Tag: writing

The Dawn & Ascent of Civilizations

About: In my previous post I wrote about the origin of the Universe, from the Big Bang, through the beginning of life, up to the sole surviving human species: Homo sapiens-that’s who we are. In this post, I take you from the Hunter-gatherer mode through the formation of the first human Civilizations and Empires, up to the beginning of the Roman Empire. Again, this is an attempt to bring together various stories on our ancient history, with brevity mostly on my side and minimum technical jargon. (Image Credit: Canva AI).

First, a quick chronological recap of my earlier post – years from the present:

Big Bang: 13.70 billion; Formation of our Galaxy The Milky Way, the Solar System and Planet Earth 4.6 billion; First Bacteria-3.8 million; Oxygenation of Earth-2.4 billion: Multi-cellular Algae-1 billion; Multicellular organisms-550 million; Dinosaurs-230 million; Hominids, Southern ape, Last Common Grandmother of Humans and Chimpanzees-4 to7 million; Homo species-200,000 to 300,000; Only surviving Human species, Homo sapiens-13,000. In case you missed the story, or you want to go back in time and read again, you can do it at:

https://kumargovindan.com/2026/02/05/origin-big-bang-to-humans/

Hunter-Gatherers to Agriculture

We humans lived as simple hunter-gatherers for the vast majority, about 95%, of our existence, as small, nomadic groups foraging wild plants, hunting animals; using increasingly sophisticated stone tools; learning to make and control fire; creating art-mostly as cave paintings; developing complex social structures and, most importantly, language. Population remained low (a few million globally), with high mobility and intimate knowledge of the environment.

Language was key, used to communicate among humans, describe things, anchor learnings, build knowledge (where to hunt?), and share information, which other animals could not do as smartly as humans did, thanks to man’s ability to think. The languages that emerged in different parts of the world, from grouping of humans, and growth of civilizations, are very different from each other, though there are hints of some co-mingling in common-sounding words. This period is also called the Cognitive Revolution.

Modern humans migrated out of Africa in waves, reaching Eurasia, Australia (65,000 years ago), and eventually the Americas (15,000 to 20,000 years ago). Hunter-gatherer lifestyles continued, adapting to diverse environments, until the end of the last Ice Age, specifically the last glacial period -Peak Cold or Last Glacial Maximum – which occurred approximately 115,000 to 17,000 years ago. During this time, massive ice sheets, often 3 to 4 kilometres thick, covered large parts of North America and Europe, lowering sea levels by about 125 meters.

Recall, Dinosaurs ruled our Planet Earth for a ‘massive’ 165 million years, and humans had still not evolved at that time. But during the Ice Age, man was around with other kinds of ‘Dinosaur-sized’ animals.

The Ice Age animals were mostly large-bodied megafauna adapted to freezing, shifting environments, with iconic species, including Woolly Mammoths, Glyptodon -an extinct group of large, herbivorous Armadillos- Saber-toothed Cats, Mastodons, Woolly Rhinoceroses, and Giant Ground Sloths. These animals coexisted with early humans including the Human species of Neanderthals, in Europe and North America before going extinct roughly 10,000–13,500 years ago, due to environmental changes and maybe because of the dominating force of Homo sapiens. Could man have wiped-out the Mammoths (for their tusks, wool, and meat, for survival)?

The single most transformative shift occurred after the Ice Age ended. Humans began domesticating plants for food, such as, wheat, barley, rice, and maize; and animals such as sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs. Call it the Agricultural Revolution. This allowed sedentary, permanent settlements and food storage of surpluses, population growth, specialisation of labor, utensils making-pottery, cloth making-weaving, and more advanced tools. This transition from foraging to farming was gradual, but revolutionary, enabling the rise of villages, and eventually towns and cities. Agricultural surpluses supported larger, denser populations and social complexity.

On the tools front, man gradually transitioned from using stone tools to those made from advance metalworking. The Bronze Age, about 3,300 BCE to 1,200 BCE, saw the use of copper-tin alloys for tools and weapons. The Iron Age followed with man learning to make and use Iron, and eventually leading to making of steel-man needed steel-blade swords to fight his own kind, and for survival.

Then came the first human civilizations, made up of urban societies with writing, monumental architecture, centralised governance, and social hierarchy. These were founded predominantly in river valleys-for life-giving water, enabling cultivation of flora, and raising fauna, for human consumption.

On the sidelines, there is substantial evidence suggesting man did eat man, his own kind-cannibalism-throughout human evolution, in multiple contexts such as nutritional survival, ritualistic purposes, or cultural reasons. Cannibalism wasn’t universal or constant and was prevalent in early species such as Homo erectus, Neanderthals, and early Homo sapiens.

Ancient Civilizations

The earliest human civilization sprung in what is called the Fertile Crescent Area, which is a crescent-shaped region in the Middle East, often called the Cradle of Civilization, where early agriculture and settled societies began. It included: Mesopotamia-the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, mostly modern-day Iraq, plus parts of Syria, Turkey, and Iran; the Levant-modern Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, ancient Israel; and some extensions to the Nile Valley in Egypt.

There were also 5 other pristine Cradles of Civilization across the World: 1-Ancient Egypt along the River Nile; 2-Mesoamerica-the region spanning southern Mexico through Central America (Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica); 3-Andes, Lake Titicaca; 4-Indus Valley, India; and 5-China, the Yellow River.

The first ever human civilization was that of the Sumerians, in southern Mesopotamia, which emerged about 4,500 to 4,000 BCE. It is often regarded as one of the world’s first true civilizations, with development of independent City-States such as Uruk, Ur, Eridu, Kish, Lagash, and Nippur, which had their own rulers called Ensi or Kings, temples, governments, writing-cuneiform- irrigation systems, and organized society. They also had conflicts for dominance.

The Sumerians were later conquered by the Akkadians leading to the establishment of The Akkadian Empire-probably the first Empire or Superpower of the World-of Mesopotamia, founded by Sargon the Great. The Empire’s capital city was Akkad, which was the seat of a centralised government, uniting the Sumerian and Akkadian regions. This Empire was built upon the Sumerian culture and was multi-ethnic, blending semitic Akkadian with Sumerian. It had a system of taxation, planned economy, and engaged in military conquests. It marked a shift from City-States to Imperial Rule.

The political hegemony that was decisively taken-over by the Akkadians reached its peak when King Hammurabi of Babylonia united all of southern Mesopotamia and Babylonia, which became the great and influential centre of Mesopotamian culture. One of the first ever laws of society, called the Code of Hammurabi, was written in old Babylonian cuneiform. The Sumerian cuneiform writing system – the world’s first writing system-was adopted by the Akkadians. Cuneiform writing is characterised by wedge-shaped impressions pressed on soft callus tablets using a reed stylus. The Akkadian Empire collapsed about 2,150 BCE, due to internal rebellions, weak successors, economic strain, severe drought, and invasions by other Rulers.

