Our hotel was literally steps away from its eastern gate, and while we couldn’t actually see the domes of the Taj from our hotel, we could hear the singing that emanated from within at nearly all hours of the day (and sometimes night). We got up painfully early to try and beat the crowds, which the guidebook claims start to arrive around midday. (Everyone must read this advice, as it was rather busy at 7am.) The Taj Mahal charges a hefty Rs.750 (US $15) entry fee, which we actually had to go a whole kilometer down the road to buy, since they don’t sell them at the east gate. The ticket came with a free bottle of water and free shoe covers, though, which are two of the handful of items that are allowed to be brought into the grounds. The official word is that you’re only allowed to bring a small bag, camera, money, and mobile as long as it’s switched off, and you’re definitely not allowed to bring in pens or tripods.
This is due to the depressing habit of defacing historical monuments that people seem to have here. At every site we’ve gone to, popular or not, from the Hawa Mahal in Jaipur to the zoo in Delhi, there is graffiti written or scratched into the walls, red paan spat into corners and in corridors, and even sometimes shit and piss stains in dark corners. From what I’ve heard, the blame is often placed on the Western tourists; however, the graffiti tends to read “Ravi from Bihar,” “Mehra loves Sunita,” or is written in Hindi, and I don’t know any Westerners who chew paan. It’s both sad and frustrating to come to these places and see how little respect people have for them. I personally can’t imagine going to a beautiful and ancient building and wanting to carve my name into it, either at home or abroad.
Even on the Taj Mahal, India’s crown jewel of historical sites, which also happens to be a mausoleum, there were names written in ink on the white marble walls. All it seems that can be done to prevent further damage is to restrict what is brought in and by placing guards who search and inspect each and every tourist as they enter the gates. What these places also need are guards throughout the grounds, as well as restoration of areas that have been destroyed. It’s my understanding, though, that there just isn’t the money to implement those sorts of measures, partly due to a lack of funds and partly due to corruption within the organizations that are in charge of taking care of India’s historical sites.
I wonder, though, about the general disrespect that seems to be shown toward these places. Are people so detached from their own history that they can justify leaving marks or poorly treating their monuments?
We spent the morning exploring the Taj and its grounds. A haze of smog sat over the city that morning (except for a ten-minute period when it briefly burned off), making it not so great for taking photos. But after seeing its image practically everywhere for years, from the internet to posters, I was actually not particularly moved by it. Yes, it’s a beautiful building, and I admire the amount of work that was put into creating a memorial for a loved one. I was expecting to be blown away, though, and I wasn’t. I think perhaps that I’m less impressed by the big (literal and figurative), famous, man-made must-sees. When I was in Paris nine years ago, I saw the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, surrounded by tourists taking its photo, and I just moved on, thinking, “It’s really small.”
Maybe that’s the attitude that the people take when they graffiti on the Taj Mahal. Maybe they think, “What’s the big deal?”
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