Tilting: How long will the Taj last?

Hi, Look at this article. Bypassing the Taj By Onkar Chopra Op-Ed The Pioneer Friday, October 22, 2004 The children had already exhausted almost a month of their summer vacation waiting for my leave to start. To make up for the lost time, while travelling from Jabalpur, my posting, to Delhi, my home town, by the Qutab Express we thought of making the best use of the journey. It was 5 am when the morning tea service woke us up and informed the train would reach Agra in 30 minutes. The family deliberated on whether to stop at Agra and save the rail fare or go directly to Delhi and come back at leisure to visit the Taj Mahal. The good wife said, "If we get down at Agra now, we can save at least Rs 400 on the journey fare." At this my son Aashish intervened, "But Mummy, then we will miss Mohabbat Kaa Taaj (a special programme on the Taj Mahal to be telecast on Aaj Tak at 9.30 pm that evening)." Our daughter Anjali joined in, "I'll prefer to see the play Taj Mahal Ka Tender, directed by Anil Sharma, at LTG Auditorium at 7 pm. We can visit Shahjahan's Taj later." "There is a controversy regarding the exact age of the Taj. We cannot even wish it Happy B'day with confidence," Anjali added. To this Aashish replied, "It may or may not be 350 years old. At least we should know how much time it took to build the Taj. Was it 22 or 12 years? Also, we do not know the names of the workers who built the modern wonder. How much I wish to applaud them." Seeing the discussion taking a different turn, my wife expressed her concern, "But where shall we keep our luggage if we were to get down at Agra? I don't trust the cloak room at the station. You know the way they handle luggage." I could see how my wife had diplomatically allowed herself to be carried away by the anti-Taj wave. And in response to my disapproving stares, she added, "I hear there is too much pollution around the Taj, and, hence, I do not wish to expose ourselves to such an atmosphere." But Anjali had another point. She whispered, "Papa, frankly let me confide in you. In fact, Mummy does not want to miss the Vedic Wisdom Ashram's 'Training and Talk' on 'God is your first need, you can dance with God' by Swami Parkash at Lajpat Nagar. And Aashish is keen on attending the Old World Academy workshop on 'Hitchcock and his influence' at India Habitat Centre. Finally, the cat was out of the bag. It was all about Taj versus Hitchcock. I protested, "So you prefer to sit in front of the TV, see plays and attend workshops than enjoy the beauty of the Taj." Seeing my displeasure, Anjali said, "Papa, cheer up. Let the ban on night viewing of the monument be lifted. Then you and mummy can visit to celebrate your next wedding anniversary. In Delhi we'll both attend the music launch of Gurinder Chadha's much-awaited film Bride and Prejudice and follow it up with dinner at Taj Palace (Hotel). There will be lots of balle balle music and you can to your heart's content dance Bhangra." It was apparent that the present generation was more nazdik (close) to TV and cine stars than to our culture and heritage. Deeply engrossed in our discussion, we did not realise the train had already crossed Agra and was nearing Mathura. More at: http://www.dailypioneer.com