The very first spoken language used by humans cannot be identified with certainty, and there is no direct evidence of what it was, which Civilization spoke it, or an exact year it began. Anthropologists estimate that the complex, fully modern human language (with grammar, syntax, and the ability to express abstract ideas) emerged gradually as Homo sapiens evolved.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian Civilization grew along the River Nile, and they developed a form of writing known as hieroglyphs – a pictorial writing system consisting of hundreds of symbols representing sound, ideas, and objects. Ancient Egypt is the second cradle of civilization: it was a remarkably stable society defined by magnificent architecture- the great Pyramids of Giza and the Valley of Kings- divine pharaohs, and rich cultural, artistic, and scientific advancements. The civilization flourished due to the predictable Nile flooding, creating a wealthy agricultural base and a powerful and enduring culture. Egyptians believed in after-life, which led to mummification of their dead. The Egyptian civilization fell under foreign rule, starting with the Persians, and later became part of the Roman Empire.

About this time in what was undivided India, was the third cradle of civilisation – the Indus Valley Civilization(IVC) which emerged in the cities of Harappa, Mohenjadoro, Dholavira, Ganweriwala, Lothai, and Kalibangan – all going back to as far as 3,300 BCE. It spanned much of northwestern India, Pakistan and northeastern Afghanistan, along the River Indus. I am expanding more on the India story, digressing into Genetics, in an attempt to clear the cobwebs on the origins of the people of India.

When the ancient, out-of-Africa hunter-gatherers spread out and migrated to India -and beyond- about 65,000 years-ago, those who settled in the southern peninsular India formed what is called the deeply indigenous Ancient Ancestral South Indians (AASI) hunter-gatherers. The ‘undisturbed’ tribals (e.g., Sentinelese) of Andaman & Nicobar Islands are ‘living proof’ of this ancient unalloyed ancestry. The population of the IVC developed from this AASI, Neolithic farming communities in northwestern South Asia, and Iranian farmer-related ancestry (from earlier migrations). It had zero detectable Eurasian Steppe ancestry. In the IVC, people practiced early agriculture, animal domestication, and led a settled village life. The civilization was indigenous, with technologically advanced farmers and traders. They built the world’s first planned urban cities with sophisticated drainage systems and baths. They were largely a peaceful war-free civilization, but had fortified cities.

Then the IVC mysteriously collapsed about 1,900 BCE, probably due to change in course of rivers, drought, and other environmental factors, which caused the IVC people to migrate to other parts of India. Those that went northern/western mixed with incoming migrants from the Eurasian Steppes (Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan – Yamnaya culture), to form the mixture that we call the Ancestral North Indians (ANI). Those who went southern/eastern mixed further with local AASI groups, forming Ancestral South Indians (ASI) (whose direct descendants today include many southern tribal groups).

The Vedic Aryans, language, and culture emerged within this newly admixed ANI, during the post-IVC period. There was no ‘Aryan race’ per se, in any biological, genetic, or anthropological sense. The term Aryan (Indo-Aryan or Vedic Aryans) represents a cultural linguistic group, and not a race of people. It means people who lived in what was called Aryavarta (described in Vedic texts as the land of the Aryas), historically referring to as the northern Indian subcontinent, primarily the Indo-Gangetic Plain, which boundaries included regions between the Himalayas and the Vindhya mountains. The Aryans composed the Vedas and spoke early forms of Sanskrit, and Vedic culture flourished in this region. The Rig Veda, one of the first regions scriptures, was composed between 4,000 and 3,000 years ago in old Sanskrit and passed down orally for 2,000 years before being written down. The Aryans practiced a Vedic Religion widely regarded as a major precursor or one of the key foundational strands that eventually evolved into what we now call Hinduism. They worshipped a plethora of deities (Indra, Agni, Varuna, Soma) and conducted Fire sacrifices (Yajnas), recited Ritual hymns and had priestly traditions. They had concepts like rita (cosmic order) and early ideas of dharma.

Around this time, corresponding to the Vedic Aryans, in the north (1500 BCE onward), the ASI populations practiced indigenous animistic and folk traditions-not anything resembling organized Vedic religion. These local beliefs gradually blended with incoming Vedic elements to form the diverse synthesis of the Hinduism, or Sanatana Dharma, of today.

Over time, the ANI and the ASI mixed dramatically in India, producing the genetic gradient seen in modern India and South Asia. The result is that everyone in India today is a mix of ancestry related to West Eurasians, diverse East Asian and South Asian. No Group in India can claim genetic purity. Most Genetic studies have come to the conclusion that all Indians north, south, east, west have IVC genes. Most of the migrants that came into India were male, and they mixed with the women of mostly the ANI and ASI to form the collision that is India- in fact it leans almost all towards the ASI.

The Dravidian region- primarily southern India- typically have higher ASI ancestry and lower ANI compared to northern Indo-European speakers. Genetic evidence links higher ASI proportions strongly with Dravidian languages today. The emergence of Dravidians as a linguistic and cultural group is tied to the formation of the ASI. More information will be out, once the ‘formal reports’ on the discoveries at Keeladi, Sivagalai, and Adichanallur, and other spots, near present-day Madurai, Tamil Nadu State, is published.

Going back to the Aryans. If you heard something called the Aryan Invasion Theory, forget it: there was nothing of the sort, at best migration and mixing of various lineages of people to form the Aryan culture.

The fourth cradle of civilization is that of the Chinese along the Yellow River. Ancient agricultural societies flourished such as the Yangsho and Longshan cultures leading to early dynasties such as the Xia and Shang around 2,100 to 1,600 BCE. The Yellow River provided fertile soil especially for millet farming, but was also called China’s Sorrow due to catastrophic, frequent flooding and shaped future complex water management techniques.

One of China’s first dynasties, the Xia Dynasty was founded by not by a conqueror or a warrior, but by a simple public servant, an Engineer, Da Yu, who incredibly ‘tamed’ the Yellow River. Legend says that his father called Gun, was given the task of controlling the seasonal devastating floods of the River, by the then King of the region. He failed with his technique of building dykes across the river, and was ordered by the King to be put to death-cut to pieces. His son Da Yu, who later became the ‘Great Yu’, then took on the job, and working ferociously hard, found a way. He confused the River by dividing it, having channels dug alongside to whisk the flood water to other rivers, and in turn to lakes. He came upon the idea by using the native intelligence of Villages along the river. The King was mighty impressed by his diligence and passed on the throne to him. And Da Yu founded the Xia Dynasty, the first in China.

