The Seven Wonders

“The few wonders of the world only exist while there are those with the sight to see them” [Charles de Lint quotes]

A lot of people think that there are Seven Wonders of the World, which includes The Taj Mahal and The Great Wall of China. The purpose of this article is to clarify some of the “pre-conceived” knowledge that we all seem to posses. Ignorance is Bliss where as Knowledge is power. I intend to tweak your knowledge in the right direction at least on this count.

Seven wonders of the world as you will find out in this article is actually an ancient list compiled in 2nd Century B.C. and has never been updated after 6th Century AD. There is no “one” list that has been agreed upon by anyone ever, which includes Taj Mahal and Great Wall of China in “Seven” Wonders of the World. And after studying this topic for quite sometime – I would like to put forth the FACTS - loud and clear.

Today, archaeological evidence reveals some of the mysteries that surrounded the history of the Wonders for centuries. For their builders, the Seven Wonders were a celebration of religion, mythology, art, power, and science. For us, they reflect the ability of humans to change the surrounding landscape by building massive yet beautiful structures, one of which stood the test of time to this very day.

The list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was originally compiled around the second century BC. The final list of the Seven Wonders was compiled during the Middle Ages (around 6^th Century AD). The list comprised of the seven most impressive monuments of the Ancient World, some of which barely survived the Middle Ages. Others did not even co-exist.

It is a fact that the ancient Greeks loved to compile lists of the marvelous structures in their world. Though we think of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World as a single list today, there were actually a number of lists compiled by different Greek writers. Antipater of Sidon (a poet, who is credited with compiling of the earliest known list of Seven Wonders of the World – way back in 2^nd Century BC), and Philon of Byzantium (a Greek Engineer & mathematician – who compiled his own list in one of his books also during 2^nd Century BC), drew up two of the most well known lists that have survived the ages. In fact most of the lists (made by various Greek Writers) agreed on six of the seven wonderful monuments. The final (seventh) place on some lists was awarded to the Walls of the City of Babylon. On others, the Palace of King Cyrus (King of Persia) took the seventh position. Finally, toward the 6th century A.D., the final item (Seventh Wonder) became the Lighthouse at Alexandria. Since it was Greeks who made the lists it is not unusual that most of the items on them were examples of Greek culture. The writers might have listed the Great Wall of China if they had known about it, or Stonehenge if they'd seen it, but these places were beyond the limits of their world.

It may come as a surprise to most of us to learn that not all the Seven Wonders existed at the same time. So even if you had lived in ancient times you would have still needed a time machine to see all seven. While the Great Pyramids of Egypt were built centuries before the rest and is still around today (in fact it is the only "wonder" still intact), most of the others only survived a few hundred years or less. The Colossus of Rhodes stood only a little more than half a century before an earthquake toppled it.

The Final Seven wonders of the Ancient world as compiled till 6^th Century AD and that was built upon the 2^nd Century BC lists of Antipater & Philon are listed below with a brief description of each.

1) The Colossus of Rodes  - Greece

Rhodes was a city, the capital of the Greek island Rhodes and the Colossus was a 120 foot high bronze statue of Helios, the sun god. The statue stood on a promontory overlooking the city. Erected in about 280 BC by the citizens of Rhodes, capital of the Greek island of the same name. It represented their sun god Helios and was said to be 105 feet high. Legend has it that it straddled the entrance to the harbor, but it probably stood to one side. It was built in 280 BC, knocked down by an earthquake in 224 BC but its huge pieces were looked upon with awe for centuries. Nearly a thousand years later, in AD 656, a scrap metal dealer bought the pieces and had them melted down.

2) The Pyramids of Egypt - Egypt

These magnificent structures are the only Ancient Wonders to still stand. They were built around 2700-2500 BC as tombs for pharaohs. The Great Pyramid of Khufu is the largest, covering 13 acres. It is constructed of around 2.3 million stones and the stones weigh from 2 to 30 tons each. These Pyramids survive even today.

3) The Temple of Artemis - Turkey

This was the largest and most complex temple of ancient times. It was made of marble with a tile covered wooden roof. Ephesus was one of the greatest Ionian cities. The early Greek colonists at Ephesus, in Asia Minor, built a temple to Artemis (called Diana by the Romans) which was rebuilt and enlarged from time to time. It is the fourth temple at that site that is considered to be one of the Seven Wonders. It took 120 years to build and was finished in 430 BC. In 356 BC, on the night Alexander the Great was born, it was destroyed by fire. (A young Ephesian man – Herostratus committed this crime so that he would be remembered in history.)

