When I walked into Bahadursha Park it was almost three o’clock in the afternoon. It was built in 1858 at the initiative of Nawab Khwaja Abdul Ghani, in the Sadarghat area of Old Dhaka. It was called Victoria Park until 1947 (It was also the year in which the British finally left the Indian Sub-continent). After that, it was renamed after Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal emperor. However, people still call the place Victoria Park, and not the other way around. Maybe it is easy for them to pronounce the word ‘Victoria’ than the word ‘bahadursha’ or it could simply be that people got used to call the place Victoria Park. Well, I will also stick to people’s preference.

It has been years since I actually went to a place in Old Dhaka. I sat in front of the tall memorial at the eastern side of the park. The afternoon was very hot and humid and I had this feeling that I needed to drink something very badly. I had a small bottle of ‘mineral water’ with me; so I drank from my small bottle as I looked at the tall memorial, which commemorates the ascending of the throne of Queen Victoria as Empress of India and British Empire.

Tall trees with green, vibrating leaves pervaded through its high and wide arc-like opening on the eastern side (there are four such openings on four sides, facing four different directions) as their long and entangled branches moved gently in the afternoon breeze. Bits and pieces of blue sky could be seen through the branches and the leaves. I kept looking at the enchanting scene and started to feel as though I had been transported back to the Victorian Era. The scene really looked like Victorian to me; as though a piece of Victorian England was peering through the opening.

I spent at least an hour, sitting at the same place and enjoying the magnificent scene. A very cool and soothing breeze blew from time to time, only God knows from where, in the midst of unbearable heat of yet another dry and rainless monsoon afternoon.

From ancient time, people travelled far and wide from the places of their origin. Many among them settled down in distant and faraway lands, doing trade and commerce; and eventually took control over the locals. In the process, they left remnants of their own cultures and times. So, there could be bits and pieces of history and cultures of distant lands, waiting to be discovered by us – not so far away from the places we live in. It’s that we never cared to take the time and trouble to get there. When we get there, an entirely new world may open up right in front of us with its origin from the past of a distant land.

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Delphi has survived the ravages of earthquakes and time, although it is hard for us today to imagine why this remote place was the centre of the ancient world. However, it was the home of the sun god Apollo and visited by the rich, famous and nobility of the day.

Delphi is most famous for the oracle, which attracted the visitors to the site. All of them wanted to have advice from Apollo given to them by his priestess.

The priestess in attendance at the oracle did not see visitors every day. She gave her prophecies once a month, for nine months a year, but only if the omens were favourable. There must have been queues of people waiting to hear what their futures held.

Apollo’s priestess spoke while perched on a tripod hanging over a hole in the ground. In recent years archaeologists and geologists discovered that she sat over a fissure through which fairly noxious vapours escaped. The priestess was undoubtedly affected by these, as they were methane, ethane and ethylene. It must gave been a hallucinatory experience.

It is said that this place was discovered by goats and a goatherd, who noticed that his goats were behaving very oddly. He went to investigate and started to prophesy. He wasn’t unique, anyone who went near the fissure did the same.

The priestess gave her prophecies in riddles,so this meant that interpretations wee necessary and sometimes these were woefully wrong. One famous example is when King Croesus (remember the saying as rich as Croesus?) of Lydia visited Delphi and asked the oracle to say whether or not he should attack the Persians. The answer was “Cross the border and a great empire will fall.” Croesus took this to mean that he would be victorious and the Persian empire would be vanquished. What actually happened was that he lost the battle. As a remonstrance to the priestess, and so also to the god Apollo, he sent his chains to Delphi.

In response he was told “”You should have asked which empire would fall.” There was no apology. The priestess and the god Apollo were above reproach.

Delphi was extremely rich as rulers such as Croesus sent their riches to the site of the oracle in the hope that this could favourably influence their fortune. As illustrated in the story of Croesus, however, these gifts did not always work.

These days you come across Delphi suddenly. It nestles between the two ‘Shining’ Rocks on Mount Parnassus. You can’t see it as you approach the ancient site from the road, but suddenly – there it is. There’s a certain ‘Wow’ factor involved.

When you have negotiated the rocks and boulders that strew the site, visit the museum. You’ll need at least three hours to see everything.

If you have time visit Arachova, a good place to stop for lunch, and don’t leave without seeing the nearby 11th century monastery of Osio Loukas. There are some marvellous frescos and icons, the work of Michael Damaskinos, the renowned Cretan icon painter of the 16th century.

Everyone should visit Delphi at least once in a lifetime. It’s an incredible place, even now.

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