The fifth is the Mesoamerican Civilizations flourishing around 1,500 BCE in present day Mexico and Central America. They were advanced interconnected societies known for majestic architecture, complex calendars, astronomy and writing systems. The harboured the Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, and Aztec cultures and Empires.

The sixth is the Andean Civilization of South America. They stretched down the spine of the Andes Mountain range from Southern Colombia to Ecuador and Peru. The Caral or Norte Chicho Civilization of coastal Peru is the most ancient dating back to 3,500 BCE. It relied on maritime-coastal fishermen- and agricultural resources- inland trade. It is best known for awe-inspiring architecture. The site of Caral contains six large pyramids, structures with the largest measuring over 60 feet. They lacked writing or pottery but used a system called quipu – knotted textiles- for record keeping. They were largely peaceful with not much evidence of warfare. The Andean Civilization like the other pristine civilizations developed independently of external influences. They are noteworthy for domesticating a wide variety of crops such as potatoes, peppers, peanuts, manioc(cassava), chocolate and coca. They figured out irrigation systems for desert farms. They were also known for building an extensive road system and textile weaving.

Kingdoms & Empires

Going back to the Fertile Crescent, and diving into the world of early Kingdoms, in the region covering much of Canaan (modern-day Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordon) the Ancient Kingdom of Israel emerged. It was established around 1,020 BCE, formed by uniting 12 tribes as a United Monarchy under King Saul; consolidated under King David; and expanded under King Solomon before splitting around 922 BCE, into Kingdom of Israel in the north and the Kingdom of Judah in the south (according to the Hebrew Bible). The northern kingdom lasted until its conquest by Assyria in 721 BCE. The ancient Israel religion was known as Yahwism, which is a predecessor to Judaism. It began as polytheism and shifted towards monolatry. Yahweh was the primary deity. Judaism is the world’s oldest Abrahamic religion, and the way of life is based on the Torah- the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. It is based a covenant between God and the Jewish people.

After the fall of the Akkadian Empire, came the Assyrian Empire (900 to 600 BCE). The Assyrian King Ashurbanipal was its last great king and was known as one of the most barbaric rulers of his time. But one of his greatest achievements is the construction of the Library of Ashurbanipal -a collection of texts and documents of various genres, perhaps comprising over 100,000 texts at its height. It was not surpassed until the construction of the Library of Alexandria, several centuries later. The Assyrians used new warfare techniques to win wars and conquer lands. They paved the way for the foundation of the Achaemendian Empire by Persia’s, Cyrus the Great.

Cyrus’s reign defined the history of Iran for well over a millennium and future Persian empires often viewed the Achaemenid era with respect and as the ideal example to emulate. To this end, he remains a cult figure in modern Iran, with his tomb serving as a spot of reverence for millions of the country’s citizens. When Alexander the Great conquered Persia and passed by his damaged tomb he stayed a long time, thoughtfully looking at the inscribed words (in Persian), “…I am Cyrus the Founder of the Persian Empire. Envy me not the little earth that covers my body” and promptly ordered the tomb to be repaired. Darius the Great, who followed Cyrus was known for his administrative genius, building great projects, and his benevolence toward the diverse peoples in his rule.

Ancient Persia gave the world one of the oldest continuously practiced monotheistic faiths, Zoroastrianism. It was founded by Prophet Zoroaster and centres around worship of one God- the Creator- Ahura Mazda. It emphasizes a cosmic struggle between good and evil urging humanity to choose ‘Asha’ (truth) through good thoughts, good worship, and good deeds. Wow, awfully simple to follow!

Meanwhile, the Ancient Greek Civilization was getting its foot-hold in Greece, limping out of its Dark Ages (1200 – 800 BCE) which saw collapse of its civilization. The Greek civilization, arising around the 8th century BCE, was a foundational Western culture. Known as the birthplace of democracy (specifically in Athens), it was a collection of competitive Aegean City-States like Athens and Sparta that shared a language and religion. Much of the world’s cultural heritage descends from a very small population of landowners, farmers, and sailors during a surprisingly short space of time. They organized themselves into a radically democratic government, held as a high ideal the dignity and freedom of an individual free man, produced sculpture and architecture, which set the standards by which these arts are still measured. And they laid the foundations of much of the World’s philosophy, mathematics and sciences through great thinkers such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Pythogoras, Euclid, and Archimedes. It also saw the origin of Theatre, the Olympic Games, and advanced epic poetry such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Ancient Greeks had a pantheon of Gods led by 12 Olympians: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, and Dionysus who resided on Mount Olympus in Greece.

The Persian Empire came to an end with the rise of Macedon, Greece, and foundation of the Kingdom of Macedonians by King Philip who himself had an extraordinary career in building his Kingdom. His son Alexander the Great went on to establish one of the largest Empires in history stretching from Greece to northwestern India. Alexander is considered one of history’s greatest and most successfully military commanders-in a career of about 20 years he never lost a single battle. He was tutored by the ancient Greek Philosopher, Aristotle. The story goes that whenever news was brought that his father Philip had captured a Town or won a great battle, Alexander would worry, “My father will go on conquering until there is nothing extraordinary left for you and me to do”. Alexander brought The Achaemenid Persian Empire to a fatal end with the defeat of its last king, Darius III in the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BCE. The defeat led to the collapse of the Achaemenid Empire and Alexander was able to capture key Persian cities such as Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis. Alexander died young, at the age of 33, and in many ways he made the history of the world. The Greek Empire peaked in the 5th to 4th century BCE before being conquered by Rome in 146 BCE.

The Early Roman Empire was founded in 625 BCE as a City-State, in the areas of ancient Italy knows a Etruria and Latium. It went through a Period of Kings (ruled by about 6 Kings) phase, a Republican Rome phase (510 to 31 BCE) leading to the mighty Imperial Roman Empire after 31 BCE. I’ll cover the Roman Empire in the upcoming, next article.

About this time in the 5th Century BCE, Buddhism originated in India in the ancient Kingdom of Magadha- region in the Eastern Ganges Plain. It’s founder Siddhartha Gautam, who was born as a Prince. He renounced his royal life, sought enlightenment through asceticism and meditation, and attained awakening (bodhi) under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya (in modern-day Bihar State of India).

To conclude this part of history, a quick story on numerals.

