With two weeks left for the world to vote and decide on its seven new wonders, there is some good news for those who want the Taj Mahal on this list.
The percentage of votes cast by Indians has gradually climbed from just 0.8 per cent on May 23 to 10.3 per cent on Thursday, putting the
Taj on fourth position on the list.
Organisers of the “Vote for Taj” campaign say if lovers of the monument of love can sustain the current pace of the campaign, there is a fair chance it will make to the top seven. “This is a very good sign but we still can’t sit back and relax,” says Bharat Kapadia, executive director, I Media Corporation Limited, the company that is running the campaign.
On 7/7/7 the world will get its new seven wonders. Millions across the globe are expected to vote online or on phone till July 6 to select wonders from a list of 21.
The campaign to replace the old wonders of the world — of which only the pyramids of Egypt remain — is being run by a privately funded organisation, The New7Wonders Foundation (N7W), from Zurich in Switzerland.
The foundation announced a list of the top 10 contenders on June 7 with the rider that the list will continue to fluctuate till the last day of voting and no more rankings will be announced till then. The Taj features in this list.
“Unlike in other countries like China and Brazil, the movement to get India into the final seven is being sustained only by individuals who feel for the cause and private organizations,” Kapadia adds.
The campaign for the Taj started on May 23 with the launch of an anthem created by AR Rahman. Many individual efforts have since followed.