[THREAD: WHEN GREECE RULED INDIA]
1/89
Some time in the 7th century AD, Sanskrit writer Bāṇabhaṭṭa did a biography on his patron, emperor Harshavardhana. It was titled Harṣacarīta and is said to be the first biographical work from the subcontinent.

[QUICK THREAD: PERSPECTIVE]
1/11
Make no mistake, I abhor that prancing peacock, I really do. Just not for your reasons. His financial corruption doesn't bother me. His Islamophobia does, but only so much. His lies, again, only to an extent.

2/11
Financial corruption is as old as politics itself. Lying isn't a Modi-exclusive feature, it practically underscores Indian politics. And islamophobia? Ask yourself, is he the inventor of Islamophobia, or the product?

No, what bothers me is his mainstreaming of trash.

3/11
Men can set you on fire and livestream your death under far-from-tacit political patronage. That's what I hate Modi for.

It's a mundane reality that you'll receive threats of rape and death for merely pointing out his flaws. That's what I hate Modi for.

4/11
Academic institutions get addressed by conmen like Jaggi and Ramdev. That's what I hate Modi for.

Congregations of scientists talk about Vedic airplanes and radioactive dung with a straight face and it's elitist to call them out for it. That's what I hate Modi for.

5/11
A panwala in Bombay not only has a strong opinion on what's best for Kashmiris but also wants every one of them gunned down to uphold that opinion, even though nobody in his entire family tree has even a hint of stake in the state in question. That's what I hate Modi for.

Lemme share a poem with you. It’s titled Ram and was originally composed in Urdu by a controversial Indian figure about 114 years ago. There’s 6 verses, am sharing each of them along with an English translation.

Verse 1:
[U]
labrez hai sharāb-e-haqīqat se jām-e-hind
sab falsafī haiñ ḳhitta-e-maġhrib ke rām-e-hind

[EN]
Overflowing with the wine of Truth is the cup of India
All philosophers of the Western world have acknowledged India

Verse 2:
[U]
ye hindiyoñ kī fikr-e-falak-ras kā hai asar
rifat meñ āsmāñ se bhī ūñchā hai bām-e-hind

[EN]
It is the result of the elegant thinking of Indians
That higher than the sky is the position of India

Verse 3:
[U]
is des meñ hue haiñ hazāroñ malak-sarisht
mashhūr jin ke dam se hai duniyā meñ nām-e-hind

[EN]
This country has had many people of angelic disposition
On whose account world renowned is the name of India

Verse 4:
[U]
hai raam ke vajūd pe hindostāñ ko naaz
ahl-e-nazar samajhte haiñ is ko imām-e-hind

[EN]
India is proud of the existence of Rama
Spiritual people consider him prelate of India

[QT: INDIA, THE GOLD STANDARD OF CLASS]
1/28
Some time last week, an American shared this on LinkedIn. A neutral (note the 3rd-person verbiage) observation of the goings-on in our capital with a legit @AP thumbnail. Of course India had to descend on him like an avalanche of poop.

2/28
This is a quick thread of some of the worst responses out there, just to illustrate the obvious, which in one way makes the exercise pointless. At the same time, such loss of a demography's class must never be out of the spotlight. So am doing it anyway.

3/28
Just before we start, here's a small bummer: I've redacted all identifying information even though it's all in public domain. This is to avoid any inadvertent code violation; Twitter doesn't seem to like doxing and neither do I.

So here we go.

4/28
1. Corporate affairs general manager at a Japanese auto heavyweight.
2. DB architect with a Silicon Valley giant. Sum total of his argument? Farmer leaders lean Left. Interestingly, also disses the IAC shindig the biggest benefactor of which was the party in power today.

5/28
Here's another, this time no less than the COO of one of the biggest electronics retail chains in India. From his English, to his demeanor, to his self-entitlement, tweet naming one thing that isn't oozing class.

[THREAD: HISTORY OF THE HINDU TEMPLE]
1/102
Four hours south of Aswan in Lower Nubia, right by the Nile, is a region dotted with temple complexes built more than 3,000 years ago. Some like the temples of Amada, Derr, and Beit el-Wali go as far back as 1500 BC.

2/102
A little further south, not far from the border with Sudan, is another complex dedicated to Ramses II, Hathor, and Nefertari in the village of Ipsambul, better known locally as Abu Sunbul and internationally as Abu Simbel. These go back to the 13th century BC.

3/102
Djeser-Djeseru, also known as the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut in Upper Egypt also dates to 1400 BC. Over 500 years older is the nearby Mentuhotep II, also a mortuary temple. Both were dedicated to the cult of Amun Ra, besides their respective pharaohs.

4/102
Far older is the Ġgantija complex of Malta. Going as far back as 3600 BC, this one comprises of two temples entirely made of stone and enclosed in a stone wall. From the figures therein, it's understood to be a site of some kind of a fertility cult worship.

5/102
Dating from the same period are the limestone megaliths of Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra, both said to have once hosted ritualistic sacrifices as part of the same fertility cult worship as found in the Ġgantija complex. Malta has some of the oldest temple complexes in Europe.

[QUICK THREAD: AMSTERDAM'S XXX]
1/11
Most European cities date back to the Middle Ages if not Antiquity, and have an imperial coat of arms. This one's Amsterdam's. What you see in the middle column are not 3 letters but 3 crosses, Saint Andrew's Crosses or saltiers to be precise.