The system of numerals with the use of zero first originated in India. At that time its tremendous potential in science, mathematics, engineering and trade was not widely realised – not universalised. E.g. Archimedes struggled with a number system and had to invent one on his own to fit his ‘wild numbers’. He did not know about Indian numerals then. It was left to the Arab Scholars to embrace the Indian system brought to their lands by Arab Traders who travelled to India. Yet, it was not generally used in the Arab World until a thousand years later. Later medieval Europe adopted the Indian numerals from the Arabs – resulting in the misnomer ‘Arabic Numerals’. But then it took centuries for Indian numerals to come into everyday use – the way we use it today.

In summary, humans lived as:

Hunter-gatherers – about 290,000 years ago; Farming and a settled life – about 12,000 years ago; First Civilizations, Kingdoms, and Empires – about 5,500 years ago.

Each transition dramatically increased population, complexity, and environmental impact, shaping the world we live in today.

We are at the doorstep of the Roman Empire. Once the door opens we run through other Empires such as the Mauryas of India; building of the Great Wall of China, Genghis Khan, the Cholas…and the beginning of Christianity and Islam.

A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS

About: From the time we are born, through childhood, adolescence, adulthood and probably into old age as well, we acquire and carry a chestful of fetishes, likes, dislikes, crazy beliefs, and what not? Let us call the best of them as Favourite Things. These are a few of my favourite things, and I’m sure you will be able to relate to them, with nostalgia. Also a run, down memory lane from the 1960s, in Tamil Nadu, India.

The title itself is one of my favourites-a song from the unforgettable classic Hollywood movie, The Sound of Music, released in the year 1965, which starts with, when I am sad I remember a few of my favourite things: “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm wooden mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings, these a few of my favourite things…”

Recall, the Sound of Music won five Oscars from ten nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Scoring Music, and Best Sound (proved that the sound is indeed good). The movie forever trapped the Von Trapp Family and Austria’s Vienna in my memory: an enthralling musical by Hollywood’s Rodgers & Hammerstein. And of course, the tongue-keeping songs such as, Do-Re-Mi, doe a deer; I am sixteen going on seventeen; so long farewell; Edelweiss… Well, I’m not actually sad at the moment, but being in a cheerful mood, I can pack my favourite things for any gloomy times ahead.

When studying in Boarding School in the Hill Station of Yercaud, I used to come home only twice a year: a fifteen-day, Half-Yearly Holiday in the middle of the year, and a three-month Annual Holiday-beginning in November and ending in January of the following year.

I lived on a farm in the wonder years and bringing the early learnings of the Hill Station School to the farm, and mixing it up, was often incredibly crazy. For e.g., I thought the water springing in a well was because of salt (in Tamil, Thaneer ooruthu) and I dug a small hole – my own tiny well- in a field. And when Mom was not looking, stole some table salt and put it in the well along with water hoping the water will spring and overflow! I then cut down a few papaya tree branches-they have a hole running through the length-to serve as pipelines, to take out the spring water (to the fields for irrigation). I waited for days, but the water never got itself out of the well and into the papaya pipelines: it dried out leaving only the salt (for Mom to gather). And I moved on. Lesson learnt.

Those days, in the villages, the most popular means of ‘cleaning your teeth’ was with Gopal Tooth Powder (Gopal Palpodi). It was a pinkish red powder with herbal ingredients (KFC’s Colonel must have drawn inspiration or stolen parts of the formula while brushing his teeth in India?) and came in cool mini-sachets. And you took some of it in your left palm and used the right second finger to rub the cleansing powder over your teeth. I always had a sachet of Gopal Palpodi whenever I travelled, visiting Aunties and Uncles, Grandmas and Grandfathers, during the holidays. Then came the white Colgate tooth power, before toothpaste and tooth brushes bristled into action, stealing the breath and whitening the teeth of India.

In Boarding School it was always the Toothpaste and Tooth Brush combo- strictly no finger-licking tooth powder. My favourite toothpaste, without hesitation, was Binaca, which came with cute miniature collectibles of soft plastic toys in each pack. A plethora of rhinos, panthers, hippos, monkeys, cats, parrots, giraffes, foxes, frogs, penguins, fish, deer, bisons, camels, tortoises, donkeys, ducks, sea-horses, pelicans and cranes, lizards, snails, bears, chimpanzees, gorillas, elephants, creatures great and small… of all colours and shapes, they all came to me in, of all things, the toothpaste box. Oh, how I waited for the next Binaca. Of course, I did eat toothpaste to bring the animals sooner. Then there was this silent, serious-looking bitter tasting fluoride based Forhans Toothpaste, which never gave foam but was said to be a product created by Dentists and for safeguarding gums and enamel. It came in an orange pack and was fierce looking. An Aunt actually forced me to use it. I remember an advertisement when a kid asks the mother, ‘Ethil nurai varumma’ (Will this foam?)

My favourite soap was the pleasant green, Hamam, backed-up by Mysore Sandal Soap for special occasions. The transparent Pears was for the babies seeing-through, before Johnson’s Baby products toddled-in. I despised the other brands such as Margo and the ayurvedic Medimix (later it became a standard feature of almost every Hotel and Lodge).The beauty ‘girlish’ soaps at that time were Lux International and also the ’come alive with freshness soap’, Liril, featuring the bathing beauty Karen Lunel -wearing a green two-piece bikini – under a waterfall, and I did dream about her a lot!

Sunlight was the washing soap that Mom used for the dirty clothes and the pale yellow-bar could always be seen at home. I could not imagine a world without Sunlight before surfing for Surf and then Nirma Washing Powder dancing into our homes. So so did the blue Rin and Det soap, about that time.

Face power was typically Ponds, and later Nycil, with the girls going for that vintage Remy and Cuticura – dusting on the face using a puff held in a nice little powder box.

I never wore a wrist-watch until University and in those days HMT watches- Time keepers to the Nation-was the rage. Of course, I forced my uncle to part with his 24-jewelled, Made-In-Japan Ricoh Automatic Watch for a period. It had a fancy glass-cut as if it was a diamond. This diamond was not forever and I had to return it to my Uncle, after a while. My first owned watch was a Titan, which the Tata’s launched to bring ‘electronic clock’ times to India. And I still have the favourite first watch: a white checked dial base with date, day, month watch at the 3rd hour.

Going back to Films, beyond The Sound of Music, my favourite movie, that I watched and watched over and over again, was the eleven Oscars winning epic Ben-Hur. That galley-slave battle sequence, the Chariot Race, and the story of Jesus Christ without showing us his face, struck a chord and raced in the mind.

Another ‘watched again-and-again’ favourite is Bruce Lee’s, ‘Enter the Dragon’. The superb, clever Kung-Fu fight sequences are a delight to watch. And it was devastating to learn that Bruce Lee unfortunately died at age 32, six days before the movie’s premiere in Hong Kong. He never witnessed the massive ground-breaking international success of Enter The Dragon, which was his first. I would call it a cult movie of the time and thereafter Bruce Lee became a global icon.

Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, Gregory Peck, John Wayne, and Charlton Heston were my favourite heroes and almost all Hollywood heroines stepped into a long list. Spoilt for choice. Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly, Sophia Lauren, Raquel Welch, Ursula Andress – she was constantly in a state in undressing – and was the Bond girl, rising up from the sea, in the first ever James Bond movie, Dr No.

In our own Indian Film World, MGR, Sivaji Ganesan, Jaishankar, Kamal Hassan, Rajinikanth, Savithri, Saroja Devi, Sri Devi and Zeenath Amman were a few of my favourites. And music by M S Viswanathan, and later Ilayaraja, with songs sung by T M Soundararajan, S P Balasubramanian, P B Sreenivas, P Susheela, S Janaki, always hummed inside.

Over time, I became a voracious reader and comics paved the way to serious reading. Tarzan-of the Apes, Phantom-the Ghost Who Walks (Oh, I loved Diana Palmer, the Horse-Hero, and the Wolf Dog-Devil, and the Phantom rings), Richie-Rich, Wendy the Witch, Little Lotta, and later Asterix ruled this part of the world. Mandrake the magician and a local Tamil comic series, ‘Irumbukkai Maayavai’ (the man with the iron hand) was another electrifying story, which was based on Steel Claw-one of the most famous British Weekly Adventure Comics. Then there was the comic strip Axa, which featured a semi-nude, busty, sexy, sword-wielding long-haired blonde heroine. Stirred-up many a thing.

Top-gear novels were Enid Blyton’s Famous Five, The Secret Seven, and Captain W E Johns’ Biggles (James Bigglesworth) detective series. Then I delved into the Westerns such as Oliver Strange-the Marshall of Lawless -the James Green series being a favourite. Harold Robbins’s ‘Never Love A Stranger’ and novels by James Hadley Chase opened new worlds filled with smooth mountain peaks and bushy valleys. Debonair and Playboy -I never dared buy them, but borrowed – they were magazines I read-nay, looked- beneath bed-sheets or in the dark alleys of Boarding School life. In later years Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot – Murder on the Orient Express -were my favourite detectives solving crime after crime. Often I would sit down in a corner of a restaurant and ‘play’ Sherlock Holmes in the mind.

Shoes and slippers were invariably Bata, then BSC (Bata Shoe Company), and with another brand called Corona a distant competition. One of my favourites was a brown-colour, foot-covering sandal, which I used until it broke-fractured into two- and helplessly stitched together to hold for many more times, at least while walking on the farm, at home.

Studying in an Anglo-Indian English Medium School from the beginning I was naturally drawn to Western music, The Bee Gees- every song; Beatles – yellow submarine and other songs; ABBA-Dancing Queen, Fernando; Osibisa, dance the body music; Boney M, The Rivers of Babylon; and Eruption’s, ‘One Way Ticket to the Moon’; The Eagles, Hotel California; Survivor, the Eye of the Tiger; Johnny Wakelin – The Black Superman, about Muhammad Ali flying like a butterfly and stinging like a bee. Later on, Air Supply, Foreigner, Dire Straits, Police, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd-the Wall – became favourites.

In the early days – due to my ‘English’ upbringing – I struggled with the Tamil language and an Aunt of mine introduced me to two magazines, which made my Tamil almost poetic and even classic. One was ‘Kumudham’ and the second was ‘Kalkandu’. Tamilvanan was the founding editor of the then widely read Kalkandu (Sugar Crystals), which published fiction, articles about state politics, and Tamil cinema, and pages of factoids. Tamilvanan’s novels featured the detective hero Shankarlal, who travels the world solving crimes and battling criminals, much like a James Bond. The novels often contain a good deal of factual information about the settings, which educated the Tamil audience about countries to which, at the time, relatively few Indians could afford to travel. Shankarlal frequently travelled with his wife Indra and his servants, Kathrikai (the nickname means ‘eggplant’ a reference to his fat belly and tuft of hair) and Manickam. Shankarlal always wore a black hat and sunglasses and was famous for drinking great quantities of tea. Tamilvanan’s motto as a journalist was ‘courage is the best companion’ (in Tamil ‘Thunivee Thunai’). In Kalkandu, he often substantiated his facts and statistics with authorities such as Encyclopaedia Britannica and Guinness Book of World Records besides other scholarly works.

Then there was Thiruvalluvar’s 1330 verse Thirukkural, which was a must read and must study. The Public Transport Buses in Tamil Nadu had a verse, or more, painted on the inside- to educate yourself, on the move.

On the English side, I loved the cheekyThe Illustrated Weekly of India – a weekly, odd-sized magazine newspaper and The Indian Express newspaper. I hated the stubborn and serious looking, The Hindu newspaper, and it was best used for lining shelves. An Aunt (oh, the same one!) of mine even used it to line the trays when she bought her first ever refrigerator. Those days the popular brands were, Kelvinator, Godrej, and Voltas.

In the school days chewing gum was popular as was Fruitex confectioneries. In the 1960s and 70s Fruitex were known for having collectible stamps inside its wrappers. Sweets with stamps for stamp collection, and I became a Stamp Collector.

I was always fascinated by Mermaids: those mythical, beautiful long-haired, curvy, well-endowed beauties, with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a fish. And two years ago, when I went to Poland’s Warsaw I learnt about ‘The Mermaid of Warsaw’, which armed with a sword and shield is believed to protect the City. I bought a momento of the Warsaw Mermaid, which I keep close to my heart (might prevent a Heart Attack). Legend says that the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen is the Warsaw mermaid’s sister and they went separate ways from the Baltic Sea.

My favourite off-school games were, Marbles, Tops-Pambaram, Killi-Thandu/Gilli Danda, Snakes & Ladders (Paramapadham), Aadu Puli Aatam. Dhaayam – Daayakattai similar to the ancient Chaupur, as played in the Mahabharata, or modern-day Ludo. Chinese checkers and Chess did climb up the ladder as I progressed in School.

In Golli Gundu -as it was called in Tamil -we used glass marbles to hit and capture other players’s marbles placed in a circular area. As in a form of ‘rudimentary golf’ we shoot marbles into a small dug-out hole. I’m unable to recall the exact rules of the game, but I do remember pivoting my left fingers on the ground, holding a marble in the middle or index finger with the right hand and releasing it with precise aim, much like a catapult. Also a kind of ‘ground billiards’. And I could aim and hit another marble at quite a distance.

