"Why is December ominous?"- Part 1

“The month of December is the most ominous one in the Gregorian calendar.”

I wasn’t sure what compelled my teacher Mr. Manjunath to say so. It intrigued me in the beginning, albeit faintly, and then, as if by some divine revelation, it dawned upon me slowly like a dose of sedative does.

Well, history is replete with examples that shows that December is, in fact, the month when some of the most fatal and devastating, unprecedented in scale and enormity, shocking and mind numbing incidents to ever go down in the history of mankind happened. When the world lost some of the most noble among the men. While some events sparked many a revolution, others were instrumental in changing the course of the world, twisting and re-balancing of the equations of power, forever.

I, for one, shall discuss some of the most well remembered and well known events from the annals of World history.

December 2, 1859- John Brown, a branded "militant" and anti-slavery crusader during the Civil Wars in the US, was tried for high treason and executed by US forces loyal to the confederate. John Brown and his family laid down their lives for the upliftment of the slaves (blacks) of the South America.

December 3, 1984- A lethal gas called methyl-isocyanide accidentally leaked from the Union Carbide Gas Plant in Bhopal that wiped off almost 10,000 – 15,000 people besides permanently affecting hundreds of thousands of the survivors. It was an Industrial catastrophe in the world that is sometimes referred to as “never before and never after.”

December 5, 1791- The greatest musician to have ever born on this earth- Amadeus Mozart- passed away amid speculations of poisoning (controversial) being responsible for his death. A child prodigy- he composed some of the best known symphonies known to us in the western music.

December 7, 42 BCE- The greatest orator to go down in the annals of History, “Tully” Cicero passed away. His oratorical skills continues to influence the western folk alike. An erudite who rejected mighty Caesar’s Triumvirate offer, he is said to have embraced his death in a style unheard before by saying "There is nothing proper about what you are doing, soldier, but do try to kill me properly."

December 8, 1991- The Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), one of the mightiest countries in post WW-II politics, fell putting an end to the decades long cold war friction that threatened to tear apart the world into two.

December 10, 1986- Alfred Nobel, the man who propelled the scientific community to relentlessly pursue scientific research to promote scientific excellence by instituting the Nobel Prize passed away, albeit quietly in the background of his gun-powder discovery that changed the face of the wars, forever.

December 11, 1845- Sikhs took on British East India Company in their First Anglo-Sikh War, the first one in the series of four valiant wars that saw the power of Sikhs being watered down, culminating with the merger of Punjab into the British Raj.

December 13, 1937- Brutality was at its peak when Japanese captured the city of Nanking and organized a brutal massacre and mass rape, unprecedented and unheard of, was committed by Japanese Army, as a part of its campaign to capture China. This stands emotive issue still impedes the entente between these two nations, even today.

December 14, 1799- Founding father of the United States and its first President, Supreme worshipful Grand Master George Washington, died at Mount Vernon. A great visionary and revolutionary, the famous apotheosis mural at The Capitol shows that he is considered to be a god-like figure among Americans.

To be continued...