A solitary speck of a shadow emerged from the mists that kissed the infinite still waters reflecting the crimson sky. Starlight travelling a distance of more than a hundred million kilometres across the cold expanse of space peeped from behind the horizon, gently bending to the spin of Earth to bestow on this water world its radiance of life. Gradually the shadow took the shape of a golden wood and metal behemoth gliding across the simmering waters and its glassy surface. A tall and stony greybeard of red and golden complexion stood on the deck, reflecting that perhaps he was the last of his kind.
After drifting through an unfathomable oceanic storm, it was a miracle that the colossal vessel had survived. Though the old being had lost all his mates, there was hope as long as a part of his cargo survived. Apart from any miracle, technology had played a vital role in the watercraft’s survival. The floating gargantua was designed and built by the finest craftsmen of the time.
The archaic fellow and his ship were a part of a flotilla of ten identical vessels with similar cargo, which left the harbours of their prosperous city nearly a year back. The ships headed towards different directions to increase the success of their mission. A few months down the voyage one night, the entire ocean shook, violent waves rose, and a colossal storm raged for a month and ten days. Now the treacherous tempest had finally subsided, and the old boy searched for land. He sent out birds, and all of them returned.
He, however, exactly knew what had happened. He and some others in his land had perceived this a long time back. This fear had motivated them to build and take the ten intriguing vessels to the seas. What the old-timer did not know was what had happened to the other vessels, his beloved city, his nation, and his kind. Now he could not return; the craft simply did not have the resources to make the long journey back home. His only chances of survival were to find land in the direction he was heading as soon as possible, unload his cargo, and perhaps find other souls.
Just at the brink of losing all hope, one day, the old flotilla spotted dark streaks on the distant horizon, which could be none other than land. After manoeuvring through the choppy coastal waters for hours, the craft finally kissed the golden sands of a new world.
It was fascinating to see the mighty vessel convert into a colossal castle as it gently slipped onto the beach from the bowels of the battered seacraft, like an old golden snake shedding its tattered skin. A simple marvel of engineering, the likes of which perhaps the world would never see again, but would be mentioned in the annals of history, by some culture as the God who arrived on a snake and by another as a God who came out of a golden egg. It took a few days for the greybeard to settle in till he decided to introduce his cargo slowly into the wild at the place he felt best for the particular species to survive.
At the moment the mighty vessel was ejecting the castle onto the beach from its wooden bowels, from on top of a hill far away a group of hunters watched the spectacle. Later that evening, they would draw the landing on the beach with burnt wood on the stone walls of their caves in the jungle. Few generations later, their decendants would carve the scene out of the rocks on the walls of their stone temples.
As time passed, the old man became more familiar with the place. He found the tall coconut trees and the lush green field soothing. On venturing further, he became spellbound by the beauty of the backwaters, the flora and fauna, the animals, birds and reptiles. He thanked the celestial Gods for bringing him to this paradise.
Then after two months, the encounter finally happened. The old man met the natives by chance on the riverbank where each collected drinking water. The old timer had never seen such short or small people. He was at least twice their size. They were scared initially but the old man managed to calm them down.
With time the natives accepted the old man among them. The hunter-gatherers were primitive compared to the greybeard and his people. They had very basic technology such as crude stone and wooden tools. The old man stayed in his castle on the beach and regularly visited the native settlement. Gradually he picked up the native language and started teaching the natives all that he knew – farming, forging metal, building permanent homes with wood, stone and mortar, and so much more. Literary education delved into the realms of arithmetic, geography, history, biology, medicine, and beyond. It was a sudden barrage of knowledge that came with the old man and fast-forwarded the native’s learning curve over a very short period of time.
As the years passed, the old man observed that he aged differently from the natives. He lived with these people for more than three and a half centuries after the great flood. He shared his knowledge with more than six generations of natives. During this time he transformed the indigenous people from a bunch of hunter-gatherers to a steady and settled civilisation that had started sending explorers to the unknown corners of the world through land and sea and even some experiments in the air. At nine hundred and fifty years of age, after imparting many lifetimes of knowledge and skill to the natives, the old man finally took his last breath leaving this earthly realm. It was exactly three hundred and fifty years after the flood.
