Recently I visited probably the most impressive fort that the Mughals left behind and which is more than 450 years old. It is one of the most detailed and intelligent piece of art. Every single structure has a purpose and every single purpose has many dimensions to it. One would be amazed to see the principles of water harvesting, modern ventilation and planned drainage, all were there and in most cases better than what we have today.
Amidst the grandeur and vastness of this place, I was intrigued by an opinion."Do we really need them today? There is a land crunch and I guess we can better utilize the huge spread of this monument".
With the growing disinterest of people in such places of historic relevance and the third class maintenance by the government officials, one might find himself/herself leaning towards this opinion. But when you dig deeper to seek the larger picture you find so many other variables that actually matter a lot. In a country like India, tourism industry is one of the largest employers. Although, most of it is in the unorganized sector.
Take for example, the city of Agra. The economy of Agra is solely run on the basis of tourism. There are zillions of hotels and like half of them are named after the 'Taj'. The city also has other monuments like the Red fort, Sikandra and Fatehpur Sikri which make it an attractive tourist location. Everywhere in the city, you only find hotels, restaurants and travel agencies. Every other local is either into hospitality or is a travel guide.
Tourism is something which has a great potential for India and a lot needs to be done to make sure that we fully utilize it. We are fortunate to have so many places with monuments and natural beauty spread all over the country. These can be productively be used to provide employment to the huge labor force of the country. And also various incentives can be provided to promote self employment and small scale industries at such places.
Call it heritage or call it old buildings, the bottom line is we need to preserve such places. If not for the legacy they carry, then for the fact that millions depends on them for their bread and butter.
Amidst the grandeur and vastness of this place, I was intrigued by an opinion."Do we really need them today? There is a land crunch and I guess we can better utilize the huge spread of this monument".
With the growing disinterest of people in such places of historic relevance and the third class maintenance by the government officials, one might find himself/herself leaning towards this opinion. But when you dig deeper to seek the larger picture you find so many other variables that actually matter a lot. In a country like India, tourism industry is one of the largest employers. Although, most of it is in the unorganized sector.
Take for example, the city of Agra. The economy of Agra is solely run on the basis of tourism. There are zillions of hotels and like half of them are named after the 'Taj'. The city also has other monuments like the Red fort, Sikandra and Fatehpur Sikri which make it an attractive tourist location. Everywhere in the city, you only find hotels, restaurants and travel agencies. Every other local is either into hospitality or is a travel guide.
Tourism is something which has a great potential for India and a lot needs to be done to make sure that we fully utilize it. We are fortunate to have so many places with monuments and natural beauty spread all over the country. These can be productively be used to provide employment to the huge labor force of the country. And also various incentives can be provided to promote self employment and small scale industries at such places.
Call it heritage or call it old buildings, the bottom line is we need to preserve such places. If not for the legacy they carry, then for the fact that millions depends on them for their bread and butter.
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