A Taj Mahal on the Thames? Tourists stopped to take pictures and bored Londoners, stiffly rushing past Westminster, paused in amusement as a replica of the Taj floated down the Thames on Tuesday morning.

No, it was not the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Board promoting the newest wonder of the world, but the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone trying to market London to Indians! And on hand were a host of Indian celebrities, including (yes, you guessed it!) Shilpa Shetty, to lend a touch of glamour to the launch of a three-month “celebration” of contemporary Indian art and culture.

The Bollywood actor, still basking in the glory of her Big Brother fame, got almost carried away by her role as an “ambassador” for India as she breathlessly waxed lyrical about the “amazing gifts” India had to offer, hailing the festival as something akin to a godsend for Londoners and visitors to London.

Rahul Dravid, captain of the visiting Indian cricket team, on the other hand, quietly took his place and watched the six-metre-high “floating Taj” sail past some of London’s most famous landmarks such as the Houses of Parliament, St. Paul’s and the London Eye before coming to rest at the London Bridge.

“India Now,” as the festival is called, will showcase cinema, theatre, music, fashion, food and business through more than 1,500 events spread across London — home to some 4,30,000 people of Indian origin and a popular destination for the Indian tourist.

The marketing pitch for the festival, billed to attract over one million people, is that it will open a whole new world for Londoners wanting to know more about India.

Launching the festival, Mr. Livingstone described it as an opportunity to experience the “richness of Indian culture” while James Bidwell, Chief Executive of London Unlimited, the international marketing agency for London, called it a bridge with “one of the most powerful emerging countries of the future on cultural, sporting and business levels.”

It appears that a Swiss based organisation – New7Wonders Foundation – had organized this global poll through their website – www.new7wonders.com — in which people could vote for their favourite monument either on-line or by phone or through text messages (SMS). The Foundation was created in 2001 by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber, ‘with a mission to protect humankind’s heritage across the globe’, as stated in their website. What is their locus standi to conduct such a poll? And why did people the world over get so worked up on such a non-issue?

These questions remained unanswered till date. While some hint can be gathered from another line in the Foundation’s website which states – ‘All New7Wonders voters are Members. In order to register your vote, you must provide us with several required details’. It is thus obvious this organisation has managed a massive database of e-mail addresses, landline phone numbers and mobile phone numbers. There could be some marketing organisation behind this or I suspect it is the work of a consortium of mobile phone operators who have made money on getting millions and millions of SMSs sent/exchanged during this entire exercise. In India, at least, it is very common practice to induce people to send SMSs, for the slightest of reasons, all adding up to massive revenues for these service providers. Virtually every programme on TV and FM radio in India is requesting for SMS responses for one reason or the other.

When I was young, and that was many many moons ago, we read in books on General Knowledge about the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World and the Seven Wonders of the World. That was it. We never questioned who voted them in or who set up any Foundation to select them. The Seven Ancient wonders included: The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in then Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and areas around), the Temple of Zeus in Greece, the Colossus of Rhodes on the Island of Rhodes in the Aegean Sea, the Lighthouse of Alexandria in Egypt, the temple of Artemis in Greece and the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus in ancient Greece. All these wonders were those that were built between 3000 BC and 5th Century AD.

We also had a list of the Seven Wonders of the World and without any question, the Taj Mahal found a place in that list. Always counted among the man-made marvels of the world, the Taj Mahal has refound pride of place in a new list of seven wonders virtually ‘elected’ to that position by people around the globe.

There is no doubt that the Taj, as the Taj Mahal is normally referred to, is the most photographed and thus the most visible monument in the world. In the list of seven wonders that were announced by the New7Wonders Foundation at a gala ceremony held in Lisbon, to coincide with the date 07.07.07, Bollywood actor Bipasha Basu did the honours. In this list of Seven Wonders announced are included the Great Wall of China, Petra in Jordan, Statue of Christ Redeemer in Brazil, Machu Picchu in Peru, Pyramid of Chichen Itza in Mexico and the Roman Colosseum.

While there has been huge media hype surrounding the campaign launched in 2000, it has also drawn criticism. UNESCO disassociated itself with the campaign when it reaffirmed that it has no link with the initiative, which it says would reflect — “only the opinions of those with access to the internet”. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar part of the monument, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 when it was described as a “universally admired masterpiece of the world’s heritage.”

After the launch of the voting campaign in 2000, the nominations were whittled down by public votes to 77 in 2006. This was further shortened to a list of 21 by a panel of architectural experts chaired by former UNESCO Chief FM Zaragoza. These twenty-one finalists were announced on 1 Jan 2006. Some in Egypt saw it as competition to the status of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the only surviving monument of the original Ancient Wonders. Egyptian Culture Minister Farouq Hosni said the project was “absurd” and described its creator, Weber, as a man “concerned primarily with self-promotion”. Nagib Amin, an Egyptian expert on World Heritage Sites, has pointed out that “in addition to the commercial aspect, the vote has no scientific basis.”

