A visit to The Palace of Versailles gives you a grand view of how the French Kings perceived themselves and their Empire. I have never seen so much of opulence in my life. The Palace exhibits pomposity and conspicuous consumption at its extreme to the point of being almost obscene. But what a grand and glorious obscenity it was! Gold is splashed everywhere generously and during our visit, the gold shone so strongly on the sunny day that it hurt. You are first in awe and later realise the that it must have been a labour of love for those countless unknown artisans and craftsmen who must have toiled to keep their kings in such grandeur. But all your questions on why the French Revolution happened, disappear with one look at the Versailles. Probably, the Indian kings were smarter in not wanting to provoke the anger of the masses and lived under less ostentation (relatively speaking!) The History teacher here opines that a revolution could never happen in India. And it did not sound like a compliment. Are we Indians too servile, to the point of obsequiousness, to authority and power? And is that why we still tolerate and even graciously accept the shenanigans of our corrupt politicians? Are we Indians truly exercising the liberating power of Democracy? My own response to these questions have become muted and mellowed with time. Sad...eh?
If you are planning to visit Paris, don't forget to visit Chateau De Versailles (http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage). You will be enchanted or repelled by the grandeur and luxuriousness of the French kings, depending on where you see yourself on the economic/political spectrum.
No comments:
Post a Comment