The Man from Madras Musings, his good lady and several others have just returned from a tour of several heritage spots in a State that is forever in a stage of war with our State over the river that connects us both. On the itinerary was the City of Victory, once capital of a great empire that included all of our State, but now a ruin, albeit maintained very well thanks to the UNESCO World Heritage status that it enjoys.
It was a spot where every prospect pleased, but alas, as the poem goes, only man was vile. The attendants in charge of each of the monuments, all of them in the employ of the Archaeological Survey of India, had devised their own set of rules on what could be done and, more importantly, what could not be done at these monuments.
MMM and friends had seated themselves in the courtyard of a temple with a rich musical history. One of the group was a talented and professional singer and he was asked to sing a song that had been composed 400 years earlier at the same shrine. He had barely launched into the composition when along came a guard and said that UNESCO rules forbid singing of songs at protected sites. MMM knew this was not true, but he chose not to argue. The group moved to a place in the open and the song was duly sung.
The next port of call was a picturesque spot and one of the group being a talented artist, began to sketch the sight. Mind you, it was just a small notepad, and not an easel on a stand or any such thing. But who should come along but a security guard to state that no sketching was permitted as per ASI rules in protected monuments. Some others were busy with their cameras and were told that no photography was permitted either. It was a wonder that we were allowed to even walk about the place. MMM could not help wondering as to why, despite so much of security, many of the monuments were disfigured with graffiti.
If this is the way the ASI hopes to attract visitors to its monuments, it had better do some serious rethinking. MMM can understand restrictions on photography, for usage of flash can affect paintings in particular. But what can the possible objection be to sketching and/or singing?
Always the blue board of ASI enmeshed in a wire cage threatening of dire consequencies is all there will be in a heritage site invarioubly. Not a word about the site nor historical details will be available. One thing is laudable lush green lawns and tidy keep up.
The reason for the ASI board to be kept the way it is, pointing skywards – Gods better take note of the powers of ASI and its guards from the skies, as humans are already much regulated and He better behave or face wrath of the mighty Government, Politicians and Bureaucrats, not to forget Courts with their own interpretations and rulings. Poor common citizen be crushed under.
Obviously the ASI is filled with asses. The braying kind I mean.