WMD

Weapons of "Monumental" Destruction

Why do "we" (Indians) feel compelled to spoil our cultural heritage? By this I mean the endless scribblings that adorn the walls of our monuments whether it is Charminar or Golconda. While some people try to etch their names into eternity some imbeciles proclaim their love on those aging walls. Even great heights and dangerous corners do not seem to deter them. They seem to take fancy in performing a "cliff hanger" leaving caution to the winds - only to see to it that the highest point on the monument bears their name! While pens remain the popular weapons of "monumental" destruction, some Buccaneers come armed with precision instruments like dividers from their geometry kits! A few years ago when we went for an excursion (in B.E) to Golconda fort I was surprised when one of my classmates took out a divider and started etching her name on the wall. Before I could stop her luckily she was apprehended by a security officer. The organizers of the tour finally succeeded in getting her out of the mess.

If it was the case of just walls it would have still been under control. The Archeological Survey of India conducts rejuvenation drives every few years and helps restore the limestone coating thereby erasing the scars. The other day I visited the Sir Arthur Cotton Memorial at Dowleiswaram. The memorial was the residence of Sir Arthur Cotton while he was working as the chief engineer here in coastal Andhra Pradesh. There were many working models that no longer work - all thanks to the neglect of the authorities. There were some exhibits that were made to retire because of the constant stress and strain the visitors impose upon them. There were a lot of rare photographs and paintings that depicted the history of the Dowleiswaram barrage. There were some portraits of Sir Cotton and his parents. The remarkable thing here was that the photos and paintings were just hung up. No glass casing to protect hem from the effects of wind,lights and people! What I saw on these portraits was shocking to say the least. I found scribblings all over the face of Sir Cotton! Does the lack of protective casing empower us to defile the cultural heritage? The memorial serves as a reminder to the rich heritage of coastal Andhra Pradesh. Will it last till the time I take my kids on an outing to the banks of river Godavari?

Is it not our duty to see to it that heritage sites are preserved for the future generations? The authorities seem to be content by merely pasting notices on the walls that scribblings would entertain a fine of Rs. 300. Nobody seems to care. Would 300 bucks be sufficient to restore a 100 year old painting once scribbled upon? I doubt it. When the Taliban were destroying the Bamiyan Buddhas near Kabul, the whole world including us condemned it. The same fate seems to lurk around the corner for the historical monuments spread across the length and breadth of the country. While the Taliban were fast enough to use "stingers" we use slow poisoning! While their noise attracted attention we dispose of our heritage sites in stealth! While a few hundreds of them fired their guns at those statues, each of us directly or indirectly contribute to the slow decomposition of the monuments. Add a complacent authority, lousy security, increasing pollution and an indifferent citizen to the mix. Time is now ripe to take action. Otherwise our future generations might put us on the same class as the Talibans when it comes to destroying cultural heritage!

The next time you feel an inkling to etch your name on the wall of that monument, think again, Your name is not going to stay there till eternity. The monuments are going to end up in ruins some day. The only way that you guarantee yourself that your name will go down in history is to do something worthwhile with your life. Something that the future generations will be proud of ...