The sudden emergence of new and dazzling stars in the night sky first caught the eye of the ancient race of skywatchers decades before Braahma, his brother Noo, and the eight others started their sea voyage. Soon, it was observed that the stars grew larger and brighter in a trajectory straight for Earth. While the majority of the scientific minds of the time concluded that the stars would not make it to Earth, Braahma and a few others started preparing, fearing the worse.
They built 10 of the greatest ships of the time and loaded each vessel with books, technology, and a few of every possible animal they could get their hands on. Their goal was to navigate to waters where the wrath and destruction of the falling star would not scorch the Earth.
At the end of the last ice age in the year 11,700 BP (Before the Present) gigantic asteroids collided with Earth. The asteroids impacted the earth in today’s Central and South Americas region. The old man’s advanced civilisation was destroyed in this natural calamity. Braahma, his borther Noo, and some of the other ten sea vessels that had left with animal species, technology, and knowledge survived this global cataclysm.
It is historically believed that human civilisation started on Earth, sometime around 10,000 years before the birth of Christ in the Neolithic age when the Agricultural Revolution began in the Middle East. During this era, humans began the systematic husbandry of plants and animals. As agriculture progressed, most of the nomadic human communities transitioned into permanent settlements.
The earliest accepted signs of a process leading to a sedentary culture can be seen in the Levant, a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia, as early as 12,000 BC, when the Natufian Culture became sedentary. It is believed to have evolved into an agricultural society by 10,000 BC.
The four cradles of civilisation in the Old World, which are in the Bronze Age from 3,300 BC to 1,200 BC, are believed to be Mesopotamian, Ancient Egyptian, Ancient Indian, and Ancient Chinese. The two cradles of civilisation of the New World, Amerigo Vespucci’s Americas of the Western Hemisphere are Caral-Supe of coastal Peru and Olmec of Mexico.
The importance of water to safeguard an abundant and stable food supply, due to favourable conditions for hunting, fishing, and gathering resources including cereals, provided an initial wide spectrum economy that triggered the creation of permanent villages. This is what history tells us and most of it is true.
What many of us do not know is that a few individuals of an advanced ice-age civilisation, that was destroyed in the cataclysm of Younger Dryas, in the year 11,700 BP (Before the Present), had survived on specially designed sea vessels carrying cargos of technology, knowledge, and animal species. The ships that survived landed on the ancient beaches of a few coastal countries to share their technology and knowledge with the hunter-gatherer human natives of the regions.
Many of the religions and mythologies of the world mention or depict this event. The Bible speaks of “Noo” or Noah and his ark. Hinduism speaks of Brahma, a gigantic bearded God of red and golden complexion who arrived from the eternal ocean in a golden egg and created everything. Turkic mythology speaks of the God Talai or Dalai, who was the personification of the World Ocean, an enormous river encircling the world. Ruins and archaeological finds of ancient Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Mesoamerican civilisations all have references relating to this event.
Who can vouch for this, for no matter what history man documents, time devours everything and every memory and mention eventually. The civilisations that we build today will someday be forgotten. The echoes of one generation pass onto the next and then to another and then to another till it completely fades away. After all that has been the way of human history, but as long as a man tells a story to another, fragments of the fables of our forefathers will reverberate through time.
Copyright © 2023 TRISHIKH DASGUPTA
This work of fiction, written by Trishikh Dasgupta is the author’s sole intellectual property. Some characters, incidents, places, and facts may be real while some fictitious. All rights are reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including printing, photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, send an email to the author at trishikh@gmail.com or get in touch with Trishikh on the CONTACT page of this website.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Trishikh Dasgupta
Adventurer, philosopher, writer, painter, photographer, craftsman, innovator, or just a momentary speck in the universe flickering to leave behind a footprint on the sands of time... READ MORE
Weekend Stories by Trishikh 
Wow. Very interesting story. ❤❤❤
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Thank you Aparna. So glad that you liked it.
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And the stories will continue generation after generation ❤️🔥
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Yes, stories have the power to transcend generations.
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Quite a long wait….
thanks.
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Yes, there was a gap in my story writing.
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🙏
Aum Shanti
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What will be will be. May the peace also be with you.
