By:
Shilpa
Mulimani,
IndiaFM
Tuesday,
July
10,
2007
The
long
wait
is
over.
Finally,
the
eternal
beauty
and
symbol
of
love-
Taj
Mahal
has
been
officially
voted
as
one
of
the
new
Seven
Wonders
of
the
World.
It
is
probably
the
only
known
monument
built
with
love
as
the
main
theme.
For
Indians,
it
has
been
a
wonder
nevertheless
ever
since
it
has
come
into
light.
But
now
the
world
has
realized
its
worth.
The
light
of
love
will
now
enlighten
not
only
India
but
every
nook
of
the
world.
In
the
wake
of
this
event,
who
better
to
share
the
success
than
Akbar
Khan,
the
director
of
Taj
Mahal-
An
Eternal
Love
Story?
He
proudly
declares,
"I
am
one
of
the
happiest
people
on
earth.
I
am
having
one
of
my
best
moments
in
life.
It
has
been
called
a
temple,
a
mosque,
a
Mecca
of
all
the
lovers
and
Taj
itself
is
a
monument
which
is
alive.
It
speaks
to
you.
It
soothes
your
eyes,
triggers
your
imagination,
and
inspires
artists,
painters
and
poets.
So
I
feel
there
is
no
monument
in
the
world
which
has
a
magical
divinity
about
it."
Taj
Mahal
has
suddenly
brought
to
life
the
proud
Indian
in
us.
It
makes
us
realize
the
worth
of
what
we
had
for
so
many
years
and
which
still
continues
to
stand
tall
in
spite
of
the
endless
physical
torment
and
controversies
it
is
bearing
for
so
many
years.
On
this
the
actor-director-producer-writer
says,
"We
Indians
all
over
should
be
very
proud
that
Taj
Mahal
has
always
been
a
part
of
history
and
it
has
no
parallel
in
the
world
because
every
other
monument
is
nothing
but
a
perfection
of
architectural
engineering
achievement.
None
has
got
the
divinity
and
sacredness
the
Taj
Mahal
has."
Just
countable
days
ago,
Taj
Mahal
was
14th
on
the
list
with
21
contenders
with
just
a
few
days
left
to
vote
for
it.
But
nothing
was
going
to
bog
this
monument
down.
It
finally
emerged
as
the
wonder
which
got
the
highest
votes
by
the
public.
But
Akbar
Khan
was
sure
of
this,
"There
was
no
doubt
at
all
that
it
would
make
it
in
the
seven
wonders
list.
But
I
would
like
to
say
that
whether
there
was
this
voting
process
or
not,
Taj
Mahal
was,
is
and
will
always
remain
one
of
the
greatest
gifts
to
mankind
from
our
heritage."
So
now
what?
How
does
it
matter
now
that
the
Taj
has
been
labeled
as
a
world
heritage?
Is
the
way
we
look
at
it
going
to
change
in
any
way
or
is
there
anything
we
can
do
for
it?
"I
feel
there
has
been
a
great
awakening
of
people
who
have
not
been
exposed
to
the
Taj
Mahal.
Our
government
should
take
advantage
of
this
and
take
additional
steps
to
clear
up
the
area
around
the
Taj
Mahal
and
the
river
Jamuna.
As
a
good-will
gesture,
10%
of
the
money
that
comes
from
ticket
sales
should
be
spent
on
relocating
the
people
who
have
their
livelihood
around
the
Taj
Mahal."
This
muse
of
many
artists
and
connoisseurs
has
also
been
one
for
the
Bollywood.
Many
a
romantic
scenes
and
heart-melting
moments
have
been
shot
in
front
of
this
beauty.
The
recent
ones
being
Tera
Jadoo
Chal
Gaya,
Bunty
Aur
Babli,
Salaam-E-Ishq
and
the
most
recent
Jhoom
Barabar
Jhoom.
Akbar
Khan
has
gone
to
an
extent
to
make
an
entire
film
dedicated
to
the
Taj
Mahal-
Taj
Mahal-
An
Eternal
Love
Story.
The
film,
which
Akbar
Khan
describes
as
his
"Labour
of
love" and
which
he
claims
to
have
made
with
the
same
passion
as
Shah
Jahan's
while
building
the
Taj
Mahal,
bombed
miserably
at
the
box
office.
On
this
Akbar
Khan
says,
"My
film
in
India
was
sabotaged
by
some
vested
interests
and
my
efforts
of
getting
the
right
cinemas
was
indirectly
blocked.
The
show-timings,
the
right
cinema
halls
were
blocked.
There
has
been
an
invisible
force
which
came
in
the
way
of
my
Labour
of
love.
I
never
expected
that
such
kind
of
elements
would
exist."
But
Akbar
Khan
wants
to
take
full
benefit
of
the
Taj's
limelight
now.
He
is
planning
with
renewed
excitement
and
anticipation
to
re-release
his
film
Taj
Mahal-
An
Eternal
Love
Story.
"God-willing,
we
are
in
the
process
of
doing
just
that
in
a
very
big
way
and
not
just
in
India.
This
is
a
great
opportunity
that
I
would
like
to
seize
and
re-release
my
film
the
world
over.
In
fact,
barring
U.S.
and
U.K.
my
films
has
not
released
overseas,
so
this
will
be
the
first
release
in
lots
of
places.
We
are
in
the
process
of
getting
everything
lined
up."
Films
will
be
made,
songs
will
be
shot,
poems
will
be
written;
but
never
will
the
eyes
and
heart
stop
getting
peace,
warmth
and
the
feeling
of
love
triumphant
over
any
other
human
emotion.
Time
will
go
by
but
the
aura
and
mysticism
of
the
most
beautiful
expression
of
love
in
stone
will
never
fade.
Also
read...
Akbar
Khan's
next,
Taxi
Driver
Akbar
Khan
comments
on
plagiarism
in
Hindi
films
Aamir
sells
Lagaan
Home
Video
rights
SRK
offers
to
finance
Dulha
Mil
Gaya
My
name
in
the
film
is
Ratan
Bala
:
Sonia
Jehan