Burmese Girl with Thanaka Paste on Her Cheeks

Photo: A Burmese girl with thanaka cosmetic paste applied on her cheeks and a straw hat

This girl wearing a conical straw hat and wearing a coat of thanaka cosmetic paste on her cheeks was seen selling jade necklaces to tourists at Mingun Pahtodawgyi (incomplete stupa in Mingun), northwest of Mandalay in central Myanmar (Burma) in February 2005.

Thanaka is a yellowish-white cosmetic paste made from any of the thanaka trees growing in central Myanmar. These are perennial trees, which include Murraya spp (thanaka) and Limonia acidissima (wood apple). They must be at least 35 years old to yield good quality cosmetic paste. Generally, cut logs are sold in the market from which buyers make the paste, or thanaka can be bought as ready-to-apply paste or in powder form.

Thanaka cream can be prepared from the powder of the bark, wood or even roots of a thanaka tree, mixing it with water. It is has a sweet fragrance, and looks like sandalwood paste.

For over 2000 years, Burmese women (and even children) have been using thanaka to apply on their faces (or even the whole body), and now the culture has spread to the neighboring countries such as Thailand.

Apart being a type cosmetic, thanaka imparts a cooling effect and is a good shield against sunburn, and also an antifungal. It is believed to be a cure against skin infections, acne, blackheads and also lightens the skin.

Love Locks at Namsan Park, Seoul

Photo: Love Locks at Namsan Park, Seoul, South Korea

The Namsan Park covers Mt. Namsan and its surrounding areas in central Seoul, South Korea. The N Seoul Tower, a radio and TV communication tower, doubles up as an observation tower too because it offers panoramic views of Seoul's skyline.

Interestingly, the tower’s observation deck attracts a lot of lovers who believe that locking padlocks to the railings there as a symbol of their loves can make their loves everlasting. The padlocks that you see in the picture are locked by lovers who may be visiting the spot only for this purpose.

The tradition of love locks has its origin in a failed Serbian love story of World War I vintage. The location is the bridge Most Ljubavi (the Bridge of Love) in Vrnjačka Banja. Nada, a schoolmistress, fell in love with an officer named Relja, who too committed to her love. But soon Relja had to go to Greece on war duty and eventually he fell in love with another woman there. Nada, who came to know of her lover breaking off, could not recover from the blow and soon died due to heartbreak.

After this sad incident, the local young women started writing their own names along with the names of their lovers on padlocks which they locked on to the railings of the Bridge of Love where Nada and Relja used to meet.

In early 2000s, love locks started appearing in the rest of Europe, including in France, Germany, Italy, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Gradually the tradition caught up at various locations in several other countries such as Algeria, Australia, Canada, United States, Taiwan and Uruguay.

A Bunch of Raw Mango Fruits

Photo: Raw mango fruits from Brazil

The photo shows a bunch of purple colored raw mangoes in a mango orchard in a commercial mango farm in/near Petrolina in the state of Pernambuco in Brazil. Petrolina is the largest producer of fruits such as mangoes, grapes and guavas in Brazil.

The variety/species of this mango cultivar is unidentified, though the mangoes look like Tommy Atkins.

Though there are many cultivars of mango, the "Indian mango" or the "common mango", Mangifera indica, is the only mango most commonly cultivated in several tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

Though many people in Southeast Asia consider the durian as the "king of fruits" for its large size and strong odor, many others call the mango the "king of fruits" for its taste, color and nutritional value.

Ripe fruits of mangoes are generally sweet, although the taste and texture of the flesh may vary from one cultivar to another. The commonest use of the mango as a food is to consume it uncooked as a fruit when it is ripe.

Unripe mangoes are generally sour, and the best for the preparation of pickles, chutneys, side dishes, or eaten raw with salt and/or chili, or any other ingredient according to individual tastes.

Ripe mango fruit jelly/pulp is used to prepare fruity drinks, mixing with other ingredients such as sugar, milk, etc. They may also be used as a flavoring and major ingredient in ice creams, fruit bars, pies, milkshakes, desserts, jams, juices, etc.

IMPORTANT: If you look carefully at the right hand side of the photo, you can see an Indian peacock hiding among the green grass/small bushes. Enlarge the photo, if needed, or just save it to your computer and look carefully.

