ESL Blogs

          A long, long time ago, over seven seas, seven mountains and seven rivers in the ancient land of Elam, somewhere between Anshan and Susa or maybe even farther, lived a young Prince in his magnificent castle overlooking picturesque valleys with blue skies high above and white clouds lazily floating in the warm wind blowing over green fields where rivers used to run.

    He was the happiest person on earth for he had met the love of his life. Not so long ago he had married the most wonderful woman a mortal could wish for. They were enchanted with each other,  sharing the same mystical, mutual love.

    Shielded by the guiding hand of the One above, they cherished a life full of devotion and love. Each day seemed to be created only for them. The birds in the splendid gardens seemed to sing only about their love, even the flowers bloomed to fill their profound love with their sweet aroma and the carpets of green grass were there just to make their stroll as soft as it was only possible.

   It seemed that nothing could ever mar such a glorious and impeccable love. Then came a day when dark, evil clouds engulfed the Prince’s life in anguish and grief. His beloved one was snatched from him to the land of no return.  His heart was shattered into myriads of painful memories, his soul was guttered by the flames of despair and loneliness. His grief was so overwhelming that everything around him irritated him. The constant chirping of the birds annoyed him, the flowers seemed to have faded and lost all their aroma, getting on his way wherever he went and the soft grass only entrapped his footsteps.

    In the midst of his torment, the Prince once again manly stood up to face his fate and took a decision: I shall build the most magnificent monument of our love. Having said so, the Prince called his chief architect and ordered him to built a shrine-like tomb to hold the earthly remains of his Love, which he confined in an ebony black wood sarcophagus adorned with gold and gems.

    His youthful imagination and creativity make him use sharp contrasts in the architectural forms, with colours of vivid, if not gaudy tones. But as years went by, his mood changed and the structural forms became more placid and the tones more serene.

    When the Prince’s beard became almost as white as the cloud puffs high above in the sky, and the features of his royal face more mature, the monument of his Love was finally complete. The Prince looked at it with satisfaction and his heart was once again happy.

    Then the Prince called his chief architect and said: Would you please remove that awful black box, it spoils the magnificent interior décor……….