8, Shree Ram Apartments,
Alipore Road,
Kolkata – 700 027.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
20th December, 2010
The Director,
Archaeological Survey of India,
CGO Complex, 4th Floor-DF,
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Sector-I, Salt Lake City,
Kolkata – 700 064.
Subject: Complaint about the damage caused to Victoria Memorial
Dear Sir,
Image Source: viking.ucla.edu
ADVERTISEMENTS:
This letter intends to bring to your notice that all is not well in the cultural capital of India. The grand edifice which has witnessed the progress of Bengal and India for more than a century is threatened by the impish acts of certain uncivilised individuals.
You must have guessed that I am talking about the Victoria Memorial which has of late been stained by a generous dose of betel juice and burnt out ends of cigarettes. As if these were not enough, I found to no small mortification that some brutes have even etched their names on the walls. This is nothing but extreme cultural sacrilege.
I hereby make a sincere appeal to you to give the concerned authorities a rousing shake so that the rogues who indulge in such mutilation of cultural treasures are taken to task. We can definitely do more than banning vehicles from being parked within the immediate vicinity of the Victoria Memorial to prevent the grand white construction from going black!
It is expected that the rules prohibiting the visitors, the management and the staff from using any kind of tobacco-related products or betel leaf within the Memorial or its gardens would be strictly enforced. Similarly, anyone found daring enough to carve personal identification marks on those walls should also be severely penalised. I hope you shall look upon these humble suggestions in the right spirit.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Yours faithfully,
Avik Debnath