The Citadel of Aleppo

Photo: steps leading to the inner gate of the Citadel of Aleppo in Northern Syria, photo take in 1996

The Citadel of Aleppo is a fortified palace in the centre of the old city of Aleppo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it is one of the oldest and largest castles in the world, which suffered extensive damages as a result of the ongoing Syrian civil war; the above photo was taken in 1996, well before the civil war began.

After the outbreak of the civil war in 2011, the Syrian government forces used Citadel of Aleppo as a shield and convenient location to fire at the rebel forces who retaliated because of which some parts of the citadel were damaged in 2012. Further, the photos released in February 2016 revealed more extensive damages to it.

With a recorded history since the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, the citadel hill has been occupied by several civilizations including the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Ayyubids and Mamluks. Some of them built or rebuilt the ancient structures on the citadel mount. But most of the structures seen presently were built during the Ayyubid reign.

The citadel was one of the major tourist destinations in Syria before the civil war began, both for domestic and foreign travelers. The upscale Carlton Hotel, which stood directly opposite the citadel and popular among foreign tourists, was obliterated in an explosion in 2014.

According to a UN report, 22 heritage sites in Aleppo have been completely destroyed. To the north of the citadel, the Agha Jeq Mosque was hit by airstrikes and shattered, as photos published on 12 January 2016 reveal.

As per reports, six UNESCO World Heritage sites in Syria have been extensively damaged or totally destroyed and a good number of historical artifacts have been looted and they eventually found their way in the gray international art market.

The Libyan Sibyl on Sistine Chapel Ceiling by Michelangelo

Photo: The restored Libyan Sibyl, fresco on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo

The image shows the restored Libyan Sibyl fresco painted by Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, which was painted by Michelangelo incorporating various Bible stories between 1508 and 1512. These frescoes are considered the masterpieces of high renaissance art.

According to Greek mythology, the Libyan Sibyl (sibyl = prophetess), named Phemonoe, was the daughter of Zeus and Lamia, and the first woman ever to chant oracles. She is believed to have divine powers even after death, giving oracular prophesies through voices and omens.

Phemonoe was the priestess presiding over the Oracle of Zeus-Ammon in the Siwa Oasis in the Libyan Desert, and the name Sibyl was given to her by the Libyans.

According to Plutarch, the founder of Alexandria, Alexander the Great, was told by the Libyan Sibyl that he would be the legitimate Pharaoh of Egypt.

Viktor Vasnetsov: Ivan Tsarevich and the Firebird on a Magic Carpet

Photo: Ivan Tsarevich and the Firebird on a Magic Carpet (1880), oil on canvas painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (1848-1926), 165 × 297 cm, State Art Museum of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

The painting shows the popular Russian folklore hero Ivan Tsarevich along with the firebird travelling on a flying magic carpet along with the Firebird. The painting was created by the Russian revivalist movement artist Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov (1848-1926).

Ivan Tsarevich, one of the most popular heroes of Russian folklore, is often portrayed as the youngest of the three sons of a king or a peasant in different stories. As he has to be a superhero in each story, having no straightjacket character or origins, his personal history may vary in each story. But he is always shown fighting treacherous villains and finally winning the hands of his beloved Tsarina.

The name itself has two defining components; Ivan the commonest of the Russian names, and Tsarevich which means ‘the Tsar's son’. And he is sometimes attributed with magic powers. The antagonists also may be deathless characters having devilish powers. His friends may also have magical powers. His animal helpers can be a bird, a lion or a magical horse.

In one of the most popular folktales, ‘Prince Ivan, the Firebird and The Gray Wolf’, he was helped by a magical wolf as he captured the Firebird, after which he won the hand of the Tsarina.

Indian peacock perched on a tree stub

Photo: A peacock in the morning sun in Wasgamuwa National Park, Sri Lanka

The photo shows an Indian peacock (Pavo cristatus) sitting on the dry branch of a tree and enjoying the morning sun in Wasgamuwa National Park in Sri Lanka.

As you can see, this is one of the best shots of a male peafowl that shows its real shape and beauty when sitting on a perch. You may take note of its tail (train) and compare its length with the rest of its body.

