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| India Gate is lit for a Republic Day celebration |
Place:
DELHI
Still one of the most evocative and emotive symbols of India,
India Gate is today a symbol of hope for many, a rallying point for those wishing to make their voice heard.
Ironically, built in 1931 not only by India's former colonial masters, and to commemorate the loss of lives of India soldiers in foreign wars of the First World War, it had little to do with India's common folk. For the British at that time had not even imagined they would be out of India the next decade, as they went about building a fancy new capital for themselves.
It has since been appropriated in modern India's nation building fabric completely. Annual parades to the country's honour are held with it as a focus, and the nation's top military and political leadership pay regular homage to it.
For me, and for thousands of Delhiites, it has also been a favourite evening hangout place. I lived about a kilometre away for a considerable part of my life, and remember the countless number of times we went to it for just a stroll topped by an ice cream without caring about its legacy.
Ambitiously designed, it is today a focal point for tourism to the city. The statue of King George VI was removed after independence, and instead an eternal tributary fire is lit for the Indian soldier.
