The Taj - a monument of love or ...

Ok, today, I am in a really expansive mood. Two big posts in a WIMWI day!! Or maybe its because of my last post #13. I am not really a superstitious type, but if you are in an expansive mood and if you just want to write to your blog, you can indulge in such luxuries.

Ok, reader, never mind the above. They were just place-holders. Cut to the quick, the Taj Mahal, India's entry to the seven wonders of the world is considered a monument of love - the insignia of a weeping widower in memory of his departed wife.

The emperor of India spent millions to build his saga of love, and when the monument was completed, he cut off the hands of the twenty thousand artisans who had built the tomb - so that they might never again create a better masterpiece.

As I stared at the Taj Mahal on the back-cover of my marketing note-book, the white Taj suddenly turned red (or was it my eyes that desperately wanted some shut-eye). Either case, I cannot disassociate the beauty of the Taj with the brutality of its emperor in cutting off the hands of his artisans.

History is full of examples of emperors and conquerors and kings. Of great battles and romances. Of how Alexander almost conquered the entire world, of how Ashoka spread Buddhism, of how Gandhiji fought the British. But history almost never talks about the populace which made it possible. The common man is always common - too common to be written about or talked about, and yet it is his commonness on which the glory rests.

Me better than thee.

Ok, I don't have anything against competition. Humankind has progressed partly because of competition against Nature's elements, trying to pull a fast one whenever Nature wanted to put Man in its place. Really don't know whether Man won all the time. Nevertheless, Man competed and competed to win, to prove that he was better than thee.

Yes, sometimes, competition does bring out the best in you, and sometimes, Mr Hyde overshadows Dr. Jekyll and has a field day! Be it as it may, competition does kick one into activity. So, in that sense, competition certainly has a role to play in one's life.

Sitting in my room in WIMWI, I wonder should one always try to compete, when should one compete, what should one compete for, how should one compete, why should one compete, where should one compete.. (See, I am already competing against my limited vocab to chalk up a list of questions to ask!!)

No, seriously, is competition all there is to it? Twenty-seven years of my paltry experience cries out in defiance. NO, there are better things out there. Life is not just about one upmanship or stupid brownie points. Life is about... (Ok, I need another post for that.)

A friend asked me tonight, "Hows Life?" A simple question, really, and yet a thought-provoking one. I used it pretty often myself.

"Life is beautiful", I replied, not reading too much out of that. An hour later, during my hourly break from mugging, I start brooding on the answer, and write this post.

Yes, life is not about me better than thee, Life is much too beautiful than that..