2/11
The reason St. Andrew's Cross looks like that is because the saint was martyred on an X-shaped cross, instead of the more familiar + kind. He was one of the apostles of early Christianity and was crucified by the Romans for heresy.

3/11
The reason this particular cross features on the city's coat of arms is because the apostle in question was a fisherman. And Amsterdam was founded as a fishing village back in 1505. St. Andrew is the most natural patron saint of fishermen around the world.

4/11
Being the official municipal herald, this coat of arms appears all over Amsterdam. Take the city hall building (officially, the Stopera), for instance.

5/11
Or this heritage building, certainly older than 1947 as it didn't include the motto (Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig). The motto was added only in 1947 by Queen Wilhelmina to honor the bravery and compassion shown by the city during the General Strike of 1941.

#3/thread on Angkor wat

Christianity and islam may be the largest religion of today’s world but Sanatan dharm has the largest religious monument in the world in the form of Angkor wat. It is situated in combodia and spread across over 400 acres / 1.6 km².

It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, which encouraged an international effort to save the complex.
It was originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu. In Khmer, the Cambodian language, Angkor means "city" and Wat means "temple grounds".

So Angkor Wat means "Temple City". Its original name was Vrah Vishnuloka or Parama Vishnuloka, meaning the sacred dwelling of Vishnu in Sanskrit.
But, it gradually turned into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century & is still used for worship today.

Angkor Wat was initially designed and constructed in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II, as the king’s state temple and capital city. It was built without the aid of any machinery, as there was no machinery available at that time.

Evidence for these dates comes in part from inscriptions, which are vague, but also from the architectural design and artistic style of the temple and its associated sculptures.

Another aspect is that the five central towers of Angkor Wat symbolize the peaks of Mount Meru,

#BlackHistoryMonth In the Navy, I was fortunate to serve at Commander Cruiser Destroyer Group 2(CCDG2). I reported to duty in 1981 as Radioman Seaman Apprentice(RMSA), and served through 1985 in the communications division achieving the rank of Petty Officer 2nd Class(RM2/SW) /1

This was my first duty assignment. But my first is not important as the first African-American who served as CCDG2's Commanding Officer prior to my arrival, Rear Admiral Samuel L. Gravely, Jr. He was a trailblazer. He was commissioned an Ensign on November 14, 1944. /2

He enlisted and then became one of the first commissioned African-American officers in the US Navy. He was denied housing and even jailed for impersonating an officer. He withstood a cavalcade of abuse and racism and still managed to rise through the ranks of the Navy. /3

He became the first to serve under combat conditions during WW2. He served during the Korean & Vietnam War. He was the first to command a fighting vessel, and commander of the 3rd fleet. He served as Communications officer on the USS IOWA BB-61 /4

He served as the first African-American to command (USS Theodore E. Chandler (DD 717)); command a major warship (USS Jouett (DLG 29)) - and was the first African-American to achieve the rank of Captain in 1967. /5

THREAD: Meditations on marriage metaphors in Ruth

The book of Ruth is, of course, a story about a beautiful marriage. But even before the courtship and the wedding and the important genealogy at the end, we find interesting language that is strikingly reminiscent of Genesis 2:24

That important verse reads:

'Therefore a man shall leave [יַֽעֲזָב] his father and his mother and hold fast [וְדָבַ֣ק] to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.'

The verb עזב can be quite strong in force. For example, Joseph leaves behind [וַיַּעֲזֹ֤ב] his garment as he flees from Pharaoh's wife's sexual advances. Countless times, Israel is depicted abandoning the LORD, for example in Judg 2:12 [וַיַּעַזְב֞וּ], and going after other gods.

Likewise, the verb דבק is rather striking. Lot is mortified of disaster overtaking him [תִּדְבָּקַ֥נִי] as he flees from Sodom. Israel is commanded in Deut 10:20 to cling fast [תִדְבָּ֔ק] to the LORD and serve him and swear by his name.

Together they illustrate how radical God designed marriage to be. Marriage is a real severing of family relations in order to form a new, permanent bond with another human being.

Something very similar to this takes places in Ruth's life.

Some thoughts on @UKLabour... Many consider Sir Winston Churchill as Britain's greatest PM, yet he succumbed to a huge election defeat in 1945, right after spearheading Britain and its allies to victory in WWII. But how and why did this come about? 1/9

Some say that Churchill was the perfect leader for the job at hand – winning a war. Once war was over having completed a seemingly impossible mission; he had little direction, he was redundant, and society sought new leadership for a new era. 2/9

Some say that Churchill’s unwillingness to adapt caused his defeat. The movement for social reform grew throughout the war and reached a climax with the publication of the Beveridge Report. Churchill missed an opportunity to take on those reforms, and another 5 yrs as PM 3/9

Instead of backing them, he attempted to scare people away from the reforms and socialism as a positive force for good. The party centred the election around Churchill the ‘war lord’. Whilst Labour and Atlee brought the reforms to the centre of their campaign. 4 /9

Following the end of the war, the national conversation centred around issues of housing, health, and employment. Atlee and the Labour Party tuned in and devised a comprehensive manifesto for social change and justice. 5/9