It is all Greek to us

ON August 6, The Indian Express carried an article titled ‘How to avoid a Greek tragedy’. It dealt with the conservation of the 2,...

ON August 6, The Indian Express carried an article titled ‘How to avoid a Greek tragedy’. It dealt with the conservation of the 2,500-year-old Parthenon in preparation of the 2004 Summer Olympics that are to be held in Greece. What struck me about the article was the emotional outpouring and media focus that the conservation of the Parthenon was attracting. I could not help but realise that it was all contrary to what happens in our country, to the detriment, unfortunately, of the splendid heritage that we possess and which is slowly vanishing.

Many are the conservators, archaeologists, historians and architects who are involved in the fiery debate about how the 5 BC Parthenon is to be restored, with ranks been drawn up as differing opinions emerge. On the one hand are the ‘purists’, the ones who feel that no new marble is to be used in order to reproduce the tapering columns of the Parthenon.Their claim is for authenticity without any new additions as the aim is not a ‘‘kind of fifth century theme park’’, (Mary Beard, classics professor and authority on the Parthenon, Cambridge University).

On the other hand are the ‘radicals’, the ones who desire a ‘major overhaul’ but realise the incorrectness of a ‘shiny full-scale replica’. The critics, in the meanwhile, point to the deception of the government in not making the public aware of where and how the ancient and the new stones have started to mingle with each other during the course of the restoration.

National speculation and international debate. How delightful this sound and fury is; how wonderful and how very different from the way it happens in our country.

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The majority of our valuable heritage sites are with the Archaeological Survey of India or the state archaeological departments, who have a tendency to view their jurisdiction with a proprietorial air. The result is that they operate with great secrecy, being loath to discuss or explain what they do. Their methods are antiquated and destructive and remote from the scientific revolution that is gripping the rest of the world. They often exchange valuable stones and pillars and replace them with new ones, which for them is ‘conservation’. The Taj Mahal and the Red Fort are two such examples.

Professionalism is linked to confidence, which leads to the ability to be transparent and open. But the public gets to know nothing about what happens to their heritage sites. Neither are we interested, unfortunately.

Nationalism has many components, a small part of which should belong to a pride in our cultural landscape. But that seems to be missing. We cannot therefore completely blame the ASI or the state archaeological departments for their inability to understand the importance of the work that they do.

We have all to understand the significance of our cultural landscape as an ingredient of nationalism. This landscape contributes to our identity as Indians, establishes our creative genius and links us to our future of which we will be the past.

The author can be contacted at rupikachawla@expressindia.com

Algerian-French artist’s work vandalised at Kochi art gallery over ‘obscenity’ allegations

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