Classics Retold

1. Myos Hormos  The first port mentioned in the ancient document is Myos Hormos. It is in Egypt, situated on the Red Sea, and was active in the second century of Common Era. Excavations carried out recently by David Peacock and Lucy Blue of the University of Southampton identified it with present day site of Qusier al Quadim (Old Qusier), ten kilometres north of modern town of El Qoseir. Qusier is an Arabic name.  Popular interpretation is that it comes from Arabic word "qasir" meaning short, it being the shortest route from Nile Valley to the Red Sea. Myos Hormos is a Koinee Greek name, and this name was adopted by the document Periplus Maris Eritraea. It may literally mean the harbour of Mussels, because of the presence of pearl mussels on the opposite coast. 2. Berenice Beyond Qusier al Quadim around 300 kilometres south is Berenice Troglodytica. Between Myos Hormos, and Berenice Troglodytica, in modern day we have Port Ghalib, a luxury resort town, near Marsa Alam Interna...

What were the developments that followed the life of Ala-ed-Din after the loss of the wonderful Lamp. It was a habit of Sultan to look at the block palace of Ala-ed-Din and assure himself that the palace was there; in a corner of his mind lay the fear that the palace would be wiped out. Vizier's warning always remained there. As usual, the first thing he did was to open the window and look for the block palace. But the place was bare of anything. Fear and amazement gripped him. He rubbed his eyes to see whether he was blind. And looked again to his daughter's abode. Nothing was seen at the place where the palace stood. He remembered the words of the Vizier that the palace and its wealth were magic and would be wiped out. He sent for the Vizier immediately. The Vizier came and saw that the palace was missing. "Pardon me, o the king of Age, God defended you from the calamity."  The Sultan cried out, "Where is Ala-ed-Din?"  "Gone to the chase," answer...

The following night Shahrazad said: Ala-ed-Din went to his chamber and took his Lamp and rubbed it. The slave appeared. He said to the slave, "Take me to a best bath."  The slave took him to a Hammam. The bath was in marble and carnelian. Wonderful pictures on its wall captivated the eye s . Ala-ed-Din took off his clothes and hung it on an antler fixed on the wall. A Jinni came and splashed water through a spout on Ala-ed-Din. Then he massaged him from top to bottom.  After bath he went into a spacious hall where he found suit of royal robes. He  put his new robes. Sherbet and coffee flavoured with ambergris were brought to him. A number of slaves appeared to dress him. The poor tailor's son, who once loitered the streets of the city with vagabond boys, now looked a prince. With a band of twenty four mamluks on horses before him, he rode on a stallion, followed by another band of twenty four mamluks on horses behind him. The procession marched towards the palace of the S...

The following night Shahrazad said: Ala-ed-Din sent his mother to the Sultan to demand the accomplishment of latter's promise. Sultan saw the mother of Ala-ed-Din, and he remembered his promise to her. "O Vizier, the woman who gave me precious jewels is now in front of me, among the audience beyond. Bring her to me, immediately. The Vizier elbowed his way to the old woman and ushered her to the king. She saluted the king. The king asked her if she had any petition. The woman said, "O the king of Age, You have promised me that you will marry your daughter, Bedr-el-Budur to my son Ala-ed-Din after the expiry of three months. Now it is over." The king was perplexed: She was  poor and mean. Yet the gift she had given was exceedingly splendid; beyond his power to purchase. He turned to the Vizier and asked, "What shall I say to her? I made her a pledge. But it is evident to me that they are poor people, and not of our situation." The Vizier was envious of the ol...

The history of education in Malabar under British rule is often narrated through polarized lenses: One emphasizes Colonial exploitation and to attack this fractured view the other celebrates Western benevolence. Malabar's late 18th and 19th century experience reveals a naunced reality, where East India Company and later the British crown, together with missionary efforts created channels for vernacular education that enabled social mobility of marginalized communities, notably Thiyyas.  Early Education in Pre British Malabar  Education in Malabar was highly stratified by caste. Brahminical schools, usually attached to temples served Namboothiri boys, while mosques provided basic literacy to Muslim students. Village level Ezhuthupallis offered elementary Malayalam or Tamil to a few non-Brahmin children. However, majority of lower caste groups including Thiyyas, Cherumas, and Pulayas were excluded, effectively denying them access to clerical and administrative positions. Social ...

