Tech opens a portal to the past
A black and white photo of two men carrying a palanquin pops up on the mobile screen. It was taken sometime in the 1970s, a short caption reads. Under the photo, a number of people begin commenting, reminiscing on palanquins from their childhood. Some recalled how they came across the wheelless vehicle during weddings.
Another photo shows a student of Madras University engrossed in studies. His hair is covered with nails, a measure against falling asleep. This photo was taken sometime around 1948. Comments on this photo focus on stories of elders who tied themselves to their chair to study – while some condemn the method, others find entertainment in it.
Both the contents have proved to be highly engaging.
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These are some of the photos, alongside videos, which can be seen on the Facebook page "Itihasher Golpo" (Tales from History), which has an assortment of classic pictures from all over the world.
As the past has come to our fingertips, with the aid of technology, worrying about a lapse in memory is a thing of the past.
With just a few swipes, one can now traverse through the annals of history, looking through pictures, videos and even taking in a virtual reality experience of the days gone by.
Itihasher Golpo came into being in 2020, a few months into the Covid-19 pandemic, which had brought the world to a standstill.
It was the brainchild of Muhaiminul Islam Antik, a storyteller since his childhood.
A voracious reader of non-fiction, he loved dwelling into the world of yesteryears, his tryst with history growing more prominent with age. He, however, had qualms with how history was presented to the people. It was never done in a way which would appeal to the masses, he felt.
So the history buff charted a course to right this wrong. He thought about how to present human history in the form of a story. While working with a reputed online portal in 2016, it dawned on him that well-written snippets of history had an audience as they offered people a chance to know something they did not.
Since then, he has been collecting works of non-fiction, especially historical ones. He'd peruse libraries, magazines of different countries online and even speak to people from all over the world to add to his growing collection.
He began through his own personal Facebook page, but realised it would not reach a lot of people. There would also be questions of bias and accuracy.
Thus, he opened Itihasher Golpo.
History revisited
Nostalgia, or a longing for the golden days, has always been a fixture of human civilisations. Memories untainted by the pressures of adulthood or those enhanced by the presence of loved ones have always been pursued with vigour by the masses.
While cavemen drew stick figures and those that came after captured memories in rich tapestries on buildings or on paper, Kodak's camera for amateurs released in 1888 transcended all of that.
People began to capture their daily life with ease, cutting away the painful memories and preserving the good ones for a glimpse sometime in the future.
Then came the age of the Internet.
Now, a nature lover, who had never seen an extinct dodo or a Caspian Tiger, would only have to type in the words. For sure, there would be a picture of it somewhere in the inner corners of the World Wide Web.
Taking it all a step further were panoramic 3D photos which allowed viewers to really get into the image itself. No longer was their gaze fixed on a certain point. They were free to roam and experience the entire vista around them.
After that, the latest step has been virtual reality or VR, which puts viewers right into the thick of things, supplanted by augmented reality.
Memories, it seems, may have transcended their earlier form and are now just time zones that one can visit at will.
If there was an alternative reality, revisiting memories frozen in time could be one version of that.
A dedicated team
Itishaher Golpo, has made use of the technology available, not only in terms of presentation but also in dissemination.
The page is not a unique or brand new idea. It rather builds on already existing versions.
There's the page "Old Photos", which remembers historic photos and videos from around the world, focusing on the 1800s and 1900s.
It, too, has amassed over 6,00,000 likes.
Then there is "Old London Photos".
Closer at home, there is the wildly popular "DHAKA – 400 years History in Photographs", which boasts over 2,50,000 members.
All these pages tap into that longing for nostalgia, the better days, when music was better and movies were all classics.
Most of these pages also rely on user submissions, similar to Itihasher Golpo, which has 71,000 likes and 1,32,000 followers.
But running the page isn't as easy as it seems on the surface.
At first, one may think that adding a few words or sentences to a picture is easy, but in reality it is a daunting task.
Thus Antik went about creating a team to ensure the quality of his page.
He was joined by co-founder of the page Dr Md Adnan Arif Salim, assistant professor of history, Bangladesh Open University.
Prof Dr AKM Shahnewaz, Department of Archaeology, Jahangirnagar University, joined first as an advisor. The team then brought in Prof Dr Md Anwarul Islam of the Department of History, University of Chittagong.
There is also a team of 12 others, all of whom are university students. Five are from a research background, two from technology, two more who work at the field level and others involved in various networking activities.
Knowledgeable people like teachers of different universities, historians, followers and well-wishers also lend a helping hand in various ways.
"It can be seen that many of our followers are sharing with us what they come across in libraries, books, autobiographies and magazines. Or if they go to some historical or archaeological place, they send those to us. They share their memories," Antik said.
Humble beginnings to new avatars
Antik, who has been working with content for the past 12 years, said the idea for the page came to him from history magazines: their illustrations and brief descriptions.
From 2020 until mid-2021, only pictures were posted. With 5 to 8 photos a day, the number of photo shares on the page has now exceeded 2,000.
In 2021, a suggestion came from followers to make videos, which are now one of the preferred media forms.
Antik also said he was partially inspired to turn to videos by children between the ages of 8-10, who would share videos of their favourite story books to related Facebook groups.
And so without further delay, from June 2021 the team also opened a channel with the same name on YouTube and started sharing videos.
There have been 90 videos till date and the view count has crossed one lakh. There are also more than 9,000 subscriptions, with many additions coming in the past few months.
The team claims that they have never turned to paid promotion for their work.
Suman Saha, one of the regular followers, said, "Just as a breath of cold air soothes us in the heat of the day, the memories of the golden days of the past also bring us a sense of peace."
Adnan Arif Salim, co-founder of the page, said, "When we share stories from the past, people get emotional."
The page has no lack of response from the beginning.
In a saturated world of social media, where vlogs, fashion, food and celebrity are kings, history has also carved quite a niche for itself.
Collecting different memories or experiences from people of all ages and all walks of life, and spreading those, has generated a loyal following.
The content is also specifically tailored.
For instance, for their YouTube page, the team went to the community segment of their channel and explored the interest of their users. They found that war, imperial history, culture and food were very prominent.
They have also divided their content on YouTube into separate categories or playlists: Theory of History, History of Plague Epidemic, History of Food, Science and Technology, Detective Story, Recent World, Weird History, Crime World and History of Empire.
Keeping in mind the time constraints of the readers and viewers, each video is made for 10-12 minutes.
Sometimes they collect pictures from books, sometimes online, old magazines, newspapers, various sports, foreign magazines on history and from the archives of the British Library, American Library of Congress etc.
Usually a new video is uploaded every 3-5 days. These videos are made in eight sets – determining the topic, research phase, creating the script, collecting resources for the video, giving voice and editing the video.
But be it a Facebook page or a YouTube channel, the most emphasis is on the research phase.
The page is yet to be monetized, but the team continues undeterred.
Since the platform is run by a team of 15 volunteers, they have to take up this task only after completing their professional life.
As a result, only those who have that level of energy can be involved in this work, said Antik.
A vocal, supportive community
There are also many people from Bengali-speaking West Bengal who are following them regularly across the borders of the country. Antik said, "I never thought I could come so far in just two years."
On accuracy, Salim said, "It cannot be said that we have never made any mistakes. But if we have made a mistake once or twice, it has come to our notice and we have corrected the mistake.
"Many make false or false claims without verifying the truth, and make rude comments. Although we handled them in the beginning, now the followers are standing by. Many are the times when other users explain them by reasoning with evidence."
Antik thinks that this itself is a big achievement for them.
The page has already become a trusted place. A website of the page is currently under construction.
There are also plans to write a book in the future.
