Indian Newslink: Replicating the Taj Mahal is an insult

Replicating the Taj Mahal is an insult
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Staff Reporter on 01/11/2009 09:56:00
 
People around the world awoke on October 20, 2009 to read a news item on the
front page of most newspapers and prime time on television and radio.
The news item said that the Auckland Indian Association AIA was planning to
construct a ‘Replica of Taj Mahal’ at an estimated cost of $20 million.
Reaction from people across the Continent was largely critical, with one
question raised by almost every correspondent to this newspaper: “What is the
purpose of such an edifice and who will fund this venture?’
Many others asked whether there was space to build a Taj Mahal or whether the
AIA was planning to destroy the Mahatma Gandhi Centre, forget the Father of the
Indian Nation and go back in history to the times of Shah Jehan who built it in
the 17th Century in memory of his wife Mumtaz.
“The whole story appears impossible and we need to check facts,” we told our
readers and correspondents from various parts of the world.
But there was no stopping the barrage of brickbats coming our way.
We publish here a selection of those with the explanation from the AIA.
Taj will reflect Indian grandeur
The Media
The Indian community plans to raise $20 million to build a replica of the Taj
Mahal in Auckland.
The group wants a miniature version of the world-famous mausoleum to become the
hub of cultural activities at the community’s Mahatma Gandhi Centre in New
North Road, Eden Terrace.
“New Zealanders have their Te Papa, and what we want is a building that will
reflect the grandeur and the rich Indian culture and history, and be the pride
of the community here,” Centre Chairman Kanu Patel told the New Zealand Herald
.
Fund-raising efforts have already started for the grand plan, which includes the
marble mausoleum, reflection pool and gold-plated ornaments.
The Mahatma Gandhi Centre, which sits on a hectare of land and cost $6 million
to build, was funded mainly by donations from Indian families, but also received
large contributions from the ASB Charitable Trust, Auckland City Council and
Lottery Grants Board.
The centre will apply to these groups to help with the new project.
The Monument cannot be replicated
Rameshwar Prasad
I think it is the most ridiculous idea, a waste of money mooted by the Chairman
of the AIA Trust.
I know of two sites of the Taj Mahal – the original in Agra in Uttar Pradesh,
near Delhi and the other in Atlantic City in the US for entirely another reason.
I have not visited the US version yet, but from pictures I gather that it is
nothing compared to the tomb of Mumtaz.
Having lived in New Zealand for several years and still with great love for the
country, I would never visit Eden Terrace to see something like the replica of
the Taj Mahal. I used to visit the area for purchasing groceries.
New Zealand is so well known for other tourist attractions, but certainly not
the Taj.
If they have so much money to spend in building a tiny replica, why don’t they
just take every person of Indian origin to see Agra on all expenses paid stay in
Agra?
They will be content with what they saw in Agra and never allow a magnificent
monument to be replicated by modern technology.
Rameshwar Prasad is a former resident of New Zealand, now living in Worli,
Mumbai.
There are better ways to spend $20 million
Hari Gopal
Just as when I thought things could not get any dumber in Auckland, I heard of
the Mahatma Gandhi Centre’s bold aspiration to recreate the Taj Mahal in
Auckland.
A press statement said the “Replica will reflect the grandeur and the rich
Indian culture and history, and be the pride of the community here.”
As an architectural masterpiece, nothing can be added or subtracted from it.
While the original Taj never fails to move and dazzle, one can hardly forget
that its history is etched in and reeks of oppression, imperialism, colonisation
and slavery.
More than 20,000 people were exploited for 22 years to satisfy the desire of one
man.
The Nobel-prize-winning Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore once described the Taj
Mahal as “an eternal teardrop on the cheek of time.”
Was it Shah Jahan’s mourning tear, a tear of those enslaved workers who toiled
for this architectural wonder or was it of those begging children who smile at
every foreign tourist?
A tear they never shed.
The popular Urdu poet Sahir Ludhianavi also used his artistic licence to mock
the Taj
Mahal, comparing it to a wayward ruler’s method of vilifying the ordinary
man’s less opulent gesture to his ladylove.
It is deplorable for Indians to consider the Taj a national treasure in the
first place.
We should stick to our Bharat Natyam, Butter Chicken and Bollywood.
Auckland does not need an Indian Taj Mahal to be promoted as a tourist
attraction.
The City of Sails is beautiful in itself.
Considering the diplomatic spat between India and Bangladesh on a recent Taj
replica project in Dhaka, we should stay completely out of this business in
light of the growing importance of India on this country’s economy.
$20 million could be better spent on other needy societal projects.
For instance, the Indian community desperately needs a senior citizens
retirement home. It was a wrong time to initiate a discussion – our economy is
still in recession and our neighbours in Samoa have just had the worst natural
disaster in recent years.
The Auckland Indian Association will do well to donate money for renovation and
restoration of the real Taj, with perhaps a proviso that the Silver Fern should
be exhibited somewhere prominently in the complex.
Can anyone imagine getting a planning approval for such a ludicrous project in
Auckland. I don’t!
Those in the replica business should first try building Lego’s 6000 piece Taj
Mahal.
Hari Gopal is our columnist with an irreverent attitude to most issues.
Community Centre, not the Taj
Kanu Patel
The New Zealand Herald reporter totally misrepresented The Auckland Indian
Association’s future vision.
Anyone with the slightest knowledge of building costs would know that one cannot
build the Taj Replica for $100 million, let alone $20 million.
The Mahatma Gandhi Centre was built as a multipurpose complex and the Indian
community has used the facilities extensively for 20 years.
Since it was a refurbishment of the old Findlay’s Bakery, we were limited as
to what improvements could be made.
Our intention is not to replicate the Taj Mahal but to build a Cultural Centre,
which will be used by the community for weddings, musical and cultural
programmes, Indian dances, language classes, public meetings and large religious
programmes.
The Centre would provide car park for 300 vehicles.
Pioneer Indians slept on apple boxes, cut gorse on farms, had to overcome
language and racial barriers so that their families and future generations could
enjoy a better quality of life.
So we should be thinking about the future generations and what facilities are we
going to provide for them.
Ultimately it is about investing to preserve our culture, way of life and our
rich heritage.
Kanu Patel is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Auckland Indian
Association Inc, which owns the Mahatma Gandhi Centre complex on Eden’s
Terrace in Auckland.
Readers may send their opinions to editor@indiannewslink.co.nz or post their
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