COMMON ENTRY TICKET FOR INDIAN MONUMENTS

Foreign tourists coming to India would no longer have to stand in long queues to have a glimpse of the historical monuments as the Indian Government has decided to have a common entry ticket for all the World Heritage Sites in India, except for the Taj Mahal. There will be a new entry ticket for the Taj, while a single entry ticket will also be available for other monuments that are preserved by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

This move will surely relieve the tourists from the tension of buying tickets at every historical site, standing in queues in harsh weather. Keeping in mind the convenience for the traveler, this move was introduced by Minister of State for Planning and Parliamentary Affairs, V.Narayanasami, in the Lok Sabha. The move is expected to be implemented by the end of October, 2009.

These common entry tickets are specially designed and will be made available at the booking counters of the monument or one can also buy it from the ASI headquarter itself. Hotels and travel agents can also purchase the tickets in bulk to cater to the tourists' demands.

To take care of the tourist traffic during the forthcoming Common Wealth Games in Delhi, Government has also decided to install exclusive audio guides systems at important monuments and heritage sites of the country, including Red Fort and Taj Mahal, like the one already in place in Qutub Minar. Expression of Interest have already been received by agencies specializing in the same.

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CAN A REPLICA MATCH THE ORIGINAL WONDER ?

Anything unique and famous is got to attract many admirers, some of whom just limit themselves to praises while a few others go one step further to create a duplicate to preserve the thing they admire, forever with them. Similar is the case of Taj Mahal, the unmatched beauty of excellence, whether in terms of beauty, history or architecture.

One of the 'New Seven Wonders of the World' Taj Mahal, has inspired a person so much that he has created replica, knowing the fact that he can't match the brilliance of the bygone era rather it would only raise comparisons with the mighty original. The replica of Taj Mahal is being erected in the Narayanganj district of Bangladesh.

The great Mughal emperor Shah Jahan's creation of love is being duplicated by a wealthy businessman of Bangladesh, named Ahsanullah Moni. The replica is a part of the film city being constructed by him in his home town to shoot a movie on the love story of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, which is the essence of the great monument. This replica spans in an area of 50 acres (20 hectares approx.) and around US $ 57 million are being invested in its construction.

By copying the famed architectural edifice of India, the filmmaker is trying his best to boost the low profile image of Bangladesh as a travel destination. For this Moni has also fixed an entry ticket of the under-construction building at 50 taka (Bangladeshi currency), which is equivalent to 71 cents. It is rather impossible to ape what the Indian technicians created in the 17th century by laboriously working for 20 years in a stretch. A marble miniature can better and more humbly represent the graceful monument than a new age replica.

Its not just one such replica, the Taj Mahal has so many admirers that its beauty has been tried to be encapsulated in the form of match-stick, sand and even plastic miniatures. Several hotels, palaces and restaurants in India and abroad have been named after the celebrity monument, but nothing can take away its sheen. It just spreads the message, that original wonder will remain original.

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