I wonder if she knows…

Her forefathers built the Taj Mahal for Emperor Shah Jahan in the 1600s to house the tomb of his wife Mumtaz Mahal… but I wonder if she knows today they are trying to set up a fact-finding committee to see whether it is an old Shiva temple; whether the cells below that have been locked for centuries contain idols of Hindu deities; or if they approached the court claiming to be interested in the real history of the Taj Mahal; whether this is not yet another attempt to destabilize the country.

The Taj Mahal is one of the Seven Wonder of the World. The woman laborer is one of the descendants of the workforce that built the majestic monument for Shah Jahan on the banks of the Yamuna River. The Mughal emperor’s lineage ended ignominiously. But generations of families of the skilled karigars that cut and polished the marble for the Taj Mahal, and who delicately engraved this marble with semi-precious stones, continue to live and work in Agra in its shadow.

I wonder if she knows that today you will find them in the Nai Ki Mandi slums around the Taj Mahal. Reluctant to be far away from the marble mausoleum. They continue with the family business. Proudly cutting and carving marble for handicraft industries. And doing precious inlay work on artifacts made for tourists. They are a poor lot of people who take a lot of pride in the only work they know. I wish we were a country of people who took pride in our heritage and didn’t seek to besmirch it for controversy. I wonder if she knows…

About Mark Manuel

The above thoughts/content has been proudly copied from the wall of Sir Mark Manuel. Being interviewing almost every role model of this country and going stronger each day. Mark Manuel is a respected Mumbai editor, writer, and columnist.

With over three decades of journalism in leading publications. This includes the Free Press Journal, Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Mid-Day, and Afternoon. He is famous for his brilliant pen interviews. He himself is a TEDx speaker.

Further

His interviews have featured in several leading media houses. They include the Hindustan Times, Huffington Post, BBC, and Network 18. He has interviewed almost every famous person. In the country from Mother Teresa to Muhammad Ali. His first book is just out. It’s titled Moryaa Re! It is a crime thriller that is perhaps the country’s first police procedural. He began his career covering crime. And in a tribute to his experience and knowledge of this beat.

Several distinguished officers of the Mumbai Police and its Crime Branch collaborated with him to make this book possible. In a statement of friendship for Mark Manuel and admiration for his work, Amitabh Bachchan wrote the forward.

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