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Agra:
The 10-day Taj Mahotsav failed to live up to expectations, with
local culture and heritage not given the pride of place, those
from Agra's tourism sector say. The authorities think differently.
The annual event, started in 1993, was held at Shilpgram, a
complex 500 metres from the Taj Mahal, India's biggest tourist
draw. It ended Sunday with a show by Bollywood singer KK.
Representatives of Agra's tourist industry and heritage experts
blamed poor promotional efforts and shoddy planning.
"The only draw were the shows by Sunidhi Chauhan, Richa Sharma and
Shubha Mudgal. Local culture and artistes generally got a raw
deal," complained Sudhir Gupta, who viewed the festival with his
family.
According to him, the audience in the afternoons was confined to
friends and family members of the artistes.
"The original objective of the festival was to showcase the best
of local culture to tourists, particularly foreigners. But the
festival was more of a 'deshi mela-tamasha'," he said.
Omendra Srivastav, a professional, was equally frustrated.
He was furious that the organisers allowed parking contractors to
charge Rs.50 from each motorist. Equally, a ride in a swing and a
bottle of water cost Rs.30 each.
Some stall owners accused the organisers of exploiting them.
"We were put up at the far end of the ground. No one came to our
stalls," rued Raghu, who exhibited glassware.
Tourism industry leaders Rajiv Tiwari and Rakesh Chauhan and
hoteliers felt alienated.
"When they don't need our advice and are not prepared to listen to
our suggestions, what reason do we have to get involved?" one of
them asked.
Uttar Pradesh tourism officials rejected the charges.
"From the beginning we had several rounds of discussions. We also
held a competition on ideas for the theme of the festival," said
Anoop Srivastav, joint director of Uttar Pradesh Tourism.
The Taj Mahotsav is dedicated to the Taj Mahal and seeks to help
tourism industry as well as local artistes and craftsmen showcase
their creative skills.
"The festival has been a great hit this year," Srivastav insisted.
But according to Surendra Sharma, president of the Braj Mandal
Heritage Conservation Society, there was no heritage in the
festival.
"It failed to deliver the benefits to the local tourism sector.
It's only the locals who thronged the venue expecting some fun and
entertainment.
However, the young appeared to enjoy the 10-day event.
"It was a great opportunity to freak out with friends and enjoy
all those food items," engineering student Anubhav said.
There were also allegations that the Taj and other monuments were
not properly lit up, spruced and cleaned and the city did not feel
emotionally involved.
Ravi Singh, a heritage enthusiast, wondered why there was no place
for local specialties like Agra petha, dal mot, halwas like
chimman pooriwala, Ram Babu parantha or Bhagat Halwai, which has a
250-year history behind it.
Agra gets around four million visitors every year. Most confine
their stay in the city for a few hours to see the Taj and return
to Delhi.
Sandeep Arora, an industry leader, said: "Agra is merely an
excursion point and not a destination because interest groups have
planned transport facilities to suit Delhi's interests. Luxury
buses, Shatabdi Express train, taxis all come to Agra in the
morning and return in the evening."
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