I worked in Noida for 8 years. Almost every day I passed by this monument. It intrigued me but I never ventured in. Somehow the high stone walls surrounding this monument made it seem aloof and unapproachable. But the greater barrier to visit it was in my mind. The structure represented a profligate waste by an authoritarian leader. It represented self aggrandisement in a country where most people struggle to find a voice, let alone dignity.
It is called Rashtriya Dalit Prerna Sthal (National Dalit inspiration place) and in my mind it was a cruel joke on the poor backward people it sought to represent. 685 crores that could have uplifted hundreds of lives were spent instead on glorifying just one. To me, as to many others, this monument was a pariah.
But I one day I went anyway, expecting to dislike it even more. It, however, stood there in solemn dignity – graceful, even majestic. And as I stood there wanting to hate, I couldn’t help but marvel.
Sometimes we judge things by the mental reflections they cast, not realising that those reflections are coloured by our own prejudice. But when you see the real thing objectively, it is hard to simply dismiss.
