By Aashna Charan
A weekend in a hostel means that everyone would make plans of outings with their friends or lay dead on their bed the whole day; same is the case in my hostel too. One odd day of the whole month of lying dead on the bed, all of my friends were all revved up with an energetic aura to go for an outing. Not only was it an unusual sight, but also a funny one, at least for the ones who had seen them behave like sloth bears before.
THE OBVIOUS CHOICE!
“Decide fast yaar! We haven’t got all day!” said one to which the others agreed. “Let’s go to Purana Qila!” I said with a lot of excitement, only to see them staring at me blankly, “yeah, how about we go to PVR and watch a movie? Then maybe we can go to CP and grab something to eat?” said another girl, the others nodded to her suggestion as they ignored mine.
The movie was dreadful, the bill made my wallet want to commit suicide, and all we did was eat and do window shopping. Somewhere in between a conversation with my friend I wondered how different it would have been if we had actually gone to Purana Qila. Would the day have gone to waste like it did today or would it have been something else?
HISTORY AND ME
It’s in times like these that I thank god for the best friend I have, yes I want to throw her on the road (I may have already) but I also want to go and rescue her (did that too). When the mainstream folk do not get your theories, your best friend always does.
“I know what you are thinking about”, she said very confidently. “And what might that be?”, I asked in a very disbelieving way .“Purana Qila” she said, “Jesus Christ! How did you even” I asked, eyes wide open, “I know your strange thought process for too long enough to know you’re weird,” she said with a smile.
We headed there next, just the two of us. And we had a great time, our wallets didn’t cry, and we ended up learning a lot as well! Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Why do we choose malls over these beautiful places?
It’s not like there weren’t any people there, the place was crowded, but it was only a handful of the folk and the tourists who visited for learning and for seeing the historic sights there.
The place was half a tourism spot and half a lover’s spot. “I wonder what it looks like on Valentine’s Day,” I said as I saw a lovey-dovey couple, wondering if they would be this chirpy is they knew the building by which they were sitting is where Humayun fell to ultimately, his death.
THE HISTORIC CONNECTION
If every historic site could speak, we would have a thousand stories to hear. They have seen it all, lived through it all and now stand to be admired, not ignored. For some of its admirers like me, we can feel an emotional connect to such places, and as we touch their ancient walls and walk through their ancient halls, we are overcome by emotions.
For some of its admirers like me, we can feel an emotional connect to such places, and as we touch their ancient walls and walk through their ancient halls, we are overcome by emotions.
These monuments have seen every emotion there is to be seen; love, anger, destruction, beauty, hope, sadness, life and death. They should be looked at with admiration and not exhaustion, touched with love and not to be scribbled on (I don’t think Sher Shah Suri would like it if you wrote Raju loves Pinki on his monuments walls, no one would buddy), but the most of all, they deserve to get attention.
We need to save our heritage, for its more than just a piece of our history. But it’s also a token for our culture and our traditions which we value and expect to cultivate for ages to come.
The youth today has a lot of scope and zest to learn more. Going to such historic sites is always more than just fun, it’s an opportunity to learn and grow as a person and it is also a sight for sore eyes as the monuments are just so beautiful!
From one history lover to another, give history a shot and history will give you its love!
Image Credits: Google Images
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