Pambaram (Top – made of wood) where we spin it as long as possible with a deft sting pull and a clever nail on which the Top spins. Sometimes we attack another top placed in a circle on the ground, by hitting it in a top strike. And I was an expert in making the top spin on my palm (with a flat nail). Perhaps this became the basis for the Hero spinning a Pambaram on the Heroine’s bare belly, in a popular Tamil movie. That was tingling, for sure!

In Gilli-Danda, a two-team game, a short stick with tapering ends is lobbed into the air by the longer stick the Danda, and hit as far as possible. The distance from the ‘hit point’ to the spot where Gili lands is measured in Dandas. If the Gilli is caught by the opposite team, while in the air, he is considered out (sometimes the whole team) or if he fails to strike the Gili on three consecutive attempts he is declared out. Some kind of ancient baseball?

During my school days electricity had yet to arrive at home, and we used simple wick-Kerosene lamps or the pressurised Kerosene Petromax Lamps. The latter was a special feature for lighting up Weddings. I particularly enjoyed fitting the incandescent filament, lighting it with a match-stick and then hand-pumping the lamp (pressurising) until the filament glowed a brilliant white light.

As electricity creeped into our Homes, other favourites occupied my mind: the ‘slowly heating-up’ valve-radios, the mobile battery operated Transistor Radios, the Vinyl record-players, he Philips and Bush brands were a huge hit until the National Panasonic cassette players took our world by storm. You can delve into them at

https://kumargovindan.com/2025/05/03/radio-blaa-blaa/

I started writing this article with few things in mind and as it opened and flowed, the few began growing – overwhelmed – and I thought maybe ‘many’ would be a better word but certainly not ‘less’. Should I plan a sequel as ‘much more’ Favourite Things stack-up?

FREEWHEELING

About: A break free commentary on events on our Planet, anchored on the news of the world. Any comments beyond the storyline, are entirely mine, without prejudice -take it or leave it. This is a run of events from 1 September to 15th September: the churn and restlessness in the world; Gen Z in Nepal; India pulls up its sleeves; and the passing of fashion designer Armani.

The World on a Spin

The World is definitely spinning-now it seems more on the inside-churning and in a multi-dimensional whirl!

France dived into a political crisis when its Prime Minister (PM) Francois Bayrou was defeated in a confidence vote in the National Assembly: 364 votes against to 194 for. He submitted his government’s resignation to President Emmanuel Macron, who quickly decided to replace him with close ally Sebastien Lecornu. This is France’s seventh PM under Macron, and the fifth in less than two years: a pointer to the disenchantment and full-grown frustration with Macron’s second term.

Lecornu, 39, has spent the past three years as Minister of the Armed Forces focusing on France’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. He has now been given the task of consulting political parties, probably on a war-footing, with the aim of adopting France’s next budget.

In the United Kingdom, the British seem to have taken US Vice-President J D Vance’s words -said in jest-seriously. He joked that Britain could well become the “first truly Islamist country to get a nuclear weapon,” following the Labour Party’s election victory. And with the appointment of a Pro-Palestine rabble-rouser as Home Secretary, along with the climbing incidents of Islamic lawlessness, they are on course to achieving that status. Shabana Mahmood has been appointed new UK Home Secretary, replacing Yvette Cooper following a major Cabinet reshuffle in the Labour-led government, triggered by the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.

Meanwhile, in recent times, Central London has become the stage of many protests. ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march, organised by anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson, was attended by around 110,000 people. Then there was the ‘Stand Up to Racism’ counter-protest, besides the ever-so-often, running-on-your-screens, pro-Palestine protests.

Looks like it’s back to old assassination ways in the United States of America: the guns were always there; many are finding the trigger more often than before.

Charlie Kirk, 31, a close associate of US President Donald Trump was assassinated on 10th September while on stage at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, for a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) event, ‘The American Comeback Tour’. Kirk was fatally shot in the neck, around 20 minutes after the event began, in front of an audience of about 3,000 people.

Charlie was a political activist, author, and media personality. He co-founded the student organisation TPUSA in 2012, which caters to conservative youth on American university campuses and was its Executive Director. He was one of the most prominent voices of the populist MAGA movement and exemplified the growth of Christian nationalism in the Republican Party. He leaves behind two young kids and his wife Erika Kirk who pledged to keep his legacy alive.

The suspect, Tyler Robinson, 22 was arrested for the killing, turned in by his own father, to who he admitted the crime. This, after the father saw released photos of the suspect and confirmed that was it was his son. It is said that despite a good upbringing, Tyler Robinson was radicalised ‘in a fairly short amount of time’. Tyler is a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College, Utah Valley University, where Kirk was killed.

On the same day, 10th September Indian origin Chandra Nagamallaiah was brutally beheaded in a Dallas Motel by an undocumented immigrant, an illegal alien from Cuba, Yordanis Cobos Martinez, in front of his wife and son. The gruesome act took place at the Downtown Suites Motel in Dallas where Chandra Nagamallaiah and Cobos-Martinez were workers. Nagamallaiah had approached Cobos-Martinez and a female colleague while they were cleaning a room, telling them not to use a broken washing machine. Cobos-Martinez became enraged as Nagamallaiah had asked the female colleague to translate what he was saying instead of addressing him directly. Cobos-Martinez left the room, pulled out a machete ‘from his person’ and launching the assault. Nagamallaiah ran through the motel’s car park screaming for help, but the suspect chased him down and struck him repeatedly.

In late August Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was killed on a train at the East/West Boulevard light rail station on the Lynx Blue Line in Charlotte, North Carolina. Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee who had fled her country because of the Russian invasion, was fatally stabbed. Her assailant, Decarlos Brown Jr., was arrested upon exiting the train and charged with first-degree murder. The 34-year-old Brown was arrested 14 times before the stabbing; he was convicted of breaking and entering. While on probation, he was arrested for armed robbery. And was incarcerated for more than five years in state prison

What’s happening in the United States of America?

Generation Z (Gen Z) is the generation born in the late 1990s or the early 21st century, perceived as being familiar with the use of digital technology, the internet, and social media from a very young age.

It was student and youth-led, Generation Z’s simmering churn in Sri Lanka some time ago, which spread to Bangladesh and leaders of both countries flying-out to escape the fury of the mobs. This time it was the turn of Nepal.

Nepal is in the grip of its worst political turmoils in decades after Gen Z led protests over a social media ban erupted and transformed into a nationwide uprising against corruption and entrenched political leadership. At least 70 people have been killed in clashes with security forces, which appears to have ignited latent fury. Demonstrators scorched the streets, torched the homes of senior leaders, and stormed (burnt it as well) Parliament leading to the resignation of the Prime Minister.

In events leading to the chaos, Nepal banned social media sites, including Facebook and Instagram, after they did not register with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. A notice said social media giants are given a week to register with the government, starting 28th August. But none, Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Alphabet (YouTube), X, Reddit, and LinkedIn – had submitted applications, by the deadline.

