – One of the world’s most famous monuments, India’s Taj Mahal, is celebrating its 350th birthday with a cultural extravaganza that hopes to pay a fitting tribute to the historic symbol of love.
The celebrations, to be held at a famous Mughal fort near the white marble mausoleum in northern India, start with a release of pigeons and a kite-flying contest before moving to a classical music concert at sunset with the Taj as the backdrop.
“This is the start of a six-month celebration aimed at drawing tourists to Agra and the Taj Mahal,” D.K. Burman, a senior government official organising the festivities in the town of Agra, told Reuters.
“It’s part of our marketing strategy. Although the Taj gets many visitors, you can’t stop marketing it. It’s like Surf, the detergent, it sells a lot but that doesn’t mean you don’t market Surf any more.”
Archaeologists also want to open the Taj for night viewing on full moon nights as part of the celebrations, which are expected to draw millions of visitors to the congested, polluted town of Agra, 200 km (125 miles) south of New Delhi.
Coinciding with the start of celebrations, India’s Supreme Court begins hearing a petition Monday by the government of Uttar Pradesh state, where Agra is located, seeking the lifting of a ban on allowing visitors to the Taj after sunset.
The ban was imposed in 1984 following reports that the monument was a target of militant groups and reinforced in 2000 over concern about preserving the site.
But that has in no way reduced the attraction of the Taj, as every day, up to 15,000 people file past the manicured lawns of the imposing structure, built by Emperor Shahjahan as a testament to his love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth.
Under stress
Historians say Shahjahan consulted experts from the Middle East and Europe as he planned his legacy, which took 20,000 people over 22 years to build. Although there is some dispute about when it was finished, the government and the Archaeological Survey of India say 1654.
The Taj Mahal stands on a marble platform surrounded by ornamental gardens. White minarets grace each corner and two smaller red sandstone buildings balance the postcard-perfect image on the banks of the Yamuna river.
But the surface of the onion-domed monument became yellow over the years because of automobile fumes, smoke from small factories, a large oil refinery near Agra and funeral pyres at a nearby cremation ground.
Two years ago, authorities used a pack made of brown clay to restore the original whiteness of the mausoleum.
“Pollution is no longer a problem. But the building is stressed because of the huge number of visitors,” said D. Dayalan, head of the Archaeological Survey of India in Agra.
“Vandalism remains a big threat. The breathing of the visitors can damage the building. Also, so many people walking on the same path for years has caused some abrasion on the floor,” he told Reuters.
It may be a monument to love, but the Taj has seen its share of trials and tribulations.
Last year, the Uttar Pradesh government began work on a shopping mall on a river bank near the Taj before it was halted following a row over the plan, which environmentalists said posed a danger to the monument.
When war clouds loomed in 2002, Indian officials drew up a plan to camouflage the monument.
