Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

INTERVIEW: Celebrating Beauty

The award was instituted as it was felt by the Aga Khan that the gap between past accomplishments and current practice in Islamic architecture was massive. Has that gap been bridged after the award was instituted?

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh gave away the 9th Agha Khan Award for Architecture, here today. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister hoped that more public private partnership can be evolved to maintain and restore the monuments which often lie in neglected conditions in our cities and towns. The Prime Minister emphasized that every Indian must take pride in his or her legacy and should contribute to ensure that there remains a legacy for which our descendents can be proud.
Following is the text of the Prime Minister?s address on the occasion:

RM: Your Highness, you are an inspiration to millions of Muslims around the world. We have traditionally associated religious leaders with austerity, with denials in a sense. You embody a fullness of life. What is the world view that circumscribes your work as an Imam?

In the Muslim world, the Aga Khan is also larger than life. As a direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad, the 67-year-old holds the hereditary title of 49th spiritual leader to an estimated 20 million Shiite Ismaili Muslims in 25 countries. In that role, he oversees a complex of Geneva-based trusts dedicated to education and development.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for evolving more public and private partnerships for maintaining India?s heritage and termed the first privately-funded restoration of a world heritage site here ?an unqualified success?, reports our correspondent.Singh was speaking at a ceremony to announce the seven winners of the 2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture ? a triennial prize fund of $500,000. The ceremony was held this evening on the gardens of Humayun?s Tomb complex, whose waterways and fountains were restored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.