Aayirathil
Oruvan (Man in a Thousand) is a 2010 Indian Tamil fantasy-adventure film
directed by Selvaraghavan starring Karthi Sivakumar, Reemma Sen and Andrea. The film was cast in a historic age dating
1279 AD when the successor of the last great Chola Emperor, pending invasion,
sends his people to a mystery location, to survive the threat. The story
resumes with an archaeologist, a coolie and a member of the army going in
search of the archaeologist's father to the ruined city that was the place the
exiled Chola Prince retreated to.
Centuries
later, in 2009, Indian archaeologists continue searching for the existence of
the lost Chola group based on clues left by the ancient Pandyan warriors. The mystery deepens with all archaeologists
who attempted to search for the secret land disappearing. Muthu, Anitha and Lavanya getting separated,
reach the ruins of a village where they are subjected to black magic and
nearly go mad before reaching the secret hideout of the Chola. – the Cholas
fighting bravely but losing eventually and taken as prisoners are not part of
this post..
Way back in Jan 1848, began the California Gold Rush - when gold
was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California.
The first to hear confirmed information of the Gold Rush were the people in
Oregon, the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), and Latin America, who were the first to
start flocking to the state in late 1848. The lure of gold brought some 300,000 people
to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. Of this, approximately half arrived by sea
and half came from the east overland on the California Trail and the Gila River
trail. The gold-seekers, called
"forty-niners" (as a reference to 1849), often faced substantial
hardships on the trip. At first, the
gold nuggets could be picked up off the ground. Later, gold was recovered from
streams and riverbeds using simple techniques, such as panning. More
sophisticated methods were developed and later adopted elsewhere. At its peak,
technological advances reached a point where significant financing was
required, increasing the proportion of gold companies to individual miners.
Gold worth tens of billions of today's dollars was recovered, which led to
great wealth for a few. However, many returned home with little more than what
they had started with.
The effects of the Gold Rush were substantial. San Francisco
grew from a small settlement in 1846 to a boomtown by 1852.
New methods of transportation developed
as steamships came into regular service. By 1869 railroads were built across
the country from California to the eastern United States. Agriculture and
ranching expanded throughout the state to meet the needs of the settlers. The mining caused environmental harm to
rivers and lakes ~ also resulted in attacks on natives. Once
extracted, the gold itself took many paths. First, much of the gold was used
locally to purchase food, supplies and lodging for the miners. It also went
towards entertainment, which consisted of anything from a traveling theater to
alcohol, gambling, and prostitutes.
Later, the gold left California aboard ships or mules to go to the
makers of the goods from around the world.
Back in our Nation, in Oct 2013, in Sangrampur (Daundia Khera)
village in the Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, a local seer named Shobhan
Sarkar dreamt that over 1000 tonnes of gold were buried under the ruins of an
old fort of a 19th century king, Ram Baksh Singh. Sarkar wrote to
the President of India, the Ministry of Mines (India) and the Archaeological
Survey of India (ASI) to consider excavation for the supposed hoard. The
excavation did begin on 18th Oct 2013. After a few futile days, the ASI concluded
that there was no gold buried and stopped excavation.
Spurred
by the sadhu's dream, the Archaeological Survey and more others were digging the land
vehemently. There were reports of CM Akhilesh
Yadav having sent an emissary to meet the sadhu — to explore whether the
treasure, when found, could be used to bankroll UP's development needs and that
the Sadhu magnanimously agreed. The search was after the alleged cache amassed
by Raja Ram Baksh, before he was martyred in the 1857 war of independence
against the British. The Centre and
State Governments seemed to nod in approval and stood behind the digging
expecting staggering riches.
Sadly, Unnao did not turn out to be a California !!
With
regards – S. Sampathkumar
29th Jan 2015.