The Indian peafowl can be found in most regions of India, Sri Lanka and across South Asia as resident breeder, but in areas below an altitude of 1,800 meters from the sea level. They can be seen in forests, grasslands, cultivated areas and even around human habitations.

Apart from its original habitats, the peafowl has been introduced to Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, Guyana, Honduras, Indonesia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Reunion, South Africa, Suriname, United States, Uruguay, and many more countries.

Portrait of Grigori Rasputin by Klokachёva EN

Photo: Portrait drawing of Rasputin, signed and dated in 1914 by Elena Nikandrovna Klokacheva, colour pencils and pastel on grey card, 81.5 x 56 cm, State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia

The history of fine arts has an interesting artist, Elena Nikandrovna Klokacheva, who is still remembered and taken seriously just for one of her many works. That is the drawing that you see above. It is one of the prized possessions of the State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Klokacheva (also spelt as Klakachova and Klakacheva), was born on 25 November 1871 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. But historians are not sure about the date or year of her death excepting that it was ‘not before 1943’. This computation is based on the fact that Klokacheva had made charcoal portraits of some of the Spanish military physicians who were on assignment the Spanish Blue Division, participating in the Siege of Leningrad, had a field dressing station in Pavlovsk in 1942 and 1943. Their families still have two of the portraits in Spain.

And the value of this portrait of Rasputin by Elena Klokachёva may hit through the roof just because it is one of the few surviving portraits of Rasputin.

Perhaps no other historical figure from anywhere in the world have lived so long through various media as much as Grigori Rasputin since his death in 1916. Ever since then, till the present times, he has been appearing continuously as a popular character in dozens of films, books, TV productions, theater, comics, music and many more media.

Rasputin is reported to have prophetically said, “Without me everything will collapse”. And the outcome of the Bolshevik revolution proved he correctly predicted the future of Russia.

In yet another case, he is said to have predicted his own murder and warned in a letter written to the emperor Nicholas II that if the Russian nobles would do it, it would be the end of the monarchy. Just to prove he was right, following the February Revolution of 1917, the emperor and his family were imprisoned, and eventually executed by the Bolsheviks on the night of 16-17 July 1918.

A curious and interesting observation of life imitating art can be seen in the death of Bobby Farrell, the male member of the music band Boney M. One of the hit songs of the band is “Rasputin", loosely based on the life of the Russian mystic. Farrell had even dressed up as Rasputin in some of the stage performances of the song by Boney M. On 30 December 2010 Farrell died of heart failure in a hotel in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Reportedly, it occurred in the same city and on the same date in December as the death of Rasputin.

Kandahar Lady of Rank, Engaged in Smoking

Image: from the lithograph on plate 29 of 'Afghaunistan' by Lieutenant James Rattray, 1848, source: British Library

The subject of this portrait, Begum Jan, had been described by James Rattray only by a vague reference as a 'Lady of Rank in Kandahar', giving no further information about her real identity, and leaving much to speculation. As the title indicates, and as the other images of Afghan ladies in the other plates show, the woman is seen with a hookah for smoking tobacco (or sometimes cannabis).

However, Rattray followed it up with unrelated references to historical Afghan ladies such as Wafadar Begum (or, Wafa Begam, the favorite and senior most wife of Shuja Shah Durrani, the ruler of the Durrani Empire), and "the brave widow" of Muhammad Akram Khan (1817-1852), the powerful chief of Zamindawar, a historical region to the south of Kandahar.

According to Rattray, many of these Afghan ladies attained historical status because of their "conjugal attachment and devotion" to powerful rulers and clan leaders. For example, he refers to the "the brave widow" (unnamed) of Akram Khan, who was executed in 1842 after he refused allegiance with Shah Shuja. The bereaved widow threw off her burqa, organised his tribesmen and led them to battle with the forces of Shah Shuja, riding her husband's horse, though she was driven back after a desperate battle.

Happy New Year 2017

Wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year!