After complaints from Egypt, the Pyramid was given special status and removed from the voting list. A look at the website of the organisers of this campaign, states – ‘The New7Wonders Foundation designates the Pyramids of Giza — the only one remaining of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World — as an Honorary New7Wonders candidate, and removed it from the voting’. We thus have the odd situation of having an additional Wonder in an honoray capacity! Amongst the criticism levied, some have alleged that this campaign is strongly influenced by patriotism, especially since they allowed voting through internet and SMSs. Some countries have also given special incentives to voters so that the nominated Wonder from their countries could win. Nominees such as the Easter Island’s Moai statues and Angkor Wat were at the top of the rankings until eventually the choice was influenced by those with high mobile penetration or internet access.

Yet, some refute this ‘patriotism argument’ with the fact that while voting on the official website one had to vote for seven nominees and not only one, thus favoring the election of Wonders of real worldwide importance and meaning. Interestingly enough the website of the Foundation does not make any mention of its legal or other status. It simply asks you to vote as per your choice. Nor is there any apparent independent auditing to verify the accuracy of its poll results. In fact it has no known voter base or qualifications for voting nor is there any means of checking the number of times any one individual has voted by SMS.

To explain away these and other anomolies in the process the Foundation issued a Press Release, which, in parts, reads – ‘There is no comparison between Mr Weber’s mediatised campaign and the scientific and educational work resulting from the inscription of sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The list of the 7 New Wonders of the World will be the result of a private undertaking, reflecting only the opinions of those with access to the internet and not the entire world. This initiative cannot, in any significant and sustainable manner, contribute to the preservation of sites elected by this public.’

There is a very interesting side to this poll just concluded. It shows up the telecom revolution that India has gone through. Imagine the roughly 165 million mobile phones in use in India doubling up as voting machines! India’s youthful millions, aided by technology, voted favourably and thus effectively prevented the Taj from being eased out. In fact, there was clear danger of such a situation occuring, when global polling first began to decide the new Wonders when Indians were horified to discover that the Taj was languishing in the list at a low twenty first position.

This led to considerable panic since every one believed there could not be any threat to the Taj’s pre-eminent position. Following early alarming reports of a very sluggish start, a campaign to save the monument began in June with a Mumbai based marketing agency taking up the cause. Indian print and electronic media soon swung into action, running slick national campaigns urging viewers to vote for the Taj through SMS.

By all standards the campaign was a runaway success. Mughul Emperor Shah Jehan’s 16th century monument to love has been redeemed by 21st century technology!

Ghulam Ali and Bipasha Basu share their joy on Taj Mahal making it to the list.
Euphoria over the Taj Mahal making to the list of the new Seven Wonders of the World, was not just restricted to Indians. Pakistani ghazal maestro Ustad Ghulam Ali, at a concert in Mumbai, joined in the chorus of proud congratulatory messages to the Indian monument built by Emperor Shah Jehan for his wife, Mumtaz.

The ustad, who last week was reluctant to react to Hyderabad Times request for a comment on the Taj (his spokesperson said he can speak about music , but not the Taj, as it would become a political statement ), dedicated one of his famous ghazals to the monument. It was his ode to love and an architectural marvel.

Meanwhile, nothing could deter Bollywood’s Bipasha Basu to host the Seven Wonders Of the World event at Lisbon. Though down with cold and flu, an excited Basu, who announced the name of the Taj Mahal, says “I was a proud Indian on stage at Lisbon. There were 60,000 people there but I was not even the least nervous. I had an attack of the nerves for about a minute but that was that,”she said.

A Bollywood director is re-releasing a flop film on the Taj Mahal in the hope that the monument’s inclusion among the new seven wonders of the world will renew interest in his movie, a newspaper said on Tuesday.

“Taj Mahal — An Eternal Love Story” recreated the romance between the 17th century Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal in whose memory he built the white-marbled mousoleum, considered by many as the greatest monument to love.

The 2005 film bombed at the box office.

But director Akbar Khan says global audiences could get interested in his film now that the Taj was voted last week as an architectural wonder in a poll of 100 million online voters.

“People across the world would want to know the reason behind its existence,” Khan was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

“This is most certainly the right time for a re-release.”

Khan is dubbing his film in several languages and will trim its length to try to increase its appeal for foreign audiences

It is a great time for indians.The taj’s Love spread over the world.This time is for a great pleasure for us .The TAj Mahal takes its right position in New seven Wonders.I wants to give a Tribute to The Great Emperor Shahjahan and Mumtaj Mahal whose Love is now become a Great honour for India.Yes we shows that The Indians are believes in great values of Love and we are ready to take any challange of the world……. Yes The Taj make it……..Many Many Many many Thanks…..to Indains and who vote for this Great monument.

