Mad Decadence

Kolkata’s iconic and historic heritage hotel – Hotel Old Kenilworth is being demolished to make way for a new swanky destination. The hotel was enlisted as Grade -II heritage building in the municipal records so there was absolutely no scope of demolition. Apparently, the new owners of the property had applied for change in the status so the heritage building was downgraded to Grade-III building paving way for the demolition.

Human civilization seems to be great at making rules, just to bend them and undo them. The good old Physics law of Entropy seems to apply to human societal laws too. We just seem to be heading towards more and more disorder while seeking new order and form.

There is nothing wrong in seeking new form, new structures and development. But question is, at what cost? One cannot trade away history, legacy and even legal norms to move ahead. Here changing the heritage tag silently points towards moral decadence of the authorities. Were the city historians, heritage conservationists consulted before the committee made the decision?

As always, it is too late to ask questions and seek answers. The demolition is already underway and part of the building has turned into rubble.

Why Kolkata cannot be a historic city showcasing it’s troubled but glorious past through these iconic buildings? Why can’t these structures be conserved, restored? Why we must demolish the past to make way for the present and future?

Moreover, none of the iconic buildings are being replaced by architectural wonders. A thin tall skyscraper in a historic city just sticks out like an eye-sore in the landscape. Unfortunately, the Entropy – the disorder just goes on increasing. These actions cannot be reversed and I am afraid it will pave way for bending of more rules for the demolition of more heritage buildings.

Kolkata flyover collapse is no longer a leading headline in the media even though it has changed many lives forever. The present headline is Panama Papers Leaks. Heads have already started rolling with Prime Minster of Iceland resigning yesterday in the wake of the scandal. Then there are many more scandals, conflicts, scams which are vying for space in the media. Somewhere all these negative realities are pointing towards humanity’s biggest decadence over years – which is moral decadence. 

It is ironical, technologically we are evolving so fast that we are unable to keep pace but yet we choose to look away from long term good progress for all for a smaller short term immoral gain for few. How much and how long are we going to take things for granted? Some day there would be an implosion and maybe that time has arrived. We have to face consequences of being passive weak observers and letting handful corrupt people control our lives.

Global implications of Panama papers leak seem to be immense. When political leaders start looking for tax havens, then no one can save those countries and their citizens. Yes, it all gets blurred with time. Maybe the headlines will change soon but lives that have been impacted will bear the brunt and consequences for generations.

It is painful to read stories of people crushed by the flyover. Who is accountable? All fingers are pointing at each other and others, no one is willing to take onus or trying to introspect. There is no talk of safety measures and absolutely no accountability what so ever. Is this how it ends? Crushed under its own debris of development, will humanity end in a painful suffocation? Wait, thanks to all entertainment/social media which acts as a morphine there won’t be much pain either. Capitalism will crush us slowly, leisurely yet completely.

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