Liberty...the green beauty

Last weekend, we happened to visit the most significant monument in New York, the face of America, the goddess who is greeting sailors all around the world to put down their anchors, and stay here happily ever after, with freedom, with liberty. It assures them that race, origin, skin color, and even language are immaterial here, as long as you are ready to sweat heard to earn your bread.

It all started in 1876, the centenary year of American declaration of independence, when some frenchmen, including political members and a sculptor, Auguste Bartholdi, struck an idea of gifting Americans with a symbol of eternal friendship, commemorating thier struggle and success for freedom. Bartholdi had proposed gifting a similar statue in honour of Suez canal construction to Egyptians in 1865, but it was not meant to be.

Notably, most of the funds collected for erection of this colossus task, were collected from ordinary people of France and America, not from the governments, representing democracy in actual sense. After 4 arduous years of fund collection, with many shows, plays, civic organizations and ordinaries of both sides helping this noble cause, the statue began taking life in Paris, and stood accomplished in 1885. She is not a gigantic structure. 150 feet is by no means a structural marvel. But it is intentional. To quote Bartholdi, "it was to appear simply in harmony with the whole, and have the normal aspect of a statue in a public square", rather than a monster like figure, that would demonstrate engineering skills and economical power, but creates nothing but apprehension for a new visitor. It was transferred in pieces to New York harbor, to be re-assembled on a small island bisecting the bay of Hudson, with the then official immigration centre of Ellis island at a stone's throw. After having a normal copper color during her initial years, she covered herself with a rusty green color, though as uniform as painted. Her skeleton structure was designed by one of the most famous engineers ever, Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (Yes...of the Eiffel Tower fame).

To understand the significance of Liberty, it is preeminent to understand history of American immegration and Ellis island. This island was the doorway to millions of hopeful immigrants during late 19th and early 20th century. On an average day, around 3000 immigrants waited patiently in huge queues to pass through the medical and legal examinations, to get an entry in this prospering country, and an astonishing 98% of those were successful in doing so. During these 50 years or so, around 20 million people migrated through these doors, records of which are still meticulously maintained in record books here. There were Europeans, Mexicans, Russians, Turkish; people from nearly every continent creating a strange cultural potpourri, descendents of whom, are now proud citizens of the richest, strongest country in the world. By law of nature, only the fittest, the most adaptable, survive in evolutionary process. The people, who dared to leave their homeland forever, in those days when ships regularly sank, and sailors were admired like heroes, were indeed very strong, adaptable, adventurous human beings. May be the success of America lies there more than anything else...

To all these homeless, moneyless people, first sight of Liberty gave a reassurance and an inspiration to rise from the ashes. Her face modeled after Bartholdi's mother, she surely gave a mother-like encouragement to these children, who had left their motherland forever. With a torch held high in her hands and a shackle breaking step forward, she enlightened the world giving message of hope, democracy and freedom, being not only an essential witness, but also an active catalyst to the largest human migration ever, in recorded history.