05-03-2007, 02:31 AM
Many years ago - I was taking my wife (we were newly married then) around the sights of the UK and Europe. On a visit to some place in the UK I decided to give in to the temptation to see a much advertised "Roman wall". We paid Five UK Pounds apiece to enter the area and I saw no wall until someone drew my attention to a line of worn bricks at ground level which was (all there was left of) the wall. Talk about being suckered...
Months later we found ourselves in Rome where "Roman" ruins and Roman architecture many stories high were visible everywhere. Every stone in Rome has history to the extent that it is often ignored and taken for granted. The "Farnese gardens" in Rome is a huge collection of Roman ruins and there is at least one ruin there inside which a church has been built.
Egypt similarly has huge architectural structures dating from a forgotten era - the culture having been completely wiped clean.
India too has a long loong history of culture that pops up everwhere. A few days ago - walking through Lalbagh I discovered something I had not seen before - an unmarked, unnoticed set of old sculptures. One is a stone Basava/Nandi bull - half buried and about 1.5 meters long, next to a rectangular slab with a bas relief of a female figurine next to a man holding a spear. The presence and significance of this have been forgotten - nobody has a clue. Here are some pics (cellphone lowres camera)
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/cyber...-basrelief4.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/cyber...-basrelief1.jpg
India is full of these signs of an old old culture - a culture that will surely get forgotten and trampled on just like the Roman ruins in the UK and the remains in Egypt unless we take the trouble to document things and write explanations or experiences for future generations to read.
Months later we found ourselves in Rome where "Roman" ruins and Roman architecture many stories high were visible everywhere. Every stone in Rome has history to the extent that it is often ignored and taken for granted. The "Farnese gardens" in Rome is a huge collection of Roman ruins and there is at least one ruin there inside which a church has been built.
Egypt similarly has huge architectural structures dating from a forgotten era - the culture having been completely wiped clean.
India too has a long loong history of culture that pops up everwhere. A few days ago - walking through Lalbagh I discovered something I had not seen before - an unmarked, unnoticed set of old sculptures. One is a stone Basava/Nandi bull - half buried and about 1.5 meters long, next to a rectangular slab with a bas relief of a female figurine next to a man holding a spear. The presence and significance of this have been forgotten - nobody has a clue. Here are some pics (cellphone lowres camera)
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/cyber...-basrelief4.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a11/cyber...-basrelief1.jpg
India is full of these signs of an old old culture - a culture that will surely get forgotten and trampled on just like the Roman ruins in the UK and the remains in Egypt unless we take the trouble to document things and write explanations or experiences for future generations to read.