Oh, listener of tales and seeker of forgotten curiosities, your appetite for the past is insatiable. You love reading a well-written book of narrative history, and even now, curiosity abounds as you roam a medieval street, an abandoned fort, or a museum with the undimmed excitement of an 8-year-old. You are, unmistakably, what they call a history enthusiast!
It is quite probable that your passion for history did not always burn so brightly. Remember those history lessons at school! They seemed designed to snuff out any budding interest in a young mind about History. And yet, here we stand!
The crux of the matter lies in the fact that, despite those mind-numbing lectures, it was the vivid imagery that preserved our sense of wonder about history. Even with eyes closed, faded images materialize through the mist: dynasties locked in power struggles, empires spanning centuries overrun by invaders, war-lords rushing by in a blur, while city-states crumble and rise.
For many of us, the ‘story’ in the ‘history’, the lesson learned, the tragedy, the grandeur, the beauty of it all was a reason compelling enough to keep us coming back to the books. Of course, the annual family trips to old forts, palaces, and temple towns helped and much later morphed into the solo ‘historical’ wanderings.
It leads one to believe that history cannot be understood ('felt') in classrooms, not in any way that matters for sure. If a real understanding is to be had and a perspective developed, history has to be discovered, seen in its ruins, heard in its stories, visited in its locales, and discussed threadbare for it to make sense.
One wishes all children (and grown-ups) get an opportunity to travel across this fascinating land, to chat with interesting people, eat with them (and in later years, drink with them), experience unusual customs, absorb strange cultures, hear stories from the old ones, look at their buildings, wear their clothes, and witness a life different from their own. And know that it is the ‘past and parcel’ of their own selves.
We just call it History.