4) The Hanging Gardens of Babylon - Iraq

King Nebuchadnezzar II probably built the gardens in 600 BC. They were grown on a brick terrace 400 feet square and 75 feet above the ground. The trees, shrubs and flowers were watered by turning screws to lift water from the Euphrates River. (It must be stated here that existence of this wonder of the world has never been conclusively proven)

5) The statue of Zeus of Olympia - Greece

This 40-foot statue of the King of Gods had ivory flesh and robes made of gold. He was seated on a throne. It was made by Phideus around 475 BC and was erected at Olympia, in the Peloponnesus of Greece. It stood for ten centuries before being destroyed. The only idea we have of what it looked like comes from the pictures on the coins of Elis. This statue was destroyed in a fire accident.

6) The Mausoleum of Halicarnassos - Turkey

Artemisia built, in 353 BC, this marble tomb for her husband King Mausolus of Caria in Asia Minor. This area is now S.E. Turkey. The tomb, from which we get our word mausoleum, was 135 feet high and featured the artwork of four sculptors. At the top of the pyramid shaped roof was a statue of a four-horse chariot in which were statues of the king and queen. The structure was destroyed by Earthquake. Some pieces of the original Mausoleum are preserved in the British Museum.

7) The Lighthouse of Alexandria - Egypt

During the reign of King Ptolmy II of Egypt, about 270 BC, the Greek architect Sostratos designed this lighthouse, estimated to have been between 200 and 600 feet high. For more than 1,000 years it guided Mediterranean ships. It was severely damaged by an earthquake in 955 and disappeared completely by 1500.

As stated earlier, six out of seven Ancient Wonders did not survive to this present day. Human imagination urged poets, writers, and historians to seek "replacements" for the fallen monuments. As Strabo (a famous Geographer) aptly stated – "Sights seen in the mind's eye can never be destroyed". And what you have not seen – you cannot comprehend and hence try to overrule. So some modern writers and scholars proposed a new list for the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. Others argued that - Ancient civilizations, which the Greeks did not know of, erected monuments that should have been included in the original list itself. Wonders such as the Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal in Agra, and the Temple of Angkor in Cambodia are a few examples of the great monuments that should have formed a part of the updated original list. The argument never reached at any conclusive decisions. Hence there never was and there still is no list of “Seven” monuments that form Wonders of the world – other than the list of Ancient structures compiled in 2^nd Century BC. But lists were made (though none with a count of seven that was officially recognized).

But like the ancient list, the new ones included fascinating monuments and structures that changed the existing landscape. However, no single list won unanimous approval among historians, artists, and architects. Hence it won’t be an exaggeration to summarize that though there is a list of Seven Wonders of the World – they however do not have Taj Mahal or Great Wall of China as their “listed” Wonders. It is fair to say that the phrase “Seven Wonders of the World” has got etched into our memories and we conveniently believe that Taj Mahal or Great Wall of China (which we can see today) do indeed form a part of it. I believe it would be fair to say that they are “One” of the Wonders of the World.

Having made my point and before I end this article – let me present to you a complete alphabetical listing of the Forgotten, Modern, and Natural Wonders as officially recognized.

Forgotten Wonders:

Abu Simbel Temple in Egypt

Angkor Wat in Cambodia

The Aztec Temple in Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), Mexico

The Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines

Borobudur Temple in Indonesia

The Colosseum in Rome, Italy

The Great Wall of China

The Inca city of Machu Picchu, Peru

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy

The Mayan Temples of Tikal in Northern Guatemala

The Moai Statues in Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile

Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy, France

The Throne Hall of Persepolis in Iran

The Parthenon in Athens, Greece

Petra, the rock-carved city in Jordan

The Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar

Stonehenge in England

Taj Mahal in Agra, India

The Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque, Mexico

Modern Wonders:

The Channel Tunnel

The Clock Tower (Big Ben) in London, England

The CN Tower in Toronto, Canada

Eiffel Tower in Paris, France

The Empire State Building in New York City, USA

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, USA

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA

The High Dam in Aswan, Egypt

Hoover Dam in Arizona/Nevada, USA

Itaipú Dam in Brazil/Paraguay

Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, USA

The Panama Canal

The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The Statue of Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Statue of Liberty in New York City, USA

The Suez Canal in Egypt

The Sydney Opera House in Australia 

Natural Wonders:

Angel Falls in Venezuela

The Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada

The Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA

The Great Barrier Reef in Australia

Iguaçú Falls in Brazil/Argentina

Krakatoa Island in Indonesia

Mount Everest in Nepal

Mount Fuji in Japan

Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania

Niagara Falls in Ontario (Canada) and New York State (USA)

Paricutin Volcano in Mexico

Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe

Mantosh Singh..

