India will stage celebrations to mark the 350th anniversary of the Taj Mahal Monday, but archaeological concerns have forced organisers to shift the event away from the monument.

While it may not match the labour force of 20 000 who built the Taj Mahal, workers are getting ready for the celebrations that are meant to reinforce the mausoleum's status as India's top tourist attraction.

"This is just a beginning. This is not D-Day. The celebrations will be the voice of our commitment to what we would be doing year-long," the event's chief organiser D.K. Burman told AFP.

Labour of love
The white marble monument with four slender decorative minarets was built in the city of Agra by the heart-broken Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his second empress Mumtaz Mahal, who died at childbirth.

Workers toiled for 23 years to build the onion-domed shrine in an age of opulence when the dynasty mined precious gems to fund the construction of majestic projects.

"This event will be also a reminder of the golden era of Shah Jahan's rule," Burman said.

But in a sign of more modern times, the celebrations will be held away from the Taj Mahal where large public functions are strictly banned, he said. Polluting vehicles and industries are allowed nowhere near the Taj Mahal for fear that modern Agra's notoriously dirty air is discolouring the shrine.

Instead, festivities will take place in the nearby Agra Fort, a massive 16th-century Mughal palace of red sandstone. The celebrations on Monday will begin with the release of pigeons and balloons followed by kite-flying competitions and an evening of classical music, Burman said.

The government is bracing for an influx of visitors and is setting up welcome arches at highways, the airport and railway station for the anniversary in Agra, 200 kilometers south of New Delhi.

Some 2.2 million Indians and 800 000 foreigners visited the Taj Mahal last year, far more than any other tourist site in India. The World Travel and Tourism Council has predicted that tourism in India will grow at 8.8 percent annually over the next 10 years. Some 2.75 million foreign tourists came to India in 2003, a national record but only half the figure of tiny Singapore.

India has launched a campaign to boost tourism which includes aggressive advertising and improvements to infrastructure. "So many destinations are coming up so one has to remind them that this is the prime spot and the international message will be that the Taj Mahal is a must in their Indian itinerary," Burman said.

Kokab Hamid, tourism minister of Uttar Pradesh state which includes Agra, said the Taj Mahal celebrations will also include an Indian-style ballet in October and a night-long music soiree in November. India will also issue a commemorative stamp for the anniversary.

But so far there has been no green light for the state government's hopes to open the Taj Mahal to the public on full-moon nights. The viewings were stopped 20 years ago over fear of an attack on the national symbol. The appeal for new night openings is pending before the Supreme Court.

AFP