While We Lose OurParadise

It all happened this month when heritage lover Rajeev Sethi and a group of historians discovered anachronistic restoration while on a walkabout at Lal Qila, an ASI-protected monument. Making these findings public along with photographic evidence, Sethi has pointed out some extremely disturbing discrepancies in the restoration work commissioned by the Union ministry of culture and tourism.

The famed inlay walls of the Diwan-e-Khas have been reset with cheap stones, the stream of paradise (Nehr-e-Behist) has been turned into a crude pool, while false platforms have been created at the Hayat Baksh Garden. In addition, the Hayat has also been festooned with kitschy jaali-lights. Besides, white cement has been used to fill up the cracks in the marble fountain at the Shah Burj.

The moment these charges were made public, along with Sethi’s intent to file a pil, a verbal crossfire erupted between Union culture minister Jagmohan and Sethi. Defending his decisions, Jagmohan says his ministry managed to persuade the army to move base from the Fort, clear up the 1.7-km-long slush moat and fix plaster work. He has also accused Sethi of doing nothing for all these years.

On his part, Sethi said he has always been deeply involved with culture and was awarded the Padma Bhushan for the same in 1985. He has also expressed the importance of making the master plan more transparent. Consequently, the ASI has ordered an inquiry into the reported use of white cement, probably one of the crudest materials to be used in the Fortunate Citadel that once housed the Peacock Throne.