Hip hip hooray! Artists celebrating at Skagen by P.S. Krøyer

Photo: Hip hip hooray! Artists celebrating at Skagen (1888) oil on canvas painting by Peder Severin Krøyer, 134.5 × 165.5 cm (53 × 65.2 in), Gothenburg Museum of Art (Göteborgs konstmuseum), Sweden

The image above depicts the artists living and working in Skagen, Denmark, gathering in a garden for a celebration. The persons in the painting are (L-R) Martha Johansen, painter Viggo Johansen, Norwegian painter, writer and journalist Christian Krohg, Peder Severin Krøyer (P.S. Krøyer), Degn Brøndum (Anna Ancher's brother), Michael Ancher, Swedish painter Oscar Björck, Danish painter Thorvald Niss, teacher Helene Christensen, Danish painter Anna Ancher and Helga Ancher.

The Norwegian-Danish painter P.S. Krøyer (1851-1909) is one of the most celebrated of the Skagen Painters, a community of Danish and Nordic artists who had been working in Skagen, Denmark in the final decades of the 1800s.

Ancient Archaeological Site in Palmyra, Syria

Photo: View of ancient archaeological site in Palmyra in October 2007

The Palmyra saga is at least 7500 years old. The earliest documented name Tadmor was in use from about 2000 BC. Then the present name Palmyra appeared in the first century AD in the works of Pliny the Elder, and became popular in Greco-Roman world.

Both the names are related to palm trees which were plenty in the area, at least twenty varieties of them. Some of them are still visible as the site is nested in an oasis overlooked by mountain ranges in the Syrian Desert.

Since 2011 when the Syrian Civil War began, the area became the target of many opposing forces. As a result, this UNESCO World Heritage Site experienced large scale fighting, looting of artifacts and wanton destruction.

In the early days of the civil war, the Syrian Army men took positions among and atop the archeological structures to shoot at the Syrian rebels positioned at various locations around the city. Later, as the advancing Islamic State fighters took control of the town of Tadmur in May 2015, the government transported the artifacts from the Palmyra museum to Damascus.

The Islamic State forces entered Palmyra on 21 May 2015 defeating Syrian Army, and the Syrian Air Force bombed the site on 13 June damaging some ancient structures. During their occupation, the Islamic State used the Roman Theatre at Palmyra to stage public executions continuously since 27 May 2015.

The Syrian Army, supported by airstrikes provided by the Russian air force retook Palmyra on 27 March 2016. Apart from large scale destruction by the Islamist forces, the fighting also destroyed many structures.

However, all is not lost yet, as numerous historical structures are still unaffected.

Reportedly the Islamic State is fast losing many of its strongholds in Syria and Iraq, especially as they face elimination from their strongholds such as Mosul and Raqqah. It seems they are now in another attempt to spread out and expand. Maybe, as a part of that they recaptured Palmyra from the Syrian government forces on 11 December 2016.

And now the news reports say the government forces are preparing to fight the Islamist forces occupying Palmyra - the photo that you see here is of 2007, much before the reported destruction.

A good number of ancient monuments of Palmyra were bombarded and reduced to rubbles. How many more structures will be bombed and mortared? How many more lives will be lost? Only the coming days can tell.

Interestingly, after May 2015, a lot Greco-Roman busts and other artifacts including jewelry looted from the Palmyra museum appeared for sale in international markets.

Kristen Stewart at the 82nd Academy Awards

Photo: Kristen Stewart of Twilight Saga fame at 82nd Academy Awards in Hollywood on 7 March 2010, photo by Sgt. Michael Connors, U.S. Army

American actress Kristen Stewart (born April 9, 1990), though was in several films since she started acting in 1999, received much attention and appreciation for her performance in “Panic Room” in 2002. It was followed by creditable performances in several films before she became an international craze with her performance as Bella Swan in The Twilight Saga series.

Stewart has also acted in a number of successful films other than the Twilight franchise and has won many coveted awards. Vanity Fair listed her as the highest-earning actress in the Hollywood Top Earners List of 2010. She also appeared in Forbes' List of Hollywood's Best Actors for the Buck in 2011, and Forbes also named her the highest paid actress in 2012.

Afghan Refugee Girl

Photo: Afghan refugee girl waiting for clothing and school supplies

This is a photo of an Afghan refugee girl taken on 10 April 2012 in Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. She was one of the 400 refugee children who were waiting to receive clothing and school supplies being made available by international donors in association with Aschiana School in Kabul, run by one of the country’s well respected NGO.

