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If there is one bridge that has withstood the ravages of time successfully and one that finds a literal permanence and eternity since Homer wrote Iliad, it’s a bridge from the old Byzantium, the present day Turkey. That it is recorded in Guinness Books of World Records as the oldest datable bridge in the worldContinue reading “Bridges That Bridge Civilisations(Contd.)Caravan Bridge of Izmir”

The Tarr Steps Stones and boulders, unaided by any cementing material, were the first designs of the earliest bridges. The amazing aspect was the effort and enterprise involved in gathering these huge multi-ton boulders at one place and arranging them in the shape of a bridge. The marvel of man’s ingenuity in his pursuit ofContinue reading “Bridges That Bridge Civilisation(contd.)”

Bridges are taken for granted. They, it is presumed, will be there wherever humans live and set habitations.Perhaps, any structure that connects an inaccessible part where men want to go can be called a bridge. From this perspective, the bridges have been in existence since civilisation itself. Yet, larger, organised and planned structures evolved overContinue reading “Bridges That have Bridged Civilisations”

BridgesConnect, Conduct, ConveyPlaces, Matter, ProgressImagineWithout themOur lives would have beenMere islands! BridgesAre madeWith Stones, Wood, SteelEven Mud and MortarThey serveDiverse purposesToday, and over eons! BridgesTake us toThe times aheadFrom posterity to futureFrom behind to beyondThey surely representOur increasing quest forProgress profound! BridgesWill they alsoConnect us to worlds unknown?To lands unchartered, unexplored?To realms beyond matter, mindContinue reading “Bridges”

By common consensus, the newspapers as we understand them today – printed, dated, containing variety of news items; and brought out at frequent interval- made their appearance in mid 16th century. The term newspaper became common in the 17th century. Germany was the home to such publications in the beginning. Historically though, Acta Diurna wasContinue reading ““The Daily Courant” – The First English Daily Newspaper”

The ills of modern living, relentlessly driven by consumerism, have exacerbated and manifested manifold following the COVID-19 epidemic. These complex and compelling evils require fresh examination with new insights available as a consequence of the virus and its aftermath. The fact that passion and pursuance of consumerism has not been in the least bit dentedContinue reading “The Pathology of Consumerism and the Curse of Nihilism”

Maha Shivratri offers an opportunity to consider and comprehend what Lord Shiva stands for. In the trinity of Gods, Shiva supposedly controls the aspect of destruction. Destruction is a precondition for creation. As the sum total of all energy is constant, only the forms it takes transform, any new creation shall necessarily involve demise ofContinue reading “Maha Shivratri”

In May of 47 BCE, Caesar travelled to Asia to confront and defeat the rebellious Pharnaces II, King of Pontus, in an area near the Black Sea in north-eastern Turkey. With only three legions, Caesar marched against Pharnaces and his force of 20,000 and trounced him handily in the Battle of Zela, or what isContinue reading “General Napier and the One-Word Despatch”

“E vero, e vero, e vero!This is the ring you gave me and these are your promises!”(Artemisia’s statement while being tortured during her rape trial) Women painters are not widely discussed and a list of outstanding painters is likely to miss a woman. Whether it is the result of relatively fewer women artists or theContinue reading “A Painter who took Revenge in Oil”

A plaque in East London reads, “The ablest and most renowned Navigator this or any country hath produced lived in a house a few yards from this spot, 126, Upper Shadwell“. This ‘ablest and most renowned’ navigator is Captain James Cook, who is credited to have done more than any other explorer in human historyContinue reading “A Tryst with Death on a Lonely Shore”