Bareed Shahi Gardens, BidarSt. Augustine, Goa
Taj Mahal, AgraRed Fort, Delhi
“Thanks for not scribing on the monument”
“Thanks for not scribing on the monument,” reads Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) plaque, just adjacent to a wall full of graffiti at the Red Fort in Delhi. We are trying to decode the making of these scribbles and the suppression measures on graffiti in India’s historic monuments. Greater public access to historic sites in post-independence democratic India parallelly saw the indigenous development of marking one’s presence at a historic site in the hope of its posterity. Its spread across the country without a formalized movement points to the unidentified and absent actors behind it. It is grossly generalized as the doing of “lovers” or “youth,” based on multiple heart symbols and initials inscribed alongside. Here, the unidentified conceal their identity by writing only initials or first names, making them unidentified and unidentifiable. It transcends the binary of urban and rural and attaches itself to history. It claims for itself these places and, in the act, overlays a layer of its time on the space. From the perspective of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and thus by extension, the state, this is seen as vandalism requiring disciplinary action. Removing this layer from structures of national importance in recently restored structures has led to alternative sites for the expression of scribbles. For instance, in the Mughal Gardens of the Taj Mahal, some trees have been etched with symbols and initials. Thus, this study problematizes questions of agency, claims, writing, and erasing in India’s historic monuments.
Pandavleni, Nasik
Pandavleni, Nasik
Scribbling in NasikScribbling at Nasik’s Pandavleni or Trirashmi caves is one such example among many others in the city. The cave’s historic sculptures and statues are the base against which these scribbles can be often seen. What do these scribbles tell us?