Vote for Taj! But find for me yet another place!
As India (and the world) goes to vote for Taj Mahal tomorrow, an ugly form of patriotism and appreciation has surfaced utilizing a monument declared to be most beautiful by some.The claim for “seven wonders” (and one wonders why they need to have it to be only seven, and not thirteen, or a hundred) has been reduced to a competitive exercise where people representing their countries exhibit some version of solidarity to showcase monuments that have absolutely nothing in relevance to either the present, or the future.Moreover, the past--related to sites like the Taj Mahal--also needs to be investigated further before the glorifications continue in a world where human beings have less worth than marble stones.
In our world where visual appeal and exhibitionism is so rampant as to have become a required criterion for assessment of objects, events and people, it is no wonder that huge architectures are recalled with how they merely have been standardized to generate individualist awe, and not with any form of collective remorse.To mark this day with regret, therefore, I have translated one song which was written more than four decades ago by the great progressive Urdu poet Sahir Ludhianvi. The original poem follows the translated version:Taj MahalFor you, Taj Mahal is no less a splendor of loveAmidst the eldritch, obsessed are you with its troveMy beloved! Discover for me yet another place where we can meet!Grandeur of royal palace is deliberately contrastedFor the commoners; it’s a sordid message so craftedWe mortals have no permit to tread the paths so strewnWith baits to allure us into that maze, to dream to its tune!Before being inveigled into the royal sparks, my beloved!You should have descried the mammoth trickery and fraud!You could have felt the roars of your insignificant abode!Countless peoples in our world have showered love in abundanceWho can claim their heartfelt love ever lacked sincere affectionsBut they lacked the means of advertisement, of crude exhibitionsAfter all, they were like you and I: submitted by birth to cruel situationsThis monument, this mausoleum, this unmitigated embankmentThese are apparition of regal wealth and unmerited enchantmentFor the records of the wretched, these disdainfully antique afflictionsWere erected upon the toil, labor and sweat of many a poor generationsO my beloved! They must indeed have been in love foreverThose that could shape such magnificence by their love’s laborYet not a candle is lighted in memory of those that were enslavedNor a lamp they could plant to cherish the love of their belovedThis opulent yard, this palatial lap of luxury that marks the rulerBedizened with gaudy presence of stately, colossal architectureIt’s merely an act of mockery on part of an autocratic monarchWho usurping wealth, has smudged the poor, with this indelible mark!My beloved! Discover for me yet another place where we can meet!(Trans. by: Saswat Pattanaya, The Peoples' Poet)----The original poetry by Sahir Ludhianvi follows:Taja tere lie eka mazahara-e-ulafata hi sahitujha ko isa vadi-e-rangina se aqidata hi sahimere mehabuba kahim aura mila kara mujha sebazama-e-sahi mein gharibom ka guzara kiya mainisabta jisa raha mein hom satuta sahi ke nisanausa pe ulafata bhari rahazana ka safara kiya mainimeri mehabuba pase parde tasahira vafatune satuta ke nisanom ko to dekha hotamurda sahom ke maqabira se behalane valiapane tarika makanom ko to dekha hotaanaginata laugom ne duniya mem mauhabbata ki haikauna kahata hai ke sadiqa na tha una ke jazabelekina una ke liye tasahira ka samana nahimkyonke vaha lauga bhi apani hi tarah mufalisa theyaha imarata-va-maqabira ye fasilem ye hisaramatalaqa-ula-hukma sahanasahom ki azamata ke sutumsina-e-dahara ke nasura haim kahate nasurajajbe hem una mem tere mere ijadada ka khunameri mehabuba, inhem bhi to mauhabbata hogijina ki sanai ne bakhasi hai use sakla-e-jamilauna ke piyarom ke maqabira rahe be nama namudaaja taka ina para jalai na kisi ne qandilaye chamana zara ye jamana ka kinara, ye mahalaye munakqasa dara-o-divara ye maharaba ye taqaika sahanasaha ne daulata ka sahara le karahama gharibom ki mauhabbata ka udaya hai mazaqamere mehabuba kahim aura mila kara mujha se
