I have often heard from friends that History is not productive to any future use. Unlike science, its contribution to society is very limited. That is untrue because the ones who believe that don't know the real purpose of History. The stories of the past tell us tales of what should not have been. It gives mankind a second chance to rectify its past mistakes. Like the base of a statue holds the statue together, history is thus about the foundation of mankind. Through evolution, ages and time, mankind goes through constant changes we read about in science. That too is history. What we think of as development is just mankind going around in an infinite loop, learning and unlearning what he already knew in some era. It is like a circle. Like the early man had certain scriptures he had created, some use of numbers he knew, that literature and mathematics of the past is a mystery to us now. With technology and computers coming in this age, we have learnt new languages and mathematical formulas, and in the process, left behind some. Similarly, an age will arrive when something new will discard this system as well. But at the basic level, nothing is new or unlearned. The ways are different. This endless loop of learning and unlearning gives rise to a very popular phrase, "History repeats itself. " Well, it does, for the nature of man, his basic needs and character, greed for power, lust or ambition doesn't change. Time and again, he creates the same stories with war, building and destroying civilisation. History is the narration of events from one side or point of view. The events are true. The narration can be biased. The results of that depend on how one person views the event of the past. History gives us characters to idolise, learn from their lives, and make the subject of our poetry. Most importantly, it gives us untold tales of sacrifice and bravery that are in many ways beyond the imagination of our time. Hence, history or knowledge of the past is a very important aspect for mankind that is often overlooked in building a better future.
~ Suranya