The number of Facebook users in Nepal can be put at around 13.5 million, and Instagram at around 3.6 million. Many rely on social media for their business. As the social media platforms went down in Nepal, those affected started protesting. The demonstrations against social media ban then snowballed into an anti-corruption protest.

There have been a series of corruption scams and allegations against high-ranking political leaders in Nepal, with little action taken and hardly anyone brought to book. Another factor is the ‘Nepo kids’ phenomenon. The children of political leaders flaunted their wealth and lavish lifestyles, which fuelled resentment among young people.

The turmoil appears to have subsided for the moment, with the ‘social media’ selection of former Chief Justice Mrs Sushila Karki, as interim Prime Minister. Karki took the oath of office after an agreement with protest leaders from the Gen Z movement. Nepal’s newly-appointed interim PM says she will be in the post for no longer than six months. “I did not wish for this job. It was after voices from the streets that I was compelled to accept,” Sushila Karki said, speaking for the first time since being sworn into office on Friday. She said she would hand over to the new government which will emerge after elections on 5th March, next year. Incidentally, Karki’s husband, Durga Prasad Subedi, is a Nepalese democracy fighter, author, and politician who was one of the three youth wing leaders of the Nepali Congress involved in the 1973 Royal Nepal Airlines DHC-6 hijacking. We sure have a potboiler in Nepal.

In keeping with the ‘World tempo’ the other two ‘good old wars’ have become a part of everyday life. Russia continues slamming Ukraine with gunfire, and Israel is working hard on its plan to take full control of Gaza City. Israel says it has over 40% of the city under its control.

On 8th September six people were killed on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the shooting. In a lightening response, on 9th September, Israel make a tactical surgical strike on Hamas’s headquarters in Doha, Qatar, targeting the Hamas leadership based in the city, which was getting together for a meeting. The usual noises of violating international law, sovereignty, were made by Qatar, Saudi Arabia… and of course the decaying United Nations.

India

Thanks to US President Donal Trump’s belligerent stance on Tariffs, India began hugging the Russian Bear and kissing the Chinese Dragon to counter the draconian measures. And then, there is also no denying the ‘nudge’ to become self-reliant.

Russia has always been a friend-through thick and thin times; China is different with ‘bone-of-contention’ border issues, often drawing blood. Maybe, India’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister have read the story from the Epic Mahabharata and are following through. The story is narrated by Bhishma to Yudhishthira, to illustrate the principle of forming temporary, self-interested, mutually-beneficial Alliances, during times of crisis. It goes like this.

In a large forest, there lived a Rat in a hole at the base of a Banyan Tree, while a Cat lived on the Tree. One day, the Rat ventured out of its hole only to bump into the Cat. Rats being a traditional meal for cats, the Rat, in question, sought to quickly dart away, but was stopped on its tracks by the Cat. “Let’s be friends”, said the Cat. “No” said the Rat, “how is that possible with rats being something cats always eat for dinner?” Meanwhile, a Hunter in the Forest set a trap-spreading a net under the tree-to trap birds and animals for his dinner, and the Cat got caught in it. Hearing its cries, the Rat came out of its hole. “Help Me”, cried the Cat, bite the net with your strong teeth and release me before the Hunter arrives. I promise I will not attempt to eat you”. About this time, an Owl and a Mongoose arrived on the scene and the Rat was rattled. It proposed a deal to the Cat, “Allow me to hide in your fur until the ‘clear and present danger’ passes and then I shall release you from the net”. All right, said the Cat and allowed the Rat to hide in its fur while the Owl and Mongoose went their own ways. When the Rat got out, the Cat asked it to gnaw the net and release him, as promised. “I’ll do it, said the Rat, but at a time of my choosing as you can still hunt me down for a meal. I will release you just before the Hunter arrives so that both of us have enough time to escape and we have no other motive other than saving ourselves. And you will be fully focussed on escaping without bothering to eat me”. The Rat did just that – the Hunter lost his meal. Thereafter, the Cat and the Rat went their separate ways.

India should treat China like the Rat treated the Cat. Enjoy the ‘alliance’ for mutual benefit, but be wary of China’s Dragon Fire. China cannot be trusted – at least at the Borders.

India’s Epics, especially the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, are a cornucopia of knowledge- ‘the distilled essence of solutions’ to problems plaguing mankind. They are waiting to be read, understood, and applied sensibly in today’s context. Did not someone say, ‘Old is Gold’?

US President Donald Trump’s rant was typical, “Looks like we’ve lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest, China. May they have a long and prosperous future together”. Thanks for your attention to the matter? He seems to have mellowed down later and began making overtures of India. No love lost?

Meanwhile, there is another Politician in India’s Tamil Nadu: the Opposition Leader Edappadi Palanisamy who is fighting to hold his Party (AIADMK) together with fragments falling off. Maybe he needs to pay attention to the cat & rat matter?

Goods & Services Tax (GST)

India’s PM promised a deluge of tax reliefs in the form of ‘Next Generation GST Reforms’ during his 15th August, Independence Day Address: seems to have worked it out beforehand. On 3rd September the GST Council met and unanimously accepted a two-tier tax structure of 5% and 18% plus a topping of 40% for ‘Sin Goods’. Many items were pushed down to the 5% slab and 18 % slabs from the previous 12% and 24% slabs respectively. There was cheers all-around and Industry had an ear-to-ear grin. Now they must pass-on the benefit to the common-man. A stellar achievement was the 18% GST on health Insurance was made ‘Nil’ on a quite vociferous demand through the year.Ouch, that hurt. I had just renewed my Health Insurance paying over 10,000 as GST!

Vice President of India

India got itself a new Vice President, C P Radhakrishnan, who took oath on 12 September. In the Vice Presidential elections he secured 452 votes for a maximum possible 437 votes of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Of the 767 votes cast votes, 15 were invalid votes and the opposition candidate secured 300 votes – of a possible 315.

ARMANI

Legendary, iconic, Italian designer Giorgio Armani, a master of style and elegance who reimagined fashion for a modern audience, died on 4 September 2025 at the ripe ‘unfashionable’ age of 91. Armani was indefatigable, driven by relentless curiosity and a deep attention to the present, and to people. He is regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern fashion forever changing the way people think about clothes, something that most fashion designers rarely accomplish. Armani leaves behind one of the most successful business empires in fashion history. The superlatives are deadly.

Armani elevated red carpet fashion to the aura of brightness we see it today. He was the first to ban underweight models-of Body Mass Index (BMI) under 18- from the runway, after model Ana Carolina Reston starved herself to death due to anorexia nervosa, in 2006.

