Sohail
Moughal |
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TALE OF TWENTY TWO CITIES ISBN 969 34 0000 3, Published in 1997 |
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INTRODUCTION We are all part of a huge process - comprising of a series of smaller processes and transformations which are directed sometimes either towards a new start or the end. It started only God exactly knows when, but some of us are quite sure that our solar system existed in its present form some four billion years ago. And during these times somewhere in the vast loneliness of our planet a single tiny cell of living matter was formed - Here started a process within the process. It seems that the first form of life was more intelligent than the later forms. These cells started living together, gradually rose to multi-cellular organisms and inhibited the Earth. It took them more than three million years to become dinosaurs. Communal life, somehow, became extinct and so did most of the species. A few that remained learnt from it and another process initialised. Just five million years ago, hominids came to existence. Amongst them only those lived who chose to live together and share their artefacts. Millions of small communities got formed and only some of them became stronger, more inventive and productive than others, to form cities; and later a few of them even civilisations. A few cities developed themselves at the cross-roads of a process, some uniting a couple of civilisations formed empires and became salad bowls; a few of them--melting pots. Processes within the processes gave rise to integration of different geographical and racial groups into national societies. Cultural, social and economic transformations within the transformations produced new goals like modernisation, urbanisation and industrialisation. Today, we are not parts of any communities, city states or civilisations; but represent nations. The definitions will change as they did during all these times. The behaviours are the same as our great great grand fathers and their great great grand fathers had-- fighting among ourselves and with others for nothing but recognition. When somebody first told me that I was the part of a process, I definitely thought, he was kidding. They say that when the eye and the ear conflict, the eye always wins. Sitting in my room, a library or a history class, I had heard myself and others telling a lot of stories about the worlds spread on my four sides and their different ways. As a matter of fact, it took me quite some time to differentiate between the fairy tales and the real ones. A few days that I had, I got the once in a life-time opportunity to walk through various forms of prehistory, history and the present of the processes. I even dreamt of their future. Something, I strongly believe today is that we are all part of a huge process that could never be in a better phase, than it is now. SEEING IS BELIEVING
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