According to the United Nations, about 35,000 internally displaced persons live in camps in Kabul as of 2015, with only tents and mud huts as their homes. Winters are very harsh, given the living conditions and standard of living in the country, though geographically being mountainous, Kabul winter is described as mild. But last year, January witnessed the harshest winter in two decades with night temperatures plummeting below 20 degrees.

Kabul occasionally is hit by heavy snowstorms that worsen the plight of the camp-dwellers, with the porous walls and roof letting in cold winds and moisture and the un-cemented mud floors getting wet.

The children are the worst sufferers, who already suffer because of lack of proper schools, healthcare, food shortages and all kinds of shortages that can be associated with depravity.

The death rate of children in these camps is the highest, much more than the figure for the country, which has one of the worst statistics in the world in this regard. With another January round the corner, it is time for the governments, NGOs and even the able among Afghan IDPs to plan and get prepared for facing the winter hardships.

Want to help Afghan children?

Skomorokhs in a Russian Village: Franz Nikolaevich Riss

Photo: Skomorokhs in a Russian Village (1857), painting by Franz Nikolaevich Riss

The painting by Francois Nicholas Riss (1804-1886), often referred to as Franz Nikolaevich Riss, depicts Skomorokhs performing in a Russian village street. It is a typical Russian village setting of the times with wooden and thatched roof houses, and the village folks of all age groups, from very young children to old men and women gathering to enjoy the show.

Born in Russia, Franz Nikolaevich Riss studied painting in Paris at Baron Antoine-Jean Gros and mainly painted portraits, including the famous portrait of Jacques Cartier, the discoverer of Canada. In 1930s he returned to Russia and settled in Saint Petersburg.

The Skomorokhs were East Slavic street performers who were active in medieval times in Russia and many other Slavic nations. Their origin is documented to the 11th century, becoming very popular in the 16th and 17th centuries. They had to face severe persecution from the orthodoxy, especially from the Russian Orthodox Church, and they had to disappear from the scene by the 18th century.

In fact, many of the folk traditions of many eastern regions from Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent have influences of these folk performers. For instance, the evolution of the Russian puppet theatre drew directly the Skomorokhs.

As their repertoire included singing, dancing, playing musical instruments and composing and choreographing for their performances, they could draw crowds of hundreds that is remarkable for the era that had no advertising and marketing for such shows. Neither was there the electronic media of today’s times nor the elaborate stage settings to attract people.

The Skomorokhs were feared as the devil’s servants by the Orthodox Church that also discouraged folk art and popular culture which were considered irreverent and repelling people from God. As the rulers were either strongly influenced by the church or rather the rulers were ruled by the church, banning their shows was easy. A case in point is the ban order issued by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in 1657, which was influenced by the church.

The feudalists and the clergy were dead against Skomorokhi as their art occasionally included satire, masks and mock songs that were popular among the common people. These could be used against the elite that seem to be the refrain of the church that wanted to propagate ascetic living.

Cote d'Azur Beach where elite Syrians go partying

Photo: The picturesque Cote d'Azur Beach in Syria’s Mediterranean coast.

The Cote d'Azur Beach (the Blue Beach), Syria's premier coastal resort on the Mediterranean coast, is adjacent to Ras Ibn Hani, an archaeological site, just eight kilometers north of Latakia city, the provincial capital and the heartland of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect.

The entire area, including the beach used to be a busy tourist destination with some good hotels and holiday apartments that used to attract a good number of international tourists. But now the beach is a favorite location for only elite Syrian families and foreign soldiers stationed in Syria.

The bloody conflicts started in March 2011, as part of the Arab Spring which kick-started civil wars in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and in some other areas of the region.

When the protests started, the Syrian government deployed military to control rebels, and arrested hundreds of protesters. Several people allegedly died in clashes with the government forces. The area has a large presence of people of the Alawite sect, the sect of the incumbent President, Bashar al-Assad.

Russia has established a large electronic eavesdropping facility in Latakia, and the Khmeimim Air Base near Latakia has been made the main base of the Russian military in 2015. So, Latakia enjoys a special place in the government’s plans and actions and has been mostly less affected by the brutal war that has crippled the rest of the country.