The Great Wall of China, India’s Taj Mahal and Brazil’s statue of Christ the Redeemer are among those chosen to be the modern-day Seven Wonders of the World.

A poll of millions of online voters also chose Machu Picchu in Peru, the mountain settlement that symbolises the Incan empire; Mexico’s Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza; the Colosseum in Rome; and the ancient town of Petra in Jordan.

Organisers say the vote was the biggest online poll ever, getting 100-million votes.

The traditional “seven wonders of the world” all existed more than 2,000-years-ago – the Pyramids of Giza are the only one that remains standing.

After much public fanfare and 100 million votes, the world has seven new wonders to marvel at.

The Great Wall of China, Jordan’s Petra and Brazil’s statue of Christ the Redeemer were the first sites to be named in the international competition. The Taj Mahal in India, Peru’s Machu Picchu, Rome’s Colosseum and Mexico’s Chichen Itza pyramid were named just a few hours later.

The winners were announced at a star-studded gala in Lisbon, Portugal. The sites emerged as winners from a shortlist of 21 man-made destinations. They beat out the Eiffel Tower, the Acropolis and Russia’s Kremlin, among others.

Canadian adventurer Bernard Weber started the international competition. He launched the campaign in 1999 through his Swiss travel company.

Controversial campaign

The campaign was not without controversy.

At the start, the competition angered Egyptian officials, who said their Pyramids do not need reaffirmation of their status as one of the world’s great wonders.

The Pyramids at Giza are the last of the ancient world’s seven wonders. The Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Pharos lighthouse of Alexandria, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis at Eqhesus and the Colossus of Rhodes have all been destroyed.
In response, organizers of the Seven Wonders campaign declared the public would not be able to vote for the Pyramids.

“The world will have eight wonders come July 8, one remaining wonder from the ancient world and seven new ones,” Tia B. Viering, spokesperson for the New Seven Wonders campaign, said the day before the winners were announced. “Because they are the only remaining ancient wonder, we are honouring that and making them an honourary finalist.”
But that wasn’t their only problem.

There were several complaints around their voting system, where people were encouraged to vote online, through text message or by placing a phone call. Sending a text message through a cellphone or placing a phone call were both subject to long distance charges.

In addition, their website was so swamped with visitors, people had a tough time accessing the site to place their votes. According to Alexa, an online site that tracks the world’s most-viewed websites, New7Wonders.com’s traffic rating placed them at the 1,211th spot as of July 6.

TTThank you people, you have done that. Taj Mahal is now among the seven wonders of world.

More details very soon.

Thank You…. Thank You…Thank You

With only hours now before a new list of seven wonders is announced in Lisbon, Indians around the world are thinking Taj Mahal at this moment. Will it, won’t it? Did we fail to send in enough votes? Or will the monument of love manage to edge out other competing wonders powered by a huge surge of voting in the last few days?

The campaign had kicked off a few years ago, but most Indians woke up to it only late last year when the New 7 Wonders Foundation, a Swiss non-profit group, was to visit the Taj. In the manner of a beauty pageant marvels from round the world competed to make the top 21. Since then, it has been a massive global exercise from each country to vote its wonder into the final list of seven.

For many months, the Taj trailed badly before a sudden burst of concern that it would be left out of the new list saw frenzied voting from Indians. By late June, 13 per cent of all votes were coming from India. And that would not factor in the army of Indians all over the world.

Individuals and organisations made fervent appeals to cast more votes for the Taj Mahal. On television, hoardings, radio, the Internet. It became fashionable to vote for the Taj and schoolchildren asked each other- “Have you voted?”

At TimesofIndia.com, readers wrote in hundreds asking fellow Indians to ensure the Taj made the list. Like Babita Sharma from Noida who said: “It is really a shame on our part that we are not giving due attention and protection to the Taj despite its worldwide popularity. I would appeal to fellow indians to come forward and save the dignity of Taj Mahal by voting for it.”

Over the months, many readers also wrote in about their deep appreciation of the Taj and their apprehension that it was not being treasured and preserved the way it deserved to be.

A reader, Jayanto Ghosh, said: “The Taj is among the seven wonders. Nobody can stop it. Only Indians can do it.” Another reader, Binu Samuel from Baroda, echoed the sentiment saying the “Taj is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and no other monument can beat it. The problem is that we do not know the significance of it till we lose it.”

Many readers brought up the problems that the Taj has been mired in. Krishna from Bangalore said,”The government has to take measures to prevent industrial pollution, which causes damage to the Taj Mahal.”

