I recently got an opportunity to visit Agra Fort which is a UNESCO world heritage site located in Agra and is one of the most popular tourist places of the country thanks to the overlooking Taj Mahal. The fort dates back to 15th century and they say that it took about 97 years to complete.
I was amazed with the beauty that lies within the four walls of the fort. What sculpture, designing, proportion! To come up with such perfection without any technological assistance is a wonder in itself. Since I have not visited Taj Mahal yet, the beauty and symmetry of Agra Fort is mesmerizing. The beautiful blend of Iranian and Rajasthani culture in the drawings and carvings can easily leave the architects and designers of the modern age, in awe.
As I was ascending into the fort and was being exposed to more intricate parts of the palaces within, I secretly felt proud of belonging to the same soil that this heritage is a part of. But very soon, another set of sentiments sprinted towards me - Ignominy and Shame. At one instance where I was cherishing the beauty of the giant walls which was the outcome of hands of bygone artists, at the other, I was ashamed of belonging to the same kin as those whose destructive and insensitive fingers had the audacity to scratch this age-old splendor to engrave their condemned names upon it. I was shocked to learn from the guides there that most of the beings who lack hesitation while mercilessly scratching the priceless history, are none other than we, the INDIANS! Its !ncredible in true sense to see that Indian themselves are sending messages of their inconsiderate acts and utter shallowness all around the globe through foreign tourists who visit our country, a land that they consider has initiated world civilization and has been a workshop of scholars, mathematicians and artists of the long-gone times. We sure don't fail to make an ironic mockery of ourselves on the world-stage!
The most beautiful part of the entire fort is the prison where Aurangzeb had held Shahjahan captive. That area in the palace is made up of exquisite and ornate carving with semi-precious gems embedded in the walls and pillars. The grandeur of the place is an experience in itself... something which I was unreasonably denied! My parents who had visited the fort about seven years back were fortunate enough to be able to walk inside the prison and glance at the reflection of The Taj through a glass piece which was placed instead of the diamond of Shahjahan times. But soon after that, since the selfish visitors had been furtively digging the walls over time to remove those semi-precious gems and wear them in rings around their fingers to set their astrological planets right, the area now was blocked by the government for visitors altogether. And hence, the art-lovers of this generation are thoughtlessly deprived of this ostentatious treat of beauty and marvel. This got me really upset as I was eagerly looking forward to visit and see that exact location which was always talked about whenever the fort was mentioned anywhere. While I was expressing my disbelief and was questioning as to why cant there be more guards planted in the area to prevent such mis-doings, I was told that a few guards are employed around the fort but they either start guiding the tourists for flimsy pocket money or simply laze around the area bothering least about their duties.
Well! So this is the honest truth. The fact that India was a golden bird which has been robbed of its riches has been brooded over since the time I remember but what I fail to understand is why cant that robbed bird be now saved from this slow poison that we ourselves are administering to it. And ironically, this time round, we wouldnt even have anyone else to blame it on. At one hand where we crib about unemployment being a big problem in the country, at the other, lack of employed guards is causing a bigger problem to this priceless ancient heritage.
Whether we like it or not, lets face the fact that Indians in general do lack civic sense. So its time to get it back into practice... Maybe by-force if not by-choice. How difficult is it to employ another dozen of well-trained guards at the fort and open all its doors of majestic grandeur to the world? Creating catchy video and print ads about !ncredible India is not all that is required of the Tourism Department. There is much more to it... Much more that needs to be done at the grass-root level. Only then, flaunting about it before the world would be justified and would make sense!
