History
The Colosseum
The Colosseum is one of the awe-inspiring architectural marvels given by the Romans to the world. The Colosseum served as an amphi-theater for staging gladiatorial spectacles that were witnessed by the highly ranked Romans and other citizens.
The Colosseum was commenced by Vespasian and inaugurated by Titus in 80AD. The plan of the Colosseum was an ellipse measuring 188mx156m. It was designed to hold 50000 spectators and it is believed that some of the ideas incorporated in the design of the Colosseum are from the ‘Theatre of Marcellus’. The Colosseum has eighty radial walls which are reflected in the exterior as the three tiers of arcades. There is direct access to the first two tiers of seating corresponding inside while the third tier, separated from the other two tiers create the innermost level. Underneath the main space used for sports, there are passageways and dens required for the animals that were used at the arena. The columns on the exterior were doric, ionic and corinthian in the first, second and third storeys respectively. Above these storeys, there is a deep attic storey with a square window in alternate bays. A canopy called ‘velarium’ was built at the top to provide shade.
The Colosseum now stands ruptured due to earthquake and extraction of construction materials from it in the past, that were used for building other structures. The seats were originally made of marble and timber which have also worn out. It is being preserved with great care now as a building of immense historical and aesthetic values.
George Bernard Shaw
In all history, among all men born and buried, George Bernard Shaw is the only person to have received an Oscar and a Nobel Prize in Literature. As a noted novelist, play wright, critic and socialist, Shaw was instrumental in mocking at the pretentiousness and farce behind the Victorian era of theatrics. Being an active member of the Fabian society that aims at gradually bringing in reforms, his plays are generally centered around a cardinal social theme that is intended to create awareness among the masses, needless to cite his humongous sarcasm and wit, if not sometimes cynicism. He is perhaps the most sardonic person who had ever lived if i could also count in the unborn.
Shaw who was born in Ireland on 26th July 1856, was in his later years, of the view that the only time when his education was hampered was his period of formal education! Having influenced by his mother’s interest in music, Shaw’s career in art started as a musical critic who rendered unbiased opinions to magazines. His initial days as a novelist were futile and demoralizing with none of his works being published. As he gained popularity thanks to his sneer, wit and biting comments, acceptance for his works grew, as a result of which he ended up writing 63 plays.
His superior language and powerful delivery of views would probably make an atheist become an archbishop! His highly acclaimed plays like the Apple cart, Man and superman, Saint John, The Doctor’s Dilemma, Heartbreak House, Pygmalion and many more reveal a relentless mockery at the callous society, governance and medicine. Such powerful works aimed at social reforms were the paramount reasons for awarding him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. He received an Oscar for his works in making the movie Pygmalion (based on his own play).
I would love to share a few of his thought provoking quotes if not for copy content! Yet I succumb to the temptation and quote a couple. Just to give you a clear idea, he could be so acute as to say “Observation is commonly mistaken for cynicism by those who don’t possess it”; or could be so cynical as to say “Martyrdom is the only way a man can become famous without ability” !!
The man behind Ferrari - Enzo Ferrari
This is the man behind today’s most respected and powerful auto racing major – Ferrari.
The alien and challenging circumstances that he steered through in his life are undoubtedly awe-inspiring. Enzo in his early days worked for auto companies like CMN and Fiat before eventually landing at the doors of Alfa Romeo. He was moderately successful as a driver in the race circuits and was able to comfortably earn his bread. However, beyond a certain point he realized that his tact lies in managing people and networking than actual racing. However he always had an undying passion for the profession of racing since childhood. Soon, he was managing the whole race car manufacturing unit of Alfa Romeo, heading a sizeable number of designers, engineers and drivers.
Enzo Ferrari then took a team of these eminent and notable persons who were loyal to him and split off from Alfa to start a racing clan named Scuderia Ferrari. He adopted the black horse in the yellow background as the logo for his intrepid venture. The task ahead was to beat Alfa in the 1951 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, given that his rival Alfa, had the experience and repute of the then world champion Juan Manuel Fangio, as against his rookie driver Frolian Gonzalez. But Enzo believed in his supposition and secret weapon that if his car was more fuel efficient and thereby requiring a single refuel lesser, his driver could beat the champion. This decisive race could have brought laurels for Enzo or doomed him into another devastating defeat. With the support of his virtuoso engineers and a firm conviction, the race went just as planned and the novice driver was first to see the flag waving, thanks to the fuel efficient Ferrari 375! Enzo made history and Alfa could never recover from the loss when later it had to succumb to the charisma of Enzo and his engineers. The legend of Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing had begun!!