Johnson from Kolkata said “Urgent steps should be taken to preserve this beautiful structure, else its days might be From Faizabad,
Deepak Kumar from Faizabad, UP, wrote, “The beautiful Taj Mahal has been caught in politics. But, we should not forget that it’s a building of love. So I wish that it’s always maintained with care.”

Added N P Roy from Faridabad Haryana, “Possibly the greatest structure ever to be built solely on the foundation of love. This epic monument, which took 17 years to build over 400 yrs ago, is truly an international treasure which needs to be preserved for posterity as one of the Seven Wonders of the world.”

Likewise, Allaukik from Dallas, US, sounded a warning: “Civilizations die if they do not preserve their past. Let us not be irresponsible.”

There are of course those who wonder why there is so much hype about a private endeavour. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has distanced itself from the campaign terming the much-awaited list as the result of a “private undertaking, reflecting only the opinions of those with access to the internet and not the entire world.”

The entire polling for the new seven wonders was on-line, and on phone and SMS.

Even so, when the official declaration ceremony begins at Estadio da Luz in Lisbon after midnight, many Indians will be waiting with bated breath for the announcement.

Among the top contenders for the list are the Great Wall of China, the Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru, the Colosseum of Rome, the statues of Easter Island and the statue of Christ the Redeemer, among others. Machu Picchu has been a frontrunner through the campaign with the help very active voting from Peru.

Seven “new” wonders of the world, selected by public vote and upsetting cultural experts, are to be announced Saturday at a celebrity-studded televised ceremony in the Portuguese capital.

British actor Ben Kingsley and US actress Hillary Swank are to host the event at Lisbon’s Stadium of Light, starting at 1900 GMT, due to be broadcast in more than 170 countries.

A private Swiss foundation launched the contest in January, allowing Internet and telephone voters to choose between 21 sites short-listed from 77 selected by a jury.

It said it had gathered more than 90 million votes by the end of polling at midnight Friday.

Frontrunners out of the short-listed sites include the Acropolis in Greece, the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza in Mexico, the Coliseum in Rome, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Great Wall of China, the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu, Petra in Jordan, the statues on Easter Island, Britain’s Stonehenge and the Taj Mahal in India.

The privately-sponsored campaign was the brainchild of a Swiss filmmaker and museum curator Bernard Weber, following the destruction of Afghanistan’s giant Buddha statues at Bamiyan by the Taliban in 2001.

However, the UN cultural body that designates world heritage sites has declined to support the event.

“The list of the seven new wonders will be the result of a private initiative which cannot contribute in any significant or lasting way to the preservation of the elected sites,” the Paris-based UNESCO said in a statement last month.

The initiative seeks to recreate the popularity of the seven wonders of the world of antiquity.

Only one of the seven, the Pyramids of Egypt, still stands today. The others were: the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Asia Minor, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Pharos of Alexandria.

The Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, Greece’s Acropolis and Peru’s Machu Picchu were leading contenders to be among the new seven wonders of the world in a global poll whose results were to be announced Saturday.

Also in the top 10 after votes were cast by more than 90 million people are the Colosseum in Rome, Mexico’s Chichen Itza pyramid, the Eiffel Tower, Easter Island, Brazil’s Statue of Christ Redeemer and Jordan’s Petra.

The winners were to be announced at a ceremony in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Great Pyramids of Giza, the only surviving structures from the original seven wonders of the ancient world, are to retain their status in addition to the new seven.

People from every country in the world voted by Internet or by phone message for the world’s top architectural marvels, the nonprofit organization conducting the balloting, called New7Wonders, said.
The Colosseum, the Great Wall, Machu Picchu, India’s Taj Mahal and Petra have been among the leaders since January. The Acropolis and the Statue of Christ Redeemer recently received a surge in votes.

The United States’ Statue of Liberty and Australia’s Sydney Opera House have been sitting near the bottom from the start.

Also in the less-voted group are Cambodia’s Angkor, Spain’s Alhambra, Turkey’s Hagia Sophia, Japan’s Kiyomizu Temple, Russia’s Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral, Germany’s Neuschwanstein Castle, Britain’s Stonehenge and Mali’s Timbuktu.

The campaign was begun in 1999 by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber. Almost 200 nominations came in from around the world, and the list of candidates was narrowed down to the 21 most-voted by the start of 2006.

The organizers conceded there was no foolproof way to prevent people from voting more than once for their favorite.

Weber’s Switzerland-based foundation aims to promote cultural diversity by supporting, preserving and restoring monuments. It relies on private donations and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, keeps a list of World Heritage Sites, which now totals 851 places, but the agency was not involved in Weber’s project.

The original list of wonders were concentrated in the Mediterranean and Middle East. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Pharos lighthouse off Alexandria have all vanished.