As of 2016, the local people continue life as usual, in contrast to the death and destruction in rest of the country. While life here is still a beach party, the majority of Syrians are facing food shortage, starvation, terrorism and frequent airstrikes.

The Assad regime has a support base in the city's elite, and most of the regime forces are Alawite soldiers. For them the government had ensured enough wealth and comforts. Additionally, several thousand Russian soldiers based at Hmeimim Air Base also need entertainment and other perks for which they head to Latakia.

It’s Christmas, and sure there will be celebrations here, while majority of Syrians may be starving. There were reports of children eating grass and garbage to fight hunger.

Sultan Bayezid in the Captivity of Tamerlane by Stanislaw Chlebowski

Photo: Sultan Bayezid in Captivity of Timur (1878) by Stanislaw Chlebowski, oil on canvas painting, 70 × 112 cm, Lviv National Art Gallery, Ukraine

In this painting, often titled as “Bayezid I Held Captive by Timur”, the Polish painter Stanislaw Chlebowski (1835-84) depicts two of the most dreaded conquerors of his times.

The painting, the title of which is variously translated also as “Sultan Bayezid Prisoned by Timur”, or “Bayezid I At The Hands Of Timur”, depicts Timur (also known as Tamerlane and or Timur the Lame) as the figure standing in the fore, wearing a kimono-styled mongoloid tunic. As he is lame*, he is supporting himself with a cane. Bayazid is the declining old man with downcast eyes and apparently suffering from a bout of depression.

Bayezid I (1360-1403), the Ottoman Sultan from 1389 to 1402, had the reputation of having one of the largest and best armies in the Islamic world. He had leaded many military campaigns and unsuccessfully besieged Constantinople.

The Battle of Ankara, fought on 20 July 1402, ended in a major victory for Timur, and it marked the worst crisis for the Ottoman Empire, though it gradually recovered and flourished for two more centuries. But it was the beginning of the end of the Timurid Empire that disintegrated following Tamerlane's death on 18 February 1405.

In 1402, Bayezid was trying to conquer Hungary, when Timur found it the right opportunity to invade the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan rushed back to confront the Timurids, who were slaughtering people and plundering cities and towns on their way. The Sultan withdrew his forces from the siege of Constantinople and deployed them against the Timurids.

By the time, the brother-in-law and a vassal of the Sultan, the Serbian prince Stefan Lazarević and his forces, along with the Wallachia forces, were already fighting off the invaders. Bayezid joined forces with Lazarević who advised him to break out with him, but the sultan declined. Eventually, Taimur defeated the Ottoman forces and took the sultan prisoner on 20 July 1402.

Along with the sultan, one of his wives, Despina Hatun (Mileva Olivera Lazarević, the younger sister of Stefan Lazarevic) and one of the sultan’s sons Mustafa Celebi were also captured by Timur. Olivera was freed after the death of the sultan in captivity in March 1403. But Mustafa Celebi was held prisoner in Samarkand until 1405.

The battle is of special significance in Ottoman Empire’s history as it is the only time a ruling Sultan was captured and made prisoner. The battle also fractured the empire and ignited a civil war among Bayezid's sons for power, which continued for 11 years.

Some historians estimate that both the armies together had nearly one million soldiers, though claims regarding the exact strengths widely vary. It has been claimed that over 50,000 Turks were killed in a few hours of the war.

Earlier, Timur massacred over 100,000 people (various estimates put the figure between 100,000 and 200,000) in the city of Delhi, after a battle on 17 December 1398 in which he defeated the army of Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq who ruled the Sultanate of Delhi. According to historians, Timur’s invasions caused the deaths of 17 million people, about 5% of the world population of the time.

Timur continued to expand his empire until his death. After three months of battles against the Ming Dynasty of China, Timur died of fever on 18 February 1405.

Soon after Timur's death, his empire fell apart. But Shahrukh Mirza, the youngest son of Timur from one of his concubines, ruled the eastern region of the fractured empire, ruling from Herat in Afghanistan. After a string of weak rulers, the Timur dynasty’s rule ended in 1507.

Tamerlane’s descendents include Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire, and the Timurid ruler Ulugh Beg.

