Nodes in History

Image Source: wikipedia.org

I was reading this article about Berlin's Ostbahnhof Station, its history and how past and present collide there. It is interesting how the development of early railway networks - that was almost entirely market driven - has had such lasting effects on our history. Of course there is also this article which which goes all the way back to the Roman Empire and tells us in the form of a Socratic dialogue (being meta, are we?) what the with of a horse's ass has got to do with US Standard railroad gauge and the size of a space shuttle's solid rocket boosters. But I digress.

The Ostbahnof article talked about how the station, and the area around it, was the gateway to Eastern Europe and how successive regimes have built over it and tried to change its character over time. I like to think of structures like these - public places that have been in use through centuries - become nodes in history. They bear witness to history as it plays out in the public sphere. These nodes, by virtue of the history they embody, become seats of power and successive regimes build / extend / restore to establish their power.

Image Source: buzzintown.com

One such building that immediately comes to my mind is the Writers' Building in Calcutta. The current West Bengal government is in the process of clearing out the "non-heritage" blocks (that were built by the Communist government before them) and restoring complex to it former glory. My friend and collaborator, An Observant Owl did a photo story documenting the demolition process and I wrote a blog post to go with it here.

Another such node, which has been sadly transformed into a glass case enclosed exhibit of history, was the Qutub Complex. It is said that a complex was the site of several Jain and Hindu temples, which provided much of the raw material for building the mosque, the minar, and the surrounding structures. Four different emperors added to/restored it; even the Brits tried to add a storey to it but then decided against it. Our democratic regime has mummified it; now it doesn't throb and pulse with history. Now it's just a background for a selfie.