See You Later,Conservator

I presume all of us have seen that ubiquitous graffiti scrawled across an edifice,somewhere in our country,where Bunty has etched,in stone,a testament of his undying love for his beloved Pinky.

On the ramparts of once impregnable fortresses of valiant Rajputs,on the lapis-lazuli inlaid doors of magnificent Mughal monuments,on the walls of imperial edifices built by the British to instill awe in the hearts of the natives,no structure of any historical import has been left untouched by the ardour of amorous young couples,intent on manifesting their love.

Recently I found myself trekking through remote countryside in Madhya Pradesh,location-scouting for a new film project. My guide,an avid conservationist would stop every few seconds to pick up discarded gutka and paan masala wrappers that had been liberally strewn across the landscape by marauding tourists.

We walked for an hour through dense forest to finally reach a cave on whose walls were etched prehistoric paintings. I was delighted at being face to face with such ancient artwork when our guide let out a long sigh and pointed to an inscription right next to these priceless paintings — there,scrawled on the cave wall,was the mantra of the love struck masses— ‘Bunty loves Babli’.

Happy loves Honey,Smitha loves Subbu,Michael loves Maria,and Ayesha loves Anwar.More power to all you lovebirds — go ahead and shout it from the roof tops,feel free to tattoo it on your arms,by all means write really bad love poems,but please,please desist from desecrating our national monuments which have otherwise withstood the onslaught of invasions and the ravages of time.

I recently attended an art exhibition at the Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai at the invitation of Tasneem Mehta,who has spearheaded its restoration.

I am always awestruck by the sheer magnificence of this building and humbled by the painstaking effort involved in its glorious refurbishment. A ten-minute documentary highlighted the pathetic condition before restoration,of this,the second oldest museum in India.

And one realised that with a little bit of corporate assistance and huge amounts of passion by ordinary citizens,we could truly transform our crumbling monuments and restore them to former glory.

I fervently hope that our educational institutions will make every effort to teach our youth the importance of conservation rather than desecration. That,whilst we build expressways to the future,it is vital we don’t burn bridges with our past. And also that it is extremely uncool to scribble your girlfriend’s name on a wall or,come to think of it,even your arm.

samarofdiscontent@gmail.com