History's wrong predictions

Batista in 1959

In 1959, Fulgencio Batista, the dictator of Cuba made a prediction: "I will give Castro a year." He was saying that after a year the guerilla insurgency under Fidel Castro would be crushed completely and the revolutionary leader would be executed. Twice he had foiled Castro's rebellions and arrested him - in 1953 and 1956. Bastista, for whom politics was always a gamble, wanted to have an opponent against him. So he released Castro from prison. But the rebellion in 1956 was so strong and violent that Batista thought of executing the guerilla chief soon. After crushing the rebellion and releasing Castro, Batista arranged a party at Hotel Riviera which he built at the cost of $14 billion dollars. It was at this party that he predicted Castro's death. Unpredictability, which is the nature of all major political events in the world, befell Cuba after a few months. The third major coup led by Castro shook Batista's citadel with violence. His prediction did not have even as much longevity as he expected Castro to have. Castro ruled Cuba for 47 years before he handed over power to his brother Raul in 2007.

Thatcher in 1974

In 1974, Margaret Thatcher was the Cabinet Secretary for Education in Britain. At that time there were remarks in the media that if a woman had to become the prime minister of the country, Britain had to go back to monarchy. "Democracy is too immature to give woman the supreme power," said a famous columnist. Thatcher did not have objection to these comments. In a widely publicised speech, she made a prediction on the much-discussed issue. "It will be years before a woman either leads the Conservative party or becomes a prime minister. I won't see it happening in my lifetime," she said. The next year, British history witnessed a dramatic breakthrough. Thatcher was chosen to contest for the party leadership in 1975 and was selected for the post by a great majority. In 1979, Thatcher became the Prime Minister and led the country until 1990. Margaret Thatcher was the longest serving Prime Minister in more than 150 years and was the first woman ever to take the role.

John Paul in 1978

To be elected the Pope, one should have great catholic virtues, an infallible service record and, above all, a great amount of luck. Karol Wojtyla was sure of the first two qualities. Of luck, he was not much confident. So in 1978, after voting John Paul to the post, he said:" It's too early for Polish Pope". In October of that year, following the death of Pope John Paul I after 33 days, Karol became the 264th Pope, the youngest to hold the position since Pope Pius IX in 1846. He was known as Pope John Paul II and remained in the position until 2005. All of the major themes of John Paul II's papacy can be traced to the shaping events of his life--a life whose roots are sunk in Polish soil. His Christian vision, his vocation, his very emotions draw their depth and intensity from the country he left to become Holy Father of the Catholic Church in Rome. He revolutionised the office of the modern pope and took his mission out of the Vatican and around the globe, pushing back the boundaries of the old Christian Europe.

A tale of three cities

A city straddling two continents

"Istanbul's greatest virtue is its people's ability to see the city through both western and eastern eyes," says Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk in his ' Istanbul: The memoirs of a city'. It's the amalgam of two cultures that has made Istanbul a different city altogether. It's the only city in the world which is located in two continents, one arm reaching out to Asia, the other to Europe. Today Istanbul preserves the legacy of its past as the former capital of three successive empires- the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman. The name Istanbul itself is interesting. Etymologically, the modern Turkish name is derived from the Greek phrase meaning "in the city", "to the city" or "downtown". Byzantium was the first known name of the city. All these qualities notwithstanding, Istanbul has been torn by earthquakes and disasters. In 1509, the city was partly destroyed in a tsunami, one of the earliest of its kind in the world.

The city of water

Those who have read Shakespeare's 'Merchant of Venice' can understand that the plot of the drama relies on the traffic of the city. Venice is called 'the city of water', where ships and boats are the only vehicles to carry people from place to place. It is described as ' the only city in the world where there are no cars'. The city stretches across 118 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers. The term Venice is derived from a Latin term meaning 'sea-blue'.The Venetian Republic was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Kerala's Alappuzha district is also a river town, which is the centre of lake water tourism in the state. That is the reason Alappuzha is called the 'Venice of the East'.

An African city named after a US President

James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States (1817-1825). It is he who said that "the best form of government is that which is most likely to prevent the greatest sum of evil". When a city was founded on the African continent in 1822, Monroe had a major role to play in financially helping it due to colonial interest. The city was named Monrovia, the only city outside the United States to be named after a US President. Monrovia is the capital city of Liberia, which became independent in 1845. The city has the dubious distinction of having the largest number of homeless children in the continent. A large number of children are involved in fighting or are denied education due to it. Monrovia is also the name of a city in California. Monrovia, the fourth oldest general law city in Los Angeles County, has grown from a sparse community of orange ranches. People travelling between Los Angeles and San Bernardino travelled "via Monroe's Ranch," hence the name.

Dance: Marathons and spectacle

There are two reasons why the great depression of the 1930s, which cast a gloom all around the US, contributed much to the development of art and literature. First, people had the spare time to take part in cultural activities. Second, these activities were the source of income for a cash-strapped society. It was at this time that that dance marathons became popular. They began in the New Year in 1923, when Alma Cummings won a contest and set a world record by dancing for 27 hours with six partners. The record was broken by Mike Ritof and Edith Boudreaux in 1931. They started dancing on August 29 1930 and continued up to April 1 1931 at the Merry Garden Ballroom, Chicago, USA. They won a prize of $ 2000. They danced for a total of 5,154 hours, 28 minutes and 30 seconds. During the marathons, dancers were allowed to take short breaks. During the breaks, they would kick and and pinch one another to keep themselves active. For reasons of health, many countries banned marathons.

Folk marathons
Much before they became part of well-furnished auditoriums with the accompaniment of musical instruments, dance marathons existed in many parts of the world in the form of folk and popular dances. One of the examples of this is the dance of whirling dervishes of Mevlevi order (Islamic mystics in Turkey). The dervishes dance around their spiritual leader in ecstasy for many days and weeks. Their movements are corresponding to the ones of planets around the sun, symbolising the pattern of cosmic order. Another dance marathon can be seen in the belly dance of Egypt. Belly dances are performed solely by women and men are not permitted to watch. An Essex woman named Eileen Foucher set a belly dance record by dancing for 106 hours from July 30 to August 3, 1984. Another dance form, the twist, became popular after a woman called Ra Denny twisted for 100 hours in New Zealand in 1962.

Dance spectacles

The most advanced level of all dance forms is their being a spectacle. Dance can be a prayer, an entertainment in a wedding party and a national celebration. But it becomes a masterpiece when it's choreographed and staged or filmed. Busby Burkeley (1895-1976) was the choreographer of the most spectacular dance films ever made. He was the trainer of US soldiers for their dance parades during World War II. Military experience helped him create dance numbers with casts of hundreds of people. Often by shooting the dance from a crane, he created spectacular visions. He earned fame by projecting performances on to giant mirrors so that the patterns they created would give them an aura of infinity. His masterpiece was 'Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933). In the film, there is a crane shot of 25 dancers with violins, 24 of them in a circle around the lead player. Together, they appear like a blue flower.