1^st March 2003’

One more ruckus

Look at this sequence of events: Terrorists come from Pakistan via Jammu& Kashmir border.

They Leave Himachal Pradesh

They Leave Haryana

They Leave Punjab

They Leave Delhi

They Leave Madhya Pradesh,

They Leave Uttranchal

They Leave Rajasthan

They leave all these states and come all the way to Gujarat carrying AK-47 and explosives – to enter a temple – kill the people and spread terror!

Look at the political scenario: BJP is the ruling party in Gujarat. Gujarat has gone through too much in the last couple of years - What with floods, earthquake and the latest in the line of destruction – communal riots creating havoc in the lives of people of Gujarat. BJP has been in the power when this - once prosperous - state was going through this pain. Its election time now and it will not be an over statement if I say that BJP is on the path of losing the elections. They have failed in rehabilitation process carried out after every such incident. They have been selective in rehabilitating the people after earthquake and during the communal riots they were very selective in eliminating people of a particular religion.

What do they have to show for the last 5 years of governance of the state in question?

Attacks on Christians

Attacks on Muslims

Failure to warn in advance about the floods approaching the Gujarat shores – therefore lacking in administrative duties.

Failure to rehabilitate people after natural or man made calamities

Change of guard from one inefficient chief Minister (Keshubhai Patel) to a more dangerous Communal one (Narendra Modi).

Succeeded in bringing misery to a state, which once spearheaded the financial growth of the country.

Succeeded in bringing one more state in Pakistan’s wish list where they plan and execute terrorist attacks. First Pakistan had Punjab then J&K and now they have a burning state like Gujarat! (No wonder Musharaf has been raising Gujarat issue on all the forums he gets his head on!)

These are just a few failures that come to mind instantly.

Let us look at the position of BJP around the length and breadth of the country to get a broader picture of a party on the fall.

BJP is in majority in only four states - Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Goa and Gujarat. They are supporting parties in power in different states like Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana. In all these states they are so terribly low in numbers that they are insignificant, to say the least. As can be seen - they have hold in only one big state – Gujarat. Himachal Pradesh, Goa and Jharkhand are too small a state to be considered in the bigger picture. The election in Gujarat thus is a battle of honor for them. Their total existence depends on this election – if I may say so.

Unfortunately all the opinion polls show that BJP is heading for a big collapse here. Opinion Polls I must say have been dubious in their predictions. We must not forget that these same polls have been predicting the downfall of Laloo Prasad Yadav in Bihar for last 10 years. But Laloo is still sitting on top and must say – he is sitting firm!

Having said that – this time some how the opinion polls look close to correct, simply because Gujarat has been through too much of pain in the recent past.

BJP had to do something to get the attention of the public away from their failures. The best way of doing that was – to do something dramatic – something big. It is in this context that I put forth this theory in front of U all. Anybody who understands the philosophy of this party and the psychology of the leaders of this party will know that these people will go to any extent to remain in power. No wonder that they raise issues like Ayodhya and Ram Janm Bhoomi every time an election approaches in UP. No wonder that they raise issues of Bangladeshi immigrants in West Bengal when election takes place there. All these issues are the sensitive to the region in question and create unrest of major magnitude – but then they hardly care.

What perplexes me in the latest attack in Gujarat is the choice of the state itself to carry out terrorist activities. Why would the terrorists leave easy targets in Punjab, Delhi, Himachal, Uttranchal, Rajasthan and come all the way to Gujarat. Why would they take such a risk? Even if they had got into a temple in Himachal and killed people there – it would have evoked same kind of reaction – isn’t it? Then why choose Gujarat? They would have got more attention if they had done something in J&K, especially in these times with election in progress. Then why Gujarat?

Is it not possible that the same BJP or its affiliate organizations – planned and executed this heinous act of terror? After all they are capable of killing people. Case in point is demolition of Babri Masjid and subsequent riots in Mumbai, Attacks on Christians and well - the riots in Gujarat. Is it a secret that Nathuram Godhse was a RSS Swayam Sevak? And he killed the so-called Father of this Nation – Mahatma Gandhi!

The rationale behind the present attack on Temple is simple - Continue harping about Pakistan’s involvement and keep the focus of public on Pakistan till the elections get over. Get on the nerves of people and hit them hard. Make them do what you want and leave them before they get back their senses – a very effective way of Torture. People generally have very short memory. What they will remember in the coming elections will not be Godhra or the aftermath. It will be this attack on the Temple. And BJP will keep this point boiling till the elections and just drop it thereafter. This is the only way out for them, because with Godhra and the Riots they were certainly looking down the barrel.

