The Great Leveller

Last week I had the rare opportunity of visiting the memorial which once was the abode of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of United States, during the course of a business trip. The quaint little house is atop a small hill and had been named Monticello by him (Little Mountain in Italian), in reference to his love for Italian art, food culture and the influence created on him thus.

Like all other memorials in all countries, there was a nice interesting guided tour to take us years (in this case centuries) back to re-live the old world charm. We could almost see the person living in being , pouring over his books (history tells us he was an erudite and his phenomenal book collection stands testimony to the fact), or writing the Declaration of Independence.

It was a perfect evening with the golden sun lending its rays to add to the old world charm as we visited his family grave.

Like all tourists, during the trip I sauntered into the memoirs shop with the intention of picking up some souvenir to mark the visit to this nice place. The shop was really well stocked with various items, from the mundane coffee mugs with the picture of the site painted on it to miniature versions of the iconic Declaration of Independence. With surprising regularity I picked up each item to keep it down when the dream of carrying back of a piece of American history with me ended with the words “Made in China” inscribed boldly at the bottom or back of each artifact or souvenir. I just could not come to terms with this omnipresent Chinese invasion also perpetrating the heritage sites. Although this is not a unique experience for me and I have found the same in other places be it in India or across the world including Europe, what surprised me that in other places perhaps it was possible to spot something which was made elsewhere. Whereas it was a true taking over of the marketplace so to say…

We have to give it to those to whom it is due. It is not easy to capture the world with these small inconsequential tidbits and flood the market on both sides of the Atlantic with products made in one country and virtually force the others out of the marketplace !

Having never had the occasion to visit China yet, I am not sure what sells as souvenirs at the shops near the Great Wall. It would be really a great nice surprise to find a memento there inscribed Made in India or Vietnam or Costa Rica ! But as of now from the Statue of Liberty to the Machu Pichu to the Eiffel Tower to the Taj Mahal, when it comes to carrying back a small piece of history with you, you will invariably land up carrying back a bit of China with you.

It seems to be the ultimate leveller !