On Monday, President Donald Trump will be heading to Agra to visit one of the seven wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal. He will be received at the Kheria airport by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
In recent times, the city has gone into overdrive, readying itself for the Presidential visit. From applying mud packs to the graves in the Taj Mahal to repairing roads and pumping fresh water into the Yamuna, the Yogi Adityanath-led government appears to have done it all.
But more on that later.
The bigger question is: Is the Taj Mahal Adityanath's first choice when it comes to showcasing India's culture to a foreign leader?
That incidentally is not an offhand question. In 2017, an article by The Telegraph qoted the CM as saying that foreign dignitaries visiting India "used to be gifted replicas of the Taj Mahal and other minarets which did not reflect Indian culture". According to the publication, he made these comments at a public meeting today at the Raj Maidan in Bihar's Darbhanga. The article also quoted the Chief Minister as saying that "now" foreign dignitaries are gifted copies of the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayan.
Also in 2017, six months into the Yogi Adityanath government's tenure, an official booklet released by Tourism Minister Rita Bahuguna had missed the Taj Mahal while writing about important tourist destinations in the state, triggering controversy. The government however said that it was a miscommunication and that the mausoleum was not being ignored.
An NDTV report quoted UP Tourism official Avanish Awasthi as saying that the booklet was "not a guide to UP's tourism spots".
"There are many ongoing projects of the UP tourism at the Taj Mahal -- a parking project, a Taj Agra fort linkage project and a development project, among others," he had said that the time.
Yogi Adityanath has also been embroiled in the Taj Mahal- Tejo Mahalaya debate.
In 2018, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan created quite a furor, when he said that he would export to Yogi Adityanath if the latter wanted to demolish the Taj Mahal.
“Yogi ji will deal the first blow, while I will follow up with the second one. Why is this symbol of slavery still standing?” he was quoted by ANI as saying.
Nonetheless, the Chief Minister appears to have put his differences aside. Ahead of Trump's arrival, Agra has been turned into a fortress, with heavy deployment of police, para military and special commandos. According to police officials, the state government has deployed over 10,000 policemen and the river police squad has also been activated.
Not just that, in preparation of Trump's visit, the rather polluted and sludgy Yamuna has been infused with copious quantity of fresh water from the canals of the Ganga. Even the graves of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and wife Mumtaz Mahal at Taj Mahal were treated with a mud pack for cleansing.
The 13 km-long route from airport to Taj Mahal has been spruced up aesthetically and the US and Indian flags have been put up at roundabouts to give the area a festive look. At many places on the route, the administration has made several statues of animals with flowers.
The walls have been adorned with paintings reflecting the Brij culture and architectural heritage of Agra, Victorian-style lamp posts have been installed and the lawns of the iconic Taj Mahal bedecked with colourful blooms as the historic city gears up to welcome the US President.
According to the administration, over 3,000 artists at 21 different locations will perform for the US President to welcome him in the city of love and at the airport over 250 artists will give special performance highlighting the culture of Uttar Pradesh like Brij, Awadh, special performance on Lord Krishna, dance-themed on Radha and many others.
Trump is slated to arrive in Agra around 4:45 pm. There, he will be treated to a variety of dances by a group of about 350 artists to the accompaniment of traditional instruments. Upon reaching Uttar Pradesh, Trump and his entourage will travel 12 km from Kheria airport to the Shilpgram complex, 500 metres from the Taj Mahal's eastern entrance. From there they will take a battery operated golf cart to the mausoleum.
(With inputs from agencies)