And if you have been following the events of the last 2 – 3 days, RSS-VHP has called for a peaceful Nationwide Bandh! For them the killing of these people has been more gruesome than the ones killed in Godhra – More than the ones killed in riots too! Some logic that! Come to think of it – the riots would not have happened had these same people called for a nationwide Bandh after Godhra and protested peacefully!

Again – if anyone thinks that only Islamic terrorists produce Fidayeens then look again. LTTE has the best lot of people ready to sacrifice their lives. Why – even committed organizations like RSS will also have these set of people. And they have been using them in these kinds of operations. You have to give it to the terrorists – they are the first ones to claim if they have done anything like what happened in the Temple. Honesty in spreading Terror they say!! If you look deeply at this incident and the one carried out in Lok Sabha a few months back – U will find that the “Investigations” have thrown up two new names of terrorist organizations. The one that attacked Lok Sabha has never been heard of again! Isn’t it a bit odd? Have U ever thought why? If not I say think about it now.

Beware my fellow citizens – ‘cse U are looking at a very ugly face of politics here. If U don’t realize and rise now – I guess it will be too late.

Its Montoo..

1st Oct 2002'

WHO CARES?

See the Statistics listed below:

1)       April 1999          - General Elections Declared in October

Ramification      - Definite defeat of BJP
Action               - Kargil War (May 1999)   

2)       March 2001       - Tehalka Scam

Ramification      - Fernandes Resigns
Action               - Government’s call to Musharraf for Agra Summit

3)       November 2001- Coffin Scam (Fernandes in a scoop!)

Ramification      - December 13 2001 Parliament Attack
Action                           - Movement of Troops to Western Border

4)       February 2002  - Gujarat Riots

Ramification      - RSS's Cleansing act

Action                           - Killings in Kaluchak, Army Build up strengthens on Border - BSF and Coastal Guards put under Army and Navy respectively

Do we see some trend here? These statistics are from last 3 years of our recent past. These are but a few instances of hypocrisy of our Government. And no one needs to tell - the government in power in these times was of NDA spearheaded by Nationalist BJP!

What is so striking about these statistics is the kind of tactics this government uses to ward off all troubles it faces from time to time! As you will find out - It never changes - Never!

Let me take you to the year 1996 - when BJP emerged as the single largest party in General elections. Vajpayee became the PM. How many of you know that the very second day, it is reported, the scientists and the Army were instructed to prepare for a Nuclear Test? Yes fellows its true. That the BJP govt. could not survive for more than 13 days to execute its plan is no secret to anyone.

Well - what do they do as soon as they come to power in 1997 - 98. Come month of March - they finally test the BOMB! What no one understood or realized at that time that it was not - just a test - for BJP. It was a clear signal of a Nationalist party trying to get their foot firmly in place - with only one mantra to boot - NATIONAL PRIDE! Forget Humanity, Forget Civic Sense - only one thing mattered to them - National Sense! Oh how proud we all Indians felt! Finally there is a party which gives more preference to National Pride than some pity POLITICS! How innocent were we. We were to get a more uglier picture of the intentions of this party in the times to come - and UGLIER they got!

Referring to the statistics above - In April 1999 General Elections were declared. It was to be held in October 1999 due to the withdrawal of support by our own AMMA (JJ Jayalalitha). What happens next was to become the trend of Politics and its games in this country. Kargil front was opened in May 1999! These people (BJP and Allies) knew that they would definitely loose in the elections if it had to happen on the existing scenario. Well all the Polls showed they would lose. That they won elections after the war - was not entirely a surprise. What we conveniently forget here is that Kargil area was occupied by the Pak army since November 1998! Subsequent reports very clearly show that the Indian Government knew of the occupation - but was sitting on the report. What we very conveniently forgot was that to take those hills back - we lost more than 5000 (unofficial figures) of our soldiers. What mattered to this Party was victory in elections - even if it cost them some lives - Huh - Lives - SO WHAT?!