Invention of the WHEEL
Silverado chrome wheel
The Wheel is by far mankind’s single most significant invention that has application in every walk of life today. Look around you. The car/bike you drive, the little gears in your analog watch, the churning food processor, the disk drives in your computer - all these equipments work on the one single elemental principle - the wheel. Every machine built since the industrial revolution pivots on the fundamentals of symmetric components moving in a circle about an axis.
Historians are still hazy about when and where the wheel came into existence. Some speculate that it was used in Asia around 8000 BC. But the first recorded use of this marvel was in the form of a potter’s wheel in Mesopotamia around 3500 BC. The earliest use of the canonical principle of the wheel being used for locomotion was probably, again observed in Mesopotamia around 3200 BC. Its very ironic to actually believe in retrospect, that the wheel actually served many other purposes in its early stages before being used as a means of transportation. The next innovation was the wheel with spokes. This originated primarily from Egypt around 2000 BC. Its also interesting to note that not every civilization in history stumbled upon this circular structure when it reached a certain level of sophistication. The ancient Inca and the Maya civilizations have no record of having used a wheel or of similar sorts.
Starting from a plain roller and a sledge, through wagons and chariots, through carts using rubber tyres to the most modern BMW cars, the invention of the wheel has been instrumental in man’s every tangible, mundane and materialistic growth!
Umbrellas
What saves you from getting wet when it’s pouring cats and dogs outdoors ? It’s an umbrella. It’s probably one of the oldest and the best inventions ever. An umbrella is also known as a parasol. It is nothing but a canopy designed to protect against rain. A parasol is designed to protect against the sun. The word umbrella is derived from the Latin word umbra which means shade or shadow.
Almost every culture from Indian to the Greek has a history on the umbrella. In Egypt, the parasol is depicted in various shapes. Archaeologists found an engraving in Egypt where an Ethiopian princess was travelling through Upper Egypt in a chariot with an umbrella sort of thing in the centre to protect the princess from the sun. In Persia, a parasol is found in the works of Persepolis. in ancient Greece, an umbrella was a style statement for women. It also has religious significance. From Greece, the use of the umbrella moved to Rome. In Rome , it was used by many women and men. In china, the oldest written records of the umbrella dates back to 21 A.D. An even older source of the umbrella dates back to more than 2400 years ago where it was used in Chinese ceremonies.
In India, stories of the umbrella dates back to the 4th century. According to a mythology, the Mahabarata, the umbrella was offered by the sun to Renuka. The sun begged for mercy as Jamadagni, a skilled bow shooter, started shooting arrows at the sun. During practice, Jamadagni would shoot arrows and his wife would collect the arrows and bring them all back to him. But, one day it took one whole day to fetch them, and she blamed it on the sun. So, the angry Jamadagni started shooting arrows at the sun.
Whatever the origins are, the umbrella is one of the most used inventions of the world today.
The largest earthquake ever
It recorded a whopping 9.5 on the Richter Scale.
The largest earthquake that modern equipment has ever measured dreaded Chile on the 22nd of May, 1960. At 1611 hours local time, the quake struck at a place that was 700 kms south of Santiago, in a small town near Vivaldi called Cantene. This is termed as the ‘Great Chilean Earthquake’.
The quake alone, not causing all the damage, it triggered Tsunamis - a word that we are very much accustomed to these days - that devastated parts of Chile, Japan, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, to name a few. The giant waves that ravaged the southern regions of Chile battered the coastline with waves as high as 25 meters. The result of this catastrophe was an estimated death toll of about 6000 people and monetary losses of about 5 billion dollars in today’s terms.
The emergency situation threw the telecommunication links in southern Chile in a state of chaos and forced the President to cancel national ceremonies. We very well know that a single huge quake is never a loner. The aftershocks had their fair share in causing widespread and sporadic mayhem too. They lasted for about a fortnight tormenting the people.
To add fuel to the burning fire, volcanoes were triggered by the quake causing total disarray. If you were an atheist, you probably would have seen God that fateful day! Despite the Himalayan magnitude of the quake and the tsunamis triggered afterward, the death toll was relatively low because most people were attending Church at the time of the quake! The churches being constructed with stronger foundations, were better prepared to take the brunt of the natural calamity. Although the possibility of a large number of wooden houses, and they being in high grounds cannot be ignored. It took the people many years to recover from the losses, but strongly imprinted in their minds, remains the gruesome memories of the ‘Great Chilean Earthquake’.
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