Comments on: IS THE TAJ MAHAL A SYMBOL OF ETERNAL LOVE?

By: maj gen krishna

maj gen krishna — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:52:09 +0000

Dear Gen Surjit, Still here, but am thinking of retiring next yr. Regards

By: maj gen krishna

maj gen krishna — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:51:32 +0000

Dear Gen Surjit, Very nice coverage. Did you know that max temples at Varanasi were destroyed by Shah Jehan. Vijay

By: A Sharma

A Sharma — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:50:26 +0000

have read forwarded trailing mailwith amusement. I was also amazed at the sheer naivete and brazenness ofShri Surjit for his preposterous, absurd, extravagant, ludicrous and outrageousbelow-quoted assumption :

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I am curious to know as to which school/collegeShri Surjit attended ? Who was Shri Surjit’s history teacher in school/collegeand what were this teacher’s qualifications. Shri Surjit was also singularlyunlucky to have company of “learned persons” who told him thatBahadur Shah Zafar was Aurangzeb’s son…(sic). I am keen to know the historymarks scored by the “many Indians” being referred to by ShriSurjit. I will be amazed if any of these “many Indians” passedtheir history exams.

It is one thing to propound a theoryabout the magnificence or otherwise of Taj mahal and Shri Surjit is mostwelcome to profess his views and I have some agreement with him. I alsoconcur with him on the issue of over-romanticizing a tomb. What is puzzling,flabbergasting and flummoxing is that why Shri Surjit had to questionknowledge of history of his fellow ‘many Indians’ to express his opinion.It is a fact that some mughal emperors have been more notable that othersand it is also a fact that after Aurangzeb probably Bahadur Shah ‘Zafar’was notable but there is a fair bit of notoriety and fame attached to MohammedShah “Rangila” (famous for being cheated of “Kohinoor’ diamondby Nadir Shah) and Furrukhsaiyyar (famous for brutal torture and slayingof Banda Bahadur and his sikh followers) to name a few.

An interesting story about SahirLudhianvi. I have had the privilege of meeting him once as a teenager.This was on the sidelines of a ‘Mushaira’ in Chandigarh where many urdupoets including my dad were invitees. When I was introduced to Sahir Ludhianviby my father, another famous urdu poet ‘Sahir Hoshairpuri’ was with him.Sahir Ludhianvi after exchanging pleasantries with my dad spoke a few mundanewords to me. I then requested him for his autographs to which he readilyobliged and wrote following line before affixing his signatures :

“Sahir (Ludhianvi) ko Sahir(Hoshiarpuri) mile, kar kar lambe haath”

By: Maj Gen Manmohan, Singh

Maj Gen Manmohan, Singh — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:48:59 +0000

Sir, tusi great ho!

By: J Thomas

J Thomas — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:48:10 +0000

U R sounding more and more like Khushwant Singh !

By: GURPREET SINGH BRAR

GURPREET SINGH BRAR — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:47:31 +0000

Dear Surjit, as always, this is one of the most enlightening mails that I have received from you. Well, one could’nt expect any thing

less from a scholar like you..

By: Dhruv Katoch

Dhruv Katoch — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:46:40 +0000

A viewpoint on the Taj from one of our veteran soldiers, Gen Surjit Singh. Personally, while I can appreciate the architectural splendour of the Taj, it still remains a tomb for the dead. Perhaps the driving motivation was more a show of power than an abiding passion for a beautiful lady. Future generations always romanticise the past, burying the warts and ugliness which too are a part of every generation. Muslim rulers habitually built mausoleums to perpetuate their memory after death, much like the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids for similar reasons. Which is why so many tombs dot the landscape of Delhi. It remains a paradox that the structures built for the living have decayed but the structures built for the dead remain. a rather sobering thought…as also a comment on the priorities of the rulers of those times.
Have a great day…despite the shame of the CWG.

By: Hemi Bhagat

Hemi Bhagat — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:45:45 +0000

Your description is quite illuminating. I suggest you read a book by Khushwant Singh titled “Delhi “. As far as literary efforts are concerned it is a zero ( He is my relative) ,but the historical part is not bad .

By: prabal sen

prabal sen — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:45:08 +0000

that was really good

amount of effort you have taken is truly amazing especially in translating SH’s poem

Taj is the timeless stuff in the photographs also the love and affection that is palpable ( besides innocence especially in the B/W photos).

By: Neena Singh

Neena Singh — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:44:21 +0000

I can only say “Wow” – it is a beautiful piece and you should send it to Tribune as a middle. Great research and many facts unknown hereto are delineated. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the poem by Sahir again ( after very long). I love Urdu poetry and reading it delights me!

Thanks for sharing and all the best always,