Is ancient history not where one looks in times of turmoil to reflect and learn from past mistakes? Doesn’t the carnage of the Japanese lives serve as an ode to bid farewell to history? Or a right example to be scribed here? What use are the tales narrated jotted down, passed on to us throughout the history of mankind’s rivalries on earth, anymore? From the pre-Islamic era when clashes amongst various tribes grew to extremes, to the British colonialism, from the horrendous aftermath Of the 9/11 catastrophe that resulted in the stereotyping of a whole population of Muslims based on their religious faith. Wait a minute, perhaps we could turn our heads to the left, and glance towards Bangladesh that was once a part of us, but sadly, parted from us on not so good terms. Alas! Maybe history has nothing left in it. Nevertheless, we restlessly turn to it, we cite the greatest men of ancient times; the torch-bearers who laid the foundations of Greek philosophy, without bidding adieu to its profound knowledge, as it’s deemed to be an epitome and a turning point in the evolution of human intellectual thought. We carry on quoting ancient scholars, reliving the gravest battles that were fought throughout the east and the west, from those erupting from shores of the Ottoman Empire to the ones resulting in the French/American revolution. Even though history may be an embodiment of suffering, its pages bleak and full of human sacrifice, wherein waging crusades of political nature and holy wars undermine the ruthless slaughter of innocents, and epitomize the glittery crowns carried from one emperor to another. Leafs of history transmitted across time immemorial are not mere pages but are pages covered in crimson colour – of heart-wrenching tales. Some tales consist of sacrifices, and at the other end of its spectrum are fables of power and victory. The writer is a lawyer and social activist. She is an aspiring author who loves poetry and humour and tweets at @ammara_gul Published in Daily Times, January 13th 2018.