Somehow in the euphoria that followed - the government dragged on for another year. Come January 2001 and Gujarat Earthquake hit with all its might. The Govt. in Gujarat was of BJP. Help and assistance flowed from all the sides. People donated and helped generously. We were again united in the feeling of National Sense. What does the BJP Government do? It messes everything up - with RSS reportedly only giving help and shelter to Hindus and neglecting all other communities! The work of rebuilding does not takeoff the way it should have been! The Central government is in a big fix. Gujarat government was becoming an embarrassment. Savior of the govt. came in the shape of Tarun Tejpal - the owner of Tehalka.com - March 2001! Central Government was all too happy to get the attention diverted. Opposition forgot Gujarat – they had a new cow to milk. What followed was not in Government's control. Defense Minister G. Fernandes had to resign. The whole country hanged their head in shame. So what does Vajpayee do – to get the nation’s attention off the scam where so many of their allies were implicated? He gives a call to Musharrah to come to Agra for a Summit in July 2001! That the people of Gujarat had not got back their homes lost in Earthquake - was completely forgotten. That the accused in Tehalka went unpunished was none of anybody's business! What became important was Musharaf's visit and the magnanimity that our PM had shown in calling an adversary. That the Summit was not supposed to yield anything was known - but the Govt had to do something to come out of the web it had fallen into!

The Summit bombed on Indian government’s face. It was a disaster for the Indian Government. The government needed something to take away the nation's attention from the Moral victory - Musharraf had in the Summit. September 2001 Fernandes was inducted back into the cabinet. They were not yet settled that Coffin Scam rocked the country. Coffins bought for more than they were worth for the Kargil Martyr - became one other nuisance for BJP govt. Savior came in form of December 13 attack on Indian Parliament! Though the circumstances of the terrorists attack does give everyone a feeling that the mission was more to attract attention than to actually get some MPs as hostages – as has been put up in media. Was it stage managed by someone who was worried about the public opinion going against the government on the Coffin Issue and a lot many scams? Well its dubious to say the least. But anyways, Govt got a chance once again to shift the attention. They immediately moved the Army to the border. The whole country got engaged in the debate of whether we should attack Pakistan or not?! The Pakistan Factor comes again into picture! Well - Who cares whether the Defense ministry had eaten money? Who cares that the martyrs of Kargil war were made the basis for corruption to prosper - Who cares?!

Not even a month had passed that Godhra happened in Feb 2002! That the parent organization of BJP and BJP itself led by Narendra Modi went on an ethnic cleansing drive is something we all know. Any True Indian would have hanged his head in shame so many times - but the death was and still is - elusive! The whole drama - the DEATH DRAMA if I may say so - continued for more than 2 months! Savior came again (by this time you must have guessed it!) in form of Kaluchak killings of children, women, along with Armymen! The Govt got the chance it was waiting for. They immediately ordered all the Coastal Guard, the Border Security Force to be put under Navy and Army respectively! That effectively meant they were fully prepared for a war! How many newspapers then printed the Gujarat news in the Front page? You know the answer. Who the hell cares if some 2000-3000 people were killed in Gujarat - Huh! Why should we bother about a certain state when the whole country is under threat from terrorists! As if - never have more people got killed in a terrorist attacks earlier! What about Chattisingpura - where all male Sikhs were killed? No one talked about attacking Pakistan then? Why? Then the question is - Why Now? Just because the Govt wanted to take away our mind from Gujarat massacres - where they have a BJP Govt at the helm?

Consider some other scenarios:

1) Why will Pakistan get some lot of Sikhs killed - especially when Clinton was visiting India?
2) Why would Pakistan get some people killed in Kaluchak when a high level Diplomat (Rocca) was in India?
3) Why would Pakistan send Militants in Parliament knowing fully well that would make India react strongly? That too when America is fighting a war on one of its borders!
4) Why of all things will Pakistan allow their so-called jehadi's to carry anything that will identify them as Pakistanis? That is basic intelligence - isn't it? And we thought ISI was one of the most dangerous and crooked organizations!
5) Why would Pakistan get Abdul Gani Lone killed – especially in those times - they could have got him any time later when the tension eased!

Are these incidents really a making of Pakistan or is there something going on here? Something VERY DANGEROUS?

I have been observing this scenario for quite sometime now. I don't know whether some of you have ever given a thought to it.

Well if killing of seventeen people in Kaluchak warrants a war, then why not now – when more than 25 people have been massacred in Jammu just a couple of days back? Isn’t it curious?

Who cares that India can ill afford a war in these times? Who cares that the economic rise that we are experiencing will go back 50 yrs if we go on war? Who cares that the other side has a Nuclear weapon - which can destroy our existence? After all if they kill our 10 million people - we will kill all of their 20 Crores! Who cares about 10 Million - Huh! Its not even 1% of our population anyways! Who Cares - For Devil Sake - WHO CARES?

Mantosh Singh..