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HERITAGE
A JAZZ concert held recently opposite Mumbai’s best known landmark, the Gateway of India has once again raised a public outcry on the desecration of the heritage monument. Issues like decibel levels, weakening of the stone structure and littering of the surroundings are being raised in a bid to stop the staging of all cultural events in the vicinity in future. Some heritage and environment activists have even put an age to the triumphal archway built in 1911 to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary in India. According to these doomsday evangelists, the Gateway would not last to celebrate its centenary if concerts are regularly held there. This is, however, not the first time that alarm bells are being sounded in what should appear to be a concerted attempt to sabotage a cultural function in or around a heritage structure. Agra’s Taj Mahal, Delhi’s Purana Qila, Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial and Mumbai’s Bandra Fort have been similarly targeted whenever a music concert, play, fashion show or son-et-lumiere programme has been held there in the past. "These activists have nothing better to do than throw a spanner in the works," said an event management professional who did not wish to be named. "They talk about a ban on the cultural shows and yet want the money from the shows for the maintenance of the heritage spots. What do they know about conservation? All they want is a share of the publicity such events generate. They are rank opportunists!" Significantly, this time around, events’ organisers have found sympathy in a section of conservationists. Together, they argue that if rock bands and dance troupes can stage shows close to the Eiffel Tower in Paris or within the Coliseum of Rome, nobody needs to worry about the Gateway of India. "There is no need for taking the extreme step of banning concerts and other events at Gateway," asserts Nirmal Kolhatkar, a structural engineer, formerly with the city municipal corporation. "All that requires to be done is to ensure sufficient precautions about distance from the monument, time limit, frequency of events and the clean-up arrangements after the show." Noted urban
conservationist Harshad Bhatia is more specific: "So long as the
Gateway is not touched physically, there is no reason for concern. While
setting up the stage, ideally a ring of six metres should be left around
the monument. A concert should not exceed five hours and there should be
not more than one event in a day." |
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"I would say that allowing an event once a month in the precincts is safe enough," opines Tasneem Mehta of the Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). "It cannot possibly be an every night affair. The government must come out with clear guidelines on this issue." There are some civic and commercial aspects to the issue as well. While the municipal corporation is the custodian of the monument, other bodies like the Archaeological Survey of India, Tourism Ministry and Department of Culture too have their interests, for obvious reasons. "There can be no denying that the Gateway is a major tourist attraction and any event held against its backdrop is bound to be a total sell out," Kolhatkar points out. "Every government department knows that. But where does the money from this commercial exploitation go? I am not sure how the money generated from the shows have benefited the Gateway in any way." Conservation architects like Vikas Dilawari are of the view that before any policy decision is taken, the government needs to undertake a "proper scientific-study" on the permissible decibel limits for the monument. "It is time that the issue be reviewed holistically," he says. "Timings of shows, frequency of events, clearing of litter and so on, need to be thrashed out finally." MF |
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