Friday, August 31, 2007

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Archaeology and Egypt

Howard Carter was the archaeologist who discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamen in the valley of the Kings. His tomb was discovered when they were looking for other tombs. His was the richest tomb to be discovered. The wealth in the tomb led archaeologists to believe that this was one tomb that tomb raiders did not loot. One can access information about Tut by just going to Tutankhamen on the google homepage.

Tut married his half sister and she survived him and at his funeral spoke one of the most beauiful verses about life after death. Archaeologists are yet to arrive at the answers to why the boy king's tomb was not originally in the valley of the kings but deposited with other lesser known courtiers. They have to yet to conclude if the boy king died a natural death or was murdered to make way for a stronger ruler.

Mysteries surround king Tut but the sheer amount of wealth and mystery surrounding him make him one of the most researched scholars.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

books

Wilbur Smith Warlock
Wilbur Smith River God

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Music and healing.

Music has always played an integral part in man's life. Research shows that music has many powers - it controls anger, brings joy, makes a person mellow, etc. In South Indian music certain ragas are associated with certain beneficial elements. There are ragas to bring rains, to light a lamp and many more. This is not to say that Hindustani music oes not have the same benefits. Tansen is said to have lit many lamps while singing the raga Deep and Muthuswamy Dikshitar is siad to have brought rains while singing Amruthavarshini.

Today many schools that reach out to special children use music as a medium to bring out the best in a child. A child who may be unable to read or write has been known to sing and this is ecause music calms the mind. It has also been scientifically found that listening to soothing music makes a person mellow and certain kinds of beats make a person uncomfortable and uneasy.

History of the world!!!!!!!!

History is one of the fascinating subjects which has not been appreciated by many. The oldest civilizations of the world have been chronicled and there are extensive references to them. The Indus Valley Civilization, The Egyptian Civilization, the Mayas, Incas all left behind valuable information about the society, culture and life of the people.
Ancient history is a chronicle of man's achievements. Indian History is rich with polity, kingship and there are many treatises that talk of governance. The same can be said of the Egyptian and Chinese civilizations. Writing in all civilizations was an example of the achievements of man. The Cuneiform, the heiroglphs and the pictographic script tell us about man and society.

In India we have a vast source material for ancient, medieval and modern history. Some of the best books for ancient India are Basham's "The Wonder that was India", and K.A.N. Sastri's "History of India and History of South India". The number of books available for the study of medieval and modern India is vast and one is torn between choosing the best.

There are many sources for the study of Gandhiji and the freedom struggle in India. There are also many illustrated books about the World Wars, some which contain original pictures.

One of the most fascinating civilizations is the Egyptian Civilization and books both history and fiction give a fascinating glimpse into it. There are books by Howard Carter which talk of the boy King Tuthankhamen and Queen Nefertiti. French writers have made valuable contribution to Egyptian history. In the recent times Wilbur Smith has written a number of books that give us a fascinating picture of life in ancient Egypt.