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Thank you 🙏
Aum Shanti
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Always treasure your support Ned. You have always promoted my stories in your blog. That gives me so much joy.
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Wow
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Thank you.
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Glad to see your story! Cool retelling of the classic flood tale (tail 🙂 My only quibble is the word Mankind. Classically it meant all of humanity, but it is used less often now than Humankind or Humanity. I know some will agree and some will not. Thanks.
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You are very right. I also agree it should be humankind. Somehow it missed my mind. I think I will change it. Treasure your feedback.
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Thanks, look forward to your story in February!
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And I look forward to write it. Have already started penning it.
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Great!
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Thank you.. another most interesting tale.. it sounds most true.. ❤️
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You are too kind with your words of appreciation. I treasure them. Glad that you liked the story.
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Nice work Trishikh!
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Thank you Sunith. Always a pleasure to receive your appreciation.
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Wonderful story Trishikh! I missed some of yours as I ended up in the hospital and then a rehabilitation center for 2 months, almost dying twice. I ended up just deleting the hundreds of emails that ended up on my phone as it was too much to keep up with. Hope you had wonderful holidays!
I believe that the true history of our planet is way beyond what is presently known and taught.
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Dear Katelon, first it made my heart heavy to hear about your stint at the hospital. Then I thank God and rejoice for your recovery. I am sure that by the grace of God, care of loved ones, and well wishes of friends you will be up and running very soon.
Do take your time and catch up with my stories whenever you feel like. They are going nowhere. Our stories will outlive is, of that I am certain.
You are absolutely right about the history that we are taught. So much of it can be so different in reality.
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Thank you so much for liking and promoting my story.
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So nice to read a story of yours again. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Mainstream archeology still claims that some sites like Göbekli Tepe in Turkey are only 3000 years old, but it has been discovered that all the major archeological sites are situated on much older remnants of constructions. They found that all over the world, especially in the Americas, Asia and Egypt, and the symbolism of the art on the buildings is very similar. We live in interesting times!
Last but not least, and I know I say that every time, but the language of your writing is in itself a treat!
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Dear Stella, you would not believe how much joy your comment brings me. I was a bit uncertain of this story, but as you rightly said, I knew that if I kept the language interesting, it would certainly find appreciation.
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I have heard about this topic in a series called “Ancient Civilisations”, but it is more alive when personalized.
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Yes, I drew a lot of inspiration for this story from the series.
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¡Que bello! Gracias. Abrazote.
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Thank you so much.
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Reblogged this on Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News.
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Thank you so much Ned for always supporting my stories
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Hi! Beautiful philosophical arguments, let me express my constant doubts, because the history of primeval times was written by the so-called Scribes, and they were heavily dependent on the rulers, they were their property. Therefore, they only wrote what they were allowed to write, so how can you be sure that these were the facts. Regards 😄
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Dear Alic, sorry for the late reply. Somehow your comment landed in my spam folder. You are absolutely right about how chronicled history always has the chance of being doctored or at least modified.
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It landed in Spam maybe because my blog is European and Europe is now with a cruel and bestial war in the middle by one bandit! You see how it is greetings 😘
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I am sure it’s just a glitch. It will not go in spam any more I think. Greetings and best wishes of the day to you too.
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in hindsight and pp re-reading my comment you might think I wrote it snappy! I had no such intention, it was such a teasing, I greet you cordially and I am waiting for another beautiful and interesting story💐
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Dear Alicia, I always treasure your comments.
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Reblogged this on miscabossueltos.
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Thank you so much for promoting my story in your blog.
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Wonderful and very interesting story…
Thank’s for share Trishikh.
Nice day!
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Dear Elvira, thank you for always being so appreciative of my stories. A great day to you too.
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Dear Trishikh, always a pleasure.
Great day as well.
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What a great story, and what a fabulous cover photo. So many civilizations have a “great flood” story. We all grew up with the biblical Noah and his Ark, but there are clearly many other theories, all compelling. You might be interested to read my post about Noah’s Ark – and other interpretations – see
travelwithgma.wordpress.com/2022/04/28/mt-ararat-noahs-ark/
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This is so great. I will certainly read your post.
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Very good article on this blog. Okay 🆗
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Thank you. I always treasure your appreciation.
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Caro Trishikh, buon fine settimana.
