India, Sept. 22 -- "Do you want to just see it from a distance or do you wish to experience it from close quarters?" my son asked when I expressed the desire to go to the Statue of Liberty in New York. I chose the second option.

As we headed towards the iconic statue in a ferry, its impressive stature was overwhelming. Built and conceived by Auguste Fredric Bartholdi in 1886, the marvellous gift of France to the US is a monument of immense significance. Not many know that the inner framework of the statue was built by Gustave Eiffel, famous for building the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Thin copper plates imported from Norway were fixed over the iron framework to give shape to a monument that epitomises freedom, integrity and liberation. On re...