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| The Taj Mahal in the morning sun |
The Taj Mahal at Agra is a must see for visitors to India. Its close to Delhi and along with Jaipur it forms the golden triangle of Indian tourism. A symbol of love, built by the Moghul emperor Shahjahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, it is the finest example of Moghul architecture. It has strong Indian, Persian and Turkish influences and took 22 years and huge amount of tax payers money to built.
I saw the Taj again a few weeks ago, the third time to gaze in wonder and amazement at the monument and as on previous occasions was stupefied by the beauty, grandeur and engineering excellence. Building the Taj was a multinational effort; Indian capital, architects and designers from Iran and Turkey playing a key role, guiding Indian artisans using local materials to create an international masterpiece.
May be this is some sort of a model which our economic planners need to look at. Can we get a few experts to oversee financing (unlike the Taj which was financed by tax accruals, for infra projects would need external finance) building of roads, employing Indian engineers and materials? May then our roads will be flat smooth and will not get washed away in every monsoon.
Suppose we can use the expertise of Coca Cola to develop Indian coolers like say bhel sharbat or kokam sharbat. Native, healthy and hopefully affordable to the masses. Why should we be drinking sugar rich carbonated drinks when we have a heritage of better drinks?
May the Taj could turn out to be more than a beautiful monument. It could be a model of economic planning.
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