The Taj Mahal has emerged as a strong contender for a place in the new list of the world’s seven wonders.
AGRA: The Taj Mahal has emerged as a strong contender for a place in the new list of the world’s seven wonders. The onion-domed mausoleum, commissioned by Mughal emperor Shahjahan in the 17th century, was selected from a shortlist of 200 monuments from across the world. It is now among the top 21 historical structures vying for the seven-wonder appellation.
Some of the other monuments being considered are: the Easter Island Statues (Chile), the Great Wall (China), the Colosseum (Rome), Sydney Opera House (Australia), Statue of Liberty (USA), Acropolis (Greece), Alhambra (Spain), and Angkor Wat (Cambodia).
The fresh list is being drawn up by an independent group called the New 7 Wonders Society. “Most of the original wonders, other than the Pyramids of Egypt, do not exist structurally anymore,” said Bernard Weber, founder of the organisation. “They have been either destroyed in conflicts or have been erased with time.”
But Weber said the process of decay has been offset by the discovery of new structures from around the world. “Hence the need to have a new list of seven wonders was felt.”
The monuments have been shortlisted by the New 7 Wonders based on their uniqueness, beauty, engineering, and their reflection of art and culture. A panel of judges pruned the list from 200 to 77, and then to 21. The panel comprised Federico Mayor, former director-general of UNESCO, and prominent architects like Zaha Hadid (Great Britain), Tadao Ando (Japan) and Cesar Pelli (USA).
The top seven will be decided by public voting — open to people worldwide — through the internet, phone, or SMS.
To vote for the Taj, one needs to send the message ‘Taj’ by SMS to 6767. Votes can be cast online by logging on to
www.new7wonders.com. Voting ends on July 6, 2007. The final seven will be declared at a function in Lisbon on July 7, 2007, a date that will read 07/07/07.
Twenty Indian heritage sites were among the first 200 nominees. These included Mumbai’s Gateway of India and VT station, Madurai’s Meenakshi Temple, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, and Delhi’s Red Fort and Qutub Minar.
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