* In 1363, it is believed, Timur tried to steal a sheep when a shepherd shot two arrows, injuring his right leg and right hand where he lost two fingers. These injuries crippled him for life, and earned him the names Timur the Lame and Tamerlane.

Jean-Leon Gerome: Consummatum est

Photo: Oil on canvas painting titled Jerusalem or Consummatum est (1867) by Jean-Leon Gerome, 82 cm × 144.5 cm (32 in × 56.9 in), currently at Musée d’Orsay, Paris

Jerusalem, also called Golgotha, Consumatum Est or The Crucifixion (La Crucifixion), dated 1867, is an oil painting by the French sculptor and painter Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904). When it was first exhibited at the Salon of 1868, the spectators were confused, and it attracted negative reviews because of the unconventional technique or unusual way he chose to depict the subject.

Gerome was one of the best among scholastic lot of the artistic circles of his time, well-travelled, and was ahead of his times in depicting artistic subjects.

The actual scene of the crucifixion is not there in the picture, but there is more than that. As an immediate answer to what most of the people returning to their homes are looking at and pointing to, including the soldiers, there is the shadow of three men on the foreground, Mount Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified positioning him between two thieves. In the background is the city of Jerusalem under a clouded sky, where the crowd of people is returning to.

The painting Consumatum Est marked Gerome’s return to history painting after he travelled much through some of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa and explored Orientalism. His travels and works of the period gave the actual pictures to the art world which used to depict what was traditionally and academically shown rather than what was real. For instance, his depiction of the real lives of the people of the Muslim countries he travelled, can be seen several of his works.

The choice of the title too is out of the ordinary, as Consummatum est refers to Christ's last words (John 19:30), “It is completed”, or “It is all over”.

Indian Peacock in Flight

Photo: The Indian Peacock captured on lens during flight

The Indian Peafowl, Pavo cristatus, is perhaps the only bird with such a long train of feathers with vibrant iridescent colors. Often mistaken for tail feathers, this long train is actually made up of around 200 upper tail coverts, growing above the usual tail feathers. While both peahens and peacocks have tail feathers, peahens do not have the trains. The train feathers have multicolor eyespots.

The iridescent feather colors are not due to color pigments, but they are resulting from optical interference reflections of nanostructures of the fiber-like components of feathers. The peacock raises its train feathers, spreads them like an elaborate evenly spread fan and quivers it, and performs what is commonly known as ‘the peacock dance’ during courtship.

Artemisia Gentileschi: Suffer the little children to come unto me

Photo: Suffer the little children to come unto me (1624-25), oil on canvas painting by Artemisia Gentileschi, 134.6 cm x 97.7 cm, currently at San Carlo al Corso, Rome

The images of this painting are sometimes titled ‘Sinite Parvulos’, which refers to "Sinite parvulos venire ad me", citing Jesus from the Gospel (Mk 10: 14): “When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’”

But this painting by Artemisia Gentileschi, historically titled ‘Suffer the little children to come unto me’ (or ‘Christ blessing the children’) was untraceable for some time, and was also believed to be lost. And some art historians had wrongly attributed the work to some other artists.

The painting was originally listed in the worldly possessions of Fernando Enriquez Afán de Ribera, the 3rd Duke of Alcalà, who also is believed to be its first owner. In 1898, it was in the collection of the Duke of Sutherland. In July 1913, it was put on sale at Christie’s in London. And in 1927, it was in the collection of E. Boross at Larchmont, New York, from whom it was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in the same year.

On 30 May 1979, the Metropolitan Museum sent it for sale to Sotheby’s New York, wrongly attributing the authorship to the Italian Painter Carlo Rosa (1613-1678). After that and notably by 2001 the whereabouts of the painting became unknown.

However, it was rediscovered in the collection of San Carlo al Corso. Comparison of the known photographs of the painting with the 1979 Sotheby’s catalogue show the painting in the church is the same work, but with slight changes caused due to restoration, probably carried out after the sale in 1979.

At the area, close to the bottom edge, where restoration was done, something like the woolly back of a lamb is now visible which was not there earlier. And mysteriously, the right hand of one of the boys is missing.

This painting is one of the most beautiful works of Artemisia Gentileschi, and historians suggest that ‘it can be numbered among her masterpieces’.