Back to the future

A recent conversation with a colleague lead me to recall a very vague memory from childhood. A faded vision of visiting a gloomy building full of ornaments. It’s been donkey’s years since we visited the ancient building although every now and then we pass it on our way to and back from work.

Long years ago when my grandma used to tell me that it was her great grandfather and his cousin brother together who built the museum, it just made a good bed time story. History and politics has always claimed only a very small part of my interest which I know is not good.

A bit from the story: Queen Victoria apparently gifted one of the cousins a golden cup while the other requested that the museum be closed on Fridays. This cup which has been coming down the generations now lies somewhere at home. Please don’t try to rob me anyone. I have nothing to do with this ;)

One fact that I’m trying to highlight from this little story is that generation after generation, history gets diluted. Being in an information age one might think it to be almost impossible to not have information on absolutely anything. It is only very few of the sparks and glitters of history that have been written and rewritten or preserved. There’s so much unknown to the modern man. Also today, people seem to have very little time for history. Occasionally in political conversations, one would hear salient features of the periods of time under the Bandaranayakes, the Jayawardana’s and the like…. But how much of it is actually unknown, we may never never know…