Politics of sightseeing

In these troubled times, when the word temple has become synonymous with bad blood, it would seem grossly inappropriate to talk of another...

In these troubled times, when the word temple has become synonymous with bad blood, it would seem grossly inappropriate to talk of another temple and its revival. But fortunately, the issue here is not of physical or religious revival of the structure. It is firmly there, standing in its truncated yet hypnotizing splendour. The question is of its revival in our collective cultural conscience. Even this may raise the eyebrows, but the call of Kailash is too strong to be suppressed. This eighth-century marvel of ancient Indian architecture is waiting to be accorded its rightful place in its own land.

Any guess about how many of us, literates as well as illiterates, may even remember the Kailash if asked to name famous historical structures of India? A pathetic minority in a country in love with the Taj Mahal. Some may remember the Agra fort, the Lal Qila, the Qutab Minar and possibly Khajuraho, the Sun Temple or the Hawa Mahal. Kailash, however, has almost been forgotten.

Ask those who have experienced its mesmerising impact — those who have seen it as well as those who have spent their lifetimes studying this marvelous structure. Imagine the amount of planning and skill that must have gone into the making of this huge temple which has no parallel in the world as far as the architectural style is concerned. Unlike any other building in the world, this abode of Shiva was cut out of a rocky hill with the work beginning at the top and coming to an end at the plinth.

That is what makes Kailash the most prized piece in the string of extraordinarily beautiful rock-cut caves at Verul and Ajanta. And that alone is reason enough for it to be seen as the most wonderful heritage structure in India. Add to it the massive and tenacious efforts by those anonymous and unsung artists for 150 years. And imagine its resplendent beauty when it was fully painted. Compare it with the 22 years consumed by the Taj which happens to be the cynosure of all eyes, thanks to the rich marble that gives it its glitter. Moreover, Kailash was built many centuries before the medieval Taj, and unlike the latter, bore the brunt of human and natural onslaughts. No wonder some experts feel that it deserves to be included in the ten all-time wonders of the world.

But any comparison here is fraught with the danger of being seen as “part of the sectarian agenda”. A domineering intelligentsia would brand any such talk as one that reeks of regressive revivalism. But that is expected in a country where any attempt to reinvent the past meets with a scornful response from this self-righteous brigade of thinkers. They tend to treat history merely as a story of the past and not as a precursor contiguous with our present and future. In their eagerness to brand the "revivalists" as those living in the past, they are themselves becoming guilty of burying an invaluable past for an illusory cause.

Honestly, how many of our foreign guests do we take around the Ajanta and Verul caves, or for that matter even to Khajuraho, Konark or any of our beautiful ancient structures in the south? Why only and always the Taj or the similarly glamourous places in Rajasthan, their beauty and appeal notwithstanding? It’s time we lent prominence to our tourist destinations belonging to the ancient period as well. Let us begin with Kailash. Let us take it beyond the World Heritage tag and make it known to the outside world as a glorious symbol of ancient Indian culture.