At one time Delhi-based artist and architect Satish Gujral's name was associated with some buildings in Mayawati's first tenure as chief minister, but was later withdrawn when they were torn down to make way for yet larger structures. It is this obsession to make and then re-make that has had tongues wagging in Lucknow. Yet, Mayawati has managed to ride out any protests, a tribute to her invincibility.

Not everyone is as critical, of course -- not the thousands of quarry workers and carvers and statue makers, and almost certainly not the hundreds of thousands of Dalits who see their empowerment not just in economic terms but in these architectural monuments to their rising domination in politics. Sculptor Shravan Prajapati endorses the emblematic construction, saying it is "a message to the Dalits" and will "help the backwards know their history".

Yet, it seems like a mad queen's folly, an exercise in excess. There appears to be no shortage of funds, tardy executives are rapidly shunted from office, stone dust and rubble are spread across hundreds of acres as the new empire is shaped in tribute to her uncouth majesty. Under the haze, a sense of powerful buildings is evident, and perhaps in time visitors from around the world will come to gaze at these marvels, even if they appear somewhat preposterous at this turn of a new century. By then, of course, Mayawati's grand palaces will be little more than mausoleums to her memory. But that, perhaps, is just what Queen Maya of the Dalits wants.

THE HOUSE(S) THAT MAYAWATI BUILT IN LUCKNOW Ambedkar Samajik Sthal, Gomti Nagar, spread over 150 acres and rebuilt on a more lavish scale in her second coming as CM Kanshi Ram Smarak, Jail Road, 70 acres watch out for its 141-ft high stupa Ramabai Rally Sthal, near Ambedkar University, currently 50 acres but to be spread over 150 acres at the expense of several villages, schools and hospitals Samta Moolak Chauraha, Gomti Nagar, an intersection and stone pachyderm-lined promenade leading to the river Gomti Buddha Vihar, VIP Road, built over 25 acres after 400 houses were demolished Smriti Upvan, Bangla Bazaar IN NCR Ambedkar park and museum, Noida, where despite opposition a fortress-like wall has come up, and the memorial will have possibly the largest dome in India BSP House, in Chanakyapuri, where the lack of opulence might be a nod to fit in with the old money neighbourhood Sector 44 house in brother Anand Kumar's name, a crass display of wealth in a modest neighbourhood