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Thank you so much. A great weekend to you as well.
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🙂
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Teşekkürler Trishikh.Sizin bu güzel yazınız da gelecek zamana aktarılacaktır. Her zamanki gibi yine keyifle okudum.
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Thank you so much Alev. Always look forward to your appreciation.
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Thank you so much for promoting my story in your blog.
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Always appreciate you promoting my story in your blog.
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The story is a great gift to us all! Fascinating, inspiring and mind expanding. I truly love this story! And I once again have much to ponder – on so many levels. I will imagine us sitting together talking of great gifts!
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Fascinating, Trishikh. I must read this again from start to finish. My most recent post discusses Salman Rushdie’s newest novel, Victory City, which is about the power of story telling, which lasts well beyond civilizations. You are writing on Rushdie’s wave length.
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Dear Annie, this is so great to hear, specially my thought and story being in line with Rushdie’s. This is such a great honour. Do read the story again. I was a bit sceptical about it, but it seems to have turned out decent.
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A well poetically well-crafted account of the surviving traces of ancient mythologies, some of which can still be found in today’s religious teachings. However, one must avoid the distortions introduced through dogmatism and not get carried away with unrealistic interpretations, which only serve the interest of specific religious groups.
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This is a very prudent warning with this story. We must remember that it is a work of fiction – just to tease and stretch one’s imagination.
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Trishikh, this was a strange story, futuristic-fantasy-mythic-archaeology. How long did it take you to come down to reality? I sense there are some Indian myths driving it that I don’t know, which makes your story very mysterious.
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Dear Michael, thank you so much for your lovely comment. It gives me great joy. I think such mysterious thoughts, mentions, and stories are very much there in many civilisations, certainly many references in Indian mythology, but one must remember that this story is a work of fiction.
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Trishikh: I left you a message yesterday. Perhaps it went into your spam folder? Please let me know before I try to reconstruct my comment. Thanks, and kind regards, Annie.
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Hello Trishikh ji,
It was a pleasure to read another wonderful story from you. I found it inspiring and thoughtful.
Thank you for sharing and best wishes to you.
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Dear Chitrangada. Sorry for late approval of your message and ten commenting on it. I have not been writing for quite a while now, have been neglecting the blog, but that is about to change. I am all geared to come up with many more families stories in 2023. Afterall what we write will remain beyond us.
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Love this story. I especially like this line, “The echoes of one generation pass onto the next and then to another and then to another till it completely fades away. “
A comforting tale putting Man’s history on Earth into context. 🌹
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Dear Lesley such a delight to receive your comment. I treasure the appreciation. I am also in love with this line.
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🌹
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You have an knack of storytelling! Descriptions are so very well woven. All the best
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Thank you so much Shalini. An appreciation really makes my day.
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https://i.postimg.cc/4d30R93T/belle-journ-e.gif
Bonjour mon AMI
Chaque jour est un nouveau chapitre de la vie
Il nous apporte de nouvelles énigmes à résoudre
Vis chaque instant avec passion afin d’écrire la plus belle des histoires
Que cette journée t’apporte le sourire et remplir ton cœur de bonheur
Agréable journée à toi et ceux de ton entourage
Bise AMICALE Bernard
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Thanks Bernard, have a great day.
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Great historical story! Beautiful narration 👌
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Glad that you like it. Yes it is historical fiction.
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🙏
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Thanks for adding another gem to your casket brimming with jewelry
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Oh Michael, you are too kind with your words of appreciation. I treasure it though.
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Very interesting. Little truth hide in this imaginery.
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Thank you so much suni for your appreciation. I treasure it.
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Bonjour mon ami
Un petit texte comique pour souhaiter une bonne journée
Tu sais qu’aujourd’hui et un autre jour
Ta nuit de repos est finie
Allez au boulot, le devoir t’attend
J’aurais bien aimé être à ta table pour ((un petit café ou une tisane avec toi))
Mais nous sommes loin de l’autre
Mais je moi je l’offre gratuitement avec MON BONJOUR
https://i.postimg.cc/KYy7NM7n/un-petit-caf.jpg
Belle journée à toi. Ton ami du net
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thats an amazing story and a great photo to go with it
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Thank you so much David, always treasure your appreciation.
