Man has witnessed a bevy of architectural beauties from time immemorial. Philon from Byzantium selected seven wonders in 200 B C — The Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Temple of Artemis, the Statues of Zeus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus and The Pyramids of Egypt. Out of these seven wonders, only one remains standing.

The time has come for the world’s new seven wonders and this time everybody across the globe gets to choose. Well at least six, as the Pyramids of Giza has been granted an honorary entrance to the list, being the only surviving wonder from the old list.

Most people are aware of the global voting campaign that is in full swing. But according to sources, many Indians still need to vote for the Taj Mahal. These votes are essential for a guaranteed spot amongst the seven wonders.

According to Bharath Kapadia, the Chairman of I Media Corp Limited (IMCL), governments from other countries such as China, Brazil and Australia are all actively involved in promoting their wonder. He says that participation from the government and other corporate firms will definitely help in promoting the Taj Mahal and adds that this is one campaign that unites the country as every Indian would want to see our very own Taj Mahal heading the list of seven wonders. 

A lot of Indians have helped promote the Taj Mahal by holding painting competitions, building sand sculptures of this beautiful monument and even sporting haircuts that are symbolic of The Monument of Love!
According to a source, India ranks fourth in terms of the number of visitors to the official webpage of the seven wonders campaign. The anonymous source was also quoted as saying, “Though the progress is good, it’s not good enough for the Taj Mahal to be the first wonder of the world. After all when you study for an exam you do not just aim to pass.”

The seven wonders of the world will be announced on 07-07-07 (7 July, 2007), at the Estadio da Luz (Benfica Stadium), Lisbon, Portugal at 9.30 pm and will go on till 11 pm. The gorgeous Bipasha Basu will co-host the event along with Academy Award winners, Hillary Swank and Ben Kingsley. The show will feature performances by celebrated artists like Jennifer Lopez, Dulce Pontes, Chaka Khan, Jose Carreras, Alessandro Safina and Joaquin Cortes. Special guests will include the world famous astronaut Neil Armstrong, talented Portugese footballer Christiano Ronaldo and record-setting balloonist Bertrand Piccard. IMCL has collaborated with top-notch musician A R Rehman to compose the anthem of the Taj Mahal, which is already on air. According to Kapadia, most Indians are under the false impression that the Taj Mahal is already a wonder of the world. So all those textbooks will have to be rewritten again! Tourism will greatly benefit by it’s addition to the list of wonders.
In response to a recent article that counterattacked this campaign, Kapadia was quoted as saying, “This is no scam. We are not getting any financial benefits from this campaign. We will be proud if something good comes to the country. It is everybody’s responsibility.”

Indians can still do their bit to see the Taj Mahal on top of the list of wonders. All one has to do is, visit www.indiainfo.com or sms ‘TAJ’ to 4567.

BSNL landline/mobile users can dial 1255545 to cast their vote.

Multiple votes from the same number will be accepted, but only one vote per e-mail address is allowed.
The rates have been reduced to a range of Rs 1to 3, to encourage voters.