I remember my first visit to the Great Wall of China. I was so excited that I started clicking pictures of the Wall from the approach road itself. Winding round great altitudes, the Great Wall beckoned me to fathom the depths of its environment. Walking round treading cautiously with gravel and stones on the ground, I wondered about the masons who lay the stones patiently in the days when technology was yet to arrive.
The Great Wall speaks volumes about the people who built it. It clearly reveals the greatness of the populace which raised this wall in defence of its people. It shows that the rulers of China were visionaries and saw their country as a vast area and mighty lengths. The Great Wall is a phenomenon and anything one writes falls short of its glory and greatness. Did the builders ever imagine that even wearing a T Shirt which says – I visited the Great Wall makes one feel pompous and wonderful!
Today hordes and hordes of tourists visit the Great Wall. Taking pictures as they stand on the ramparts, they see it as a photo shot. The environment around is so mountainous, so hostile with its severe winters, can one ever imagine the discomforts and travails of the laborers in the past.
As my eyes trace the meandering blocks of stones winding round the elevations, I see the poetry of the masons in stone. I close my eyes and try to imagine the aggressive past. Mongol warriors trying to breach the wall to enter the interiors of China, brave soldiers in the tower houses stoutly defending their nation, people living around always insecure and swamped by the loess winds and snow storms! Are there words to capture emotions and fears of the past? History is always about those who remained in the front – kings, ministers, lovers, schemers, charlatans etc The common man about whom the world is, on whom the leaders depend on for their very sustenance are crushed amidst the tides and turns of the wheels of time. I see the ghost and shadow of the brave masons who laid the stones patiently to build a stronger nation and draw the contours of their borders. I see the proud Kings who drew solace from the mighty walls and how they would announce to future generations about their clans and names and genes. I sometimes see a small arch or a post standing lone, with the main walls having given way to the ravages of time and disaster! How strange is destiny that swallows some in its tongues of oblivion and yet renders some stones immortal!
Musing, mulling over all these points, I walked upon the walls. I think about contemporary China. Deng Xiao Ping and his dreams of a great nation. I think of that moment when he gave a call in the paddy fields of Guangdong to build a might city. I think of Shenzhen, its green areas, it sky scrapers, its roads, the metro, the gardens and jog strips. Am I surprised that the Chinese people have raised such a great country with world class infra-structure? Can we expect anything less from these people. They were mighty builders. They are mighty builders. And they will be mighty builders.
