Back to the Past: A (Creative) Reflection on the Year in Humanities

Zoom!

The ATTPS (Awesome Time-Travelling Purple Sphere) 2.1 has worked. I was now in Kenya 2,000,000 BC. With a bit of luck, I was going to see some prehistoric action. Sitting in the middle of a savanna, I was waiting to spot some Homo Habilis, also known as the handyman. I looked at the horizon. There would still be a few hours until sunset. Tap, tap, tap. The sound was repeating itself, becoming louder and faster. I looked towards the left where I thought it was coming from and saw an antelope speeding towards me. I watched as it beautifully hoped. And then appeared the man. Well, he looked more like an ape but he did have a spear in his hand. Of course it was a member of the Homo Habilis, some of the first creatures to create tools and the antelope was soon to be his dinner. The antelope ran but it was slowly getting tired. The man, powered by adrenaline and hunger sped up and then finally through the spear with enormous strength. The spear sliced through the antelope's neck as it fell to the ground. I've seen enough here. I thought and jumped back into the ATTPS. 

Next destination: the Fertile Crescent. In the blink of an eye, I arrived in the ancient land of Sumer, 3,000 BC.  I look around and see the Tigris and Euphrates, the two rivers that give life to the land. The huts of the men and the developed irrigation systems. Sumer was one of the oldest civilizations.
Zoom!
I happened to be in Ancient Egypt now. A crowd of slaves was pulling a rock, motivated by the whips of their keeper.
Zoom!
 I was in Ancient India, among the untouchables.
Zoom!
I am at Machu Picchu in the mountais of South America.

The Story of Taj Mahal

The magnificent monument Taj Mahal symbolizes the heart of India and the eternal love relationship between Shah Jahan or Prince Khurram and Mumtaz Mahal also mentioned as Arjumand Banu Begum. As I searched Taj Mahal to find background information, I found a quote from An English poet, Sir Edwin Arnold saying "Not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passion of an emperor's love wrought in living stones." The story that follows next will prove why the statement is true.

There was a lovely prince name Shah Jahan or Prince Khurram, the son of Jehangir, and the fourth Mughal emperor of India (Known as the grandson of Akbar the Great). One day when he was hanging around and strolling down the Meena Bazzar, Prince Khurram caught a glimpse of a wonderful girl. As soon as he saw her, he simply felt in love. The girl who he caught a glimpse was a Muslim Persian princess Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Banu Begum). Prince Khurram returned home, asking his father, and declaring that he wanted to marry her. Though he had other wives, Mumtaz Mahal was his favorite.

In year 1628, Prince Khurram entrusted Mumtaz Mahal with the royal seal. In addition to the seal, he gave her the title of Mumtaz Mahal, the “Jewel of the Palace.” Prince Khurram and Mumtaz Mahal maintained an eternal relationship. However, an unfortunate event approached. When Mumtaz Mahal had given birth to their 14^th child, she had passed away due to complications. Prince Khurram was in misery and he promised her that he would never remarry anymore. Also he constructed the “richest mausoleum over her grave.”

Constructing Taj Mahal took 22 years and the labor of 22,000 workers to construct the monument. Prince Khurram died in 1666, and his body was place next to his wife. Taj Mahal is known among in the “Seven Wonders of the World.”

An Aspect of the Eight-Fold Path: Right Speech

Right speech is a very important thing. Words can be stronger than many people actually realize. It is very important that you do not use inappropriate and/or offensive language, you can hurt many. Often language is stronger than physical actions. Many can say: "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can't hurt me". However those sayings are not true. And while luckily some can avoid feeling this in real life, other have to learn it the hard way. I should start using my words more wisely.

Mapping Project Reflection

a) How do physical features, climate and elevation relate to each other?


All of those things affect the way in which people settle. They wouldn't want to settle in for example rocky areas because thos would not make for a very good farmland. Same with climate and elevation. If the climate is too hot or too cold, too humid or too dry, it would yet again create inappropriate conditions for farming. And highlands can't support too much either.






    
b) What conclusions can you draw?
    (Think about natural resources, climate/weather, and human settlement.)


The people would want to settle in places where survival would be the least challenging. Especially as I have mentioned in the previous part of this post, land that can support agriculture is very important. Also, they would look for stable sources of fresh water. Even today you can see that many major cities are built along major rivers. This was to provide water to the settlers. 

Hanuman

The origins of Hanuman are unclear. Soem believe that he was the son of the Kind and the Queen of Monkeys, while others believe that he was the son of Anjana, who had been turned into a monkey by a curse and the god Vayu which could have also given him his ability to fly. Hanuman was born very hungry and his mother could not satisfy him, and so he ran after the sun, mistakening it for a fruit. He chased the sun all the way to Indra's heaven where Indra injured Hanuman's jaw with his thunderbolt. However Hanuman's father was mad and made Indra agree that Hanuman would become immortal.



 Hanuman was made a young monkey god. He wasn't a very nice god though and his early years were sinful. This can be seen on many Hindu artifacts. All the gods were desperate and so they turned to Brahman to find a sollution. Brahman's sollution was to make Hanuman forget about his powers. Now Hanuman can use his powers only when reminded by Jambavant, the king of bears.

The Lost City of Mohenjo Daro

Mohenjo Doro

     Mohenjo Daro was a well-planned and rich city. Much evidence shows that it was one of the richest and most successful towns in the subcontinent of India, having a population of 35,000 for numerous years.




    One of the most signifact reasons for the town's success was the way that it was engineered. The whole town was above ground level, protected from the floods. It also had a sewer system that was very sophisticated for the time. Every house had a sewer system and even an indoor bathroom. The town was split into two halves, a residential one, and a  more public one where structures such as the citadel were located. Both of these sides included canals to drain surplus water.





       The life in the town was simple and organized. The town had very sophisticated trading systems, and an extremely successful cotton production.They also had a strong army that included their fast charriots. Altogether, the people of Mohenjo Daro created a very strong civilization. This had enabled them to survive for numerous years.

The Indus and Gange River Valleys - Questions

1. The valleys were rather dry, surrounded by plateaus. The monsoon seasons brought strong winds and precipitation in summer. 

2. Mohenjo Daro was made out of bricks to survive through harsh weather. It also had canals to let the water during summer monsoons flow out and not flood the city. 

3. The Aryans were a people that came to India from the north. They managed to conquer the land thanks to their fast charriots which were superior to soldiers on foot.