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Hello dada, keman achen
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Wow, so nice to hear from you after such a long time. Hope all is well with you.
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A very deep story with an underlying factual effect! 🤜
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Thank you For Emmanuel, always a pleasure to hear from you. So glad you liked my story.
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Bonsoir MON AMI
Après un tendre et doux réveil
C’est la seule manière de se lever du bon pied
C’est de se persuader que la journée sera pleine d’agréables surprises
D’autant plus que nous commençons la semaine
Je te souhaite un bon appétit avec un bon petit déjeuner, un bon diner une bonne soirée
SURTOUT
Garde le sourire, ta bonne humeur
N’oublie pas que la vie est courte
Profite de chaque petit moment de la vie car ceux-ci ne reviendront jamais
Je te souhaite une journée ou soirée radieuse et pleine d’optimisme
Même si parfois les choses ne sont pas toujours comme nous le voudrions
Alors ce jour passe une agréable journée avec un petit bouquet de fleurshttps://i.postimg.cc/1z8dgZZS/jonquilles.jpg
Bisous amicaux ton ami Bernard
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Thanks Bernard.
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Thank you so much for sharing my story to a larger audience.
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May you continue to share fragments of fables and history and may they echo down the generations through history!
Hi Trishik! Just the other day, a friend suggested that I begin taking a back up of all my writings, rather than just depending on wordpress. I would suggest to you to begin consolidating it in the form of a book. History lovers as well as lovers of fiction/mythology will deeply relish it!
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Dear Harshi, thank you so much for your beautiful comment. As always it gives me great joy to receive your appreciation. Yes I have backup of all my stories at different places, online and offline. And certainly one day I dream of publishing it in a book form.
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Plantation, as you mentioned in your story, made folks settle in one place and the flood made them move again…our ancestors learned so much by observing as they say there is nothing new under the Sun – we learned from them be it someone scribed it or said in their story.
Again stating the obvious be it fiction or non-fiction great writing from you after many months Trishikh!
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Thank you so much. Always treasure our interactions. Yes, I have been unable to write for quite sometime now.
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You also got a new look and it’s very sharp or in other words Sharp Look!
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Oh! Thank you so much. Yes the beard keeps on changing, now and then.
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I really liked reading your story.
A greeting
Carlo
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A word of appreciation really makes my day. So happy that you liked my story. Believe me, nothing gives me more joy.
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I believe you, and I’m happy for you.
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You’re a writer? Wow nice
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Thank you so much. I try to do my best. Glad that you like my writing.
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Thanks for your likes of my posts on Holy Week and the Kingdom of God; I really appreciate your kindness
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It is my pleasure to do so.
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Thanks for your likes of so many of my articles; I thank you very much. Please have a good day.
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A very good day to you too my friend. May the Almighty keep on blessing you with the power of words.
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Thank you. I appreciate your kind words.
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It’s my pleasure.
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Nice
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Thank you so much.
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You’re welcome
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Amazing. Thank you very much, Trishikh! 🙏🙏🙏💯💥💥💥💫💫💫
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You are most welcome. It is always such a pleasure to receive your appreciation.
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It’s very kind of you.
Thank you very much.
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🙏
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Reblogged this on A new Book: Writing into the Light and commented:
Excellent and powerful writing, Trish
Happy creating and best wishes
craig
“Our talents are our gifts from God, but it’s what we do with them that are our gifts to God.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYzlVDlE72w
Share, encourage, uplift and help spread hope, love and light
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Thanks Craig. Best of luck with your book.
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A spellbinding story, Trishikh! I don’t often read short stories, but yours are the exception! I especially like the global perspective. ❤
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Thank you Cheryl. I always treasure your comment. My aim is to promote the art of writing short stories. I think there is a huge potential in short stories, as we grow older and mature as a reader, we usually move away from short stories, but they always create an everlasting impression on our minds. I think they are also very important to attract people to develop the habit of reading.
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Fascinating. A great read!!
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Thank you so much Dawn for liking my story. Nothing makes my day better than a little bit of appreciation.
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You’re welcome Trishikh.
Thoroughly enjoyed it. Had to let you know. Appreciation goes a long way.
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You are absolutely right Dawn.
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