Braj belong to Indo-Aryan language family, spoken in the Braj region of in United Provinces or Modern day Uttar Pradesh.  Braj Region Braj also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brijbhumi or Brij is on the banks of Yamuna River. Etymologically it translates to a pasture, shelter or resort for cattle. This reflects the ancient nomadic life of the early inhabitants of the place.  Braj language is descended from Shauraseni Prakrit. It is spoken by around six lakh people. Its purest forms are spoken in Mathura, Agra, Etah, and Aligarh. Most speakers of Braj worship Hindu deity Krishna and their devotion find expression in the Brij which has a firm base in folk literature and songs.  Through the devotional poetry of early medieval period 1450 -1700 CE and the erotic poetry of late medieval period 1700 to 1850CE Braj developed a superb literary tradition; its literary form achieved a wider acceptability than any other languages of Hindi belt. Standardization of Hindi marginalized Braj lang...

The following night Shahrazad said: The Sultan was dazzled by the jewels in the China bowl brought by Ala-ed-Din's mother. He found that none of the precious stone in his collection is equal to those in the bowl. His Vizier also agreed with him. And the king said to him, "Vizier, I think the boy is worthy of my daughter. The Vizier was tongue tied with vexation. The king had already promised to the Vizier that his daughter Bedr-el-Budur shall wed the Vizier's son. After a few moments the Vizier said, "O king of the Age, Your eloquence was graciously pleased to promise Lady Bedr-el-Budur to my son. So allow him three months, and there shall be a more splendid gift from my son to your excellence." The king knew that either Vizier or his son could not accomplish the job, still he granted three months time because of his kindness and generosity. And turning to the mother of Ala-ed-Din, he said, "Go back to your son, and tell him I have given my word that my daug...

The following night Shahrazad said: Ala-ed-Din found a new buyer in the Jeweller. He was an honest trader, who gave him 70 dinars for the plate.  Ala-ed-Din was a changed person after his deal with the Jeweller. He found that he knows nothing about life or business. He abandoned his vagabond friends. Every day he went to the market, visited the jeweller and through him other jewellers and other businessmen. He got accustomed to precious jewels studied their character, and gradually he came to understand that the jewels and diamonds in his custody are real, and not crystal glass; and that he has in his possession a collection of unique jewels which the market is deficient of. Visiting market every morning became his habit.  One day, as he was dressing, to go to market, he heard the proclamation by the herald [1], "By command of gracious patron, King of the Time, Lord of the Age and the Season: "Now let all the people close their shops and stores and enter into their houses, be...

Early humans had no explanation for natural phenomenon like flood, drought, lightning, and volcanic eruptions. All these phenomenon created terror, and led them to seek explanation in super natural causes. Early cultures assigned human attributes to these natural  phenomenon. Thor was the Norse god of thunder, who created lightning with his hammer. Indra was the Vedic god of lightning, thunder and rain. The Earth was often seen as a fertility godess or "Mother Goddess" essential for survival and continuity of life.  By treating these phenomenon as conscious beings (God or Devil), people beleived they could be appeased through rituals, prayers or offerings. When the result of these coincided with favourable outcomes, say rain after drought, the religious practices reinforced and became a tradition.  Animism is the belief that natural objects, phenomena, and even inanimate objects possess a spiritual essence or soul. Anthropologist, Edward Brunette Taylor [1] used the term ...

Brain continues to grow and reorganize accross the life span of homosapiens. There are 5 major epochs of brain development. As per the new study the adulthood start at the age of thirty two. Other new findings highlights how factors like exercises can influence brain growth, even into adulthood, while the creation of multi-person brain organoids or kimroidoids offers new ways to study development of disease in a more accurate way than previous models.  Brain Development Stages  ° Recent research has identified five distinct stages of brain development or epochs, that are characterized by different patterns of rewriting.  ° These stages are childhood (birth to 9 years), adolescence (9 to 32 years), adulthood (32 to 66 years) early aging (66 to 83 years) and late aging (83 onwards) ° The adolescence phase is a significant period of neural efficiency which extends beyond the traditional teen age years. Mechanisms of Growth & Maintenance  ° Exercises: Aerobic exercis...