The Armani Fashion House diversified and expanded from fashion into an empire spanning beauty, fragrance, music, sport, and even luxury hotels, earning billions of dollars a year.

Armani revolutionised fashion in the 1970s with minimalist, deconstructed silhouettes (intentionally unfinished), embodied in his famous soft jackets and unstructured suits. He transformed masculine and feminine elegance into a contemporary, sober and sophisticated form. He loosened the restrictions of stiffer styles of suit wear, helping to make men wearing suits feel sophisticated while empowering women in formal settings such as work. In summary, he reinvented the suit: softened menswear making it more sensual and hardened womenswear.

Armani was born in Piacenza, Northern Italy, in July 1934. He was one of three children. His father worked as an accountant. His family’s comfortable middle-class lifestyle was destroyed by the war. He endured a difficult childhood, when there wasn’t very much food on the table, and his mother had a difficult time feeding the children. Going back, his earliest memory was hunger. And he recalled playing with unexploded artillery shells in the street, until one suddenly went off: which severely burnt him, and a close friend was killed.

As a young man, Armani drifted. In 1956, he began a medicine degree, but dropped out after three years, and joined the Army. Swiftly tiring of life in the military, he found a job as a window dresser at La Rinascente – a department store in Milan – where he moved swiftly through the ranks.

Soon, Armani was working for Nino Cerruti – an influential haute couture designer. Within months, Cerruti asked him to restructure the company’s approach. He also went on to design the company’s Hitman Menswear Collection. His work at Cerruti was a crucial period that shaped his future aesthetic, and was also foundational to his knowledge of fabrics. Most designers learn their trade as apprentices or at fashion school, but Armani’s education took place on the shop floor. He learned what fabrics the customers liked, and went to the textile mills to buy them. He became an expert in how cloth was constructed, and used his knowledge to perfect tailoring. While at Cerruti, Armani began to strip away the stiff, traditional Italian tailoring. He created softer, less structured suits that offered men a more modern attitude and freedom of movement.

In 1966, Armani met Sergio Galeotti, a young apprentice architect and fashion designer. Galeotti and Armani began a long personal relationship that would serve as the backbone of their future professional relationship as well. Galeotti prodded Armani to start on his own believing in his potential, and in turn making Armani believe in himself and see the bigger picture in starting his own fashion line.

Then at the age of 41, in 1975, having enough experience and self-belief, and with his partner Sergio Galeotti at his side, he launched his own label, Giorgio Armani. The story goes that Galeotti convinced Armani to sell his Volkswagen Beetle- for start-up capital, to hire staff and secure office space in Milan. They started small: their first office was so dingy that Armani took the shades off the lamps in order to see the fabrics. But their work was nothing short of a revolution in fashion.

Galeotti was the force behind the Armani machine, masterminding the business side, leading the financial sector and administrative aspects of the company.

The 1960s middle classes could not afford haute couture, but yearned for a stylish, distinctive look of their own. With his expertise in fabrics, Armani provided an answer. His fine cloths made possible a menswear range with neat, precise cuts that could be manufactured at scale. Its distinctively Italian style began to influence the way the fashionable dressed. And with more women entering the workplace, Armani spotted an opportunity. “I realised that they needed a way to dress that was equivalent to that of men,” he said. “Something that would give them dignity in their work life.”

With Armani’s elegantly tailored power suits, women were offered an alternative to the stiff and stuffy dresses their mothers had worn to work. They exuded femininity, but were a powerful statement of equality.

Armani received his breakthrough in the 1980s when Hollywood Actor Richard Gere donned Armani suits in the film ‘American Gigolo’. This propelled the brand into the global spotlight, cementing Armani as a household name. Soon, stars from Michelle Pfeiffer to John Travolta embraced his creations, making him the designer of choice for both red carpets and everyday luxury. He broadcast his collection live on the Internet, the first in the world of haute couture, on 24 January 2007.

Armani famously collaborated with model Vittoria Ceretti a prominent Italian supermodel who has frequently worked with Armani throughout her career, appearing in campaigns and wearing his designs at major events.

But Armani didn’t stop at clothes. He expanded into perfumes, eyewear, and multiple lines such as Emporio Armani and Armani Exchange, targeting different segments of the global market. His company’s revenue soared into billions, while his boutiques multiplied across continents. He also built a global hospitality business, spanning hotels, cafes, restaurants and bars, that carried the same elegance as his fashion line. The centrepiece of his hospitality business is the Armani Hotels developed in partnership with Dubai’s Emaar Properties.

As a sports fan, he designed suits for Chelsea and the England football team, and made the uniforms for Italy’s Olympic team in 2012. Working tirelessly Armani through his fashion and hospitality businesses built an empire worthy of a king.

Though Armani remained CEO and sole shareholder right until his death, in his lifetime, Armani drew up a succession plan consisting of a gradual transition of the responsibilities that he had always handled to those closest to him, such as Leo Dell’Orco, the members of his family, and the entire working team. He wanted the succession to be organic and not amount to rupture.

Beyond his family, his heirs will include his long-term collaborator and right-hand man, Pantaelo Dell’Orco, and a foundation. This foundation was established in 2016 and plays a significant role in the preservation of Armani’s legacy and is designed to protect the company. The will instructs heirs to sell a 15% stake in the Italian fashion house within 18 months and later transfer an additional stake to the same buyer between three and five years after his death, or pursue an initial public offering.

His family members, consist of his nieces, Silvana and Roberta Armani, his nephew, Andrea Camerana. Silvana worked at Armani designs, running the womenswear collections. Meanwhile, Roberta, the daughter of his late brother Sergio, has been the director of Armani’s public relations, becoming the bridge between the brand and Hollywood. Roberta orchestrated Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ wedding in an Italian castle in 2006, with Armani personally designing both the bride’s and groom’s attire. Andrea, Armani’s nephew, joined the company in 2000 and worked as both a counsellor and licensing director. He eventually became Armani’s sustainability managing director, and focuses on the brand’s policy toward the environment.

Dell’Orco, described as Armani’s right-hand man, has been involved in the company since 1977 and currently heads the men’s style office. He frequently appears by the designer’s side at various fashion shows, and events. In fact, in June 2025, when Armani missed the menswear show during Milan Fashion Week for the first time in 50 years due to an undisclosed illness, Dell’Orco took over.

Remaining independent his entire life, Armani has also stated in his will no major mergers or IPOs would be permitted until five years after his death, providing a period of stability. With this, he sought to protect his brand against potential acquisitions by other giants in the Industry.

Armani was an intensely private man. He never married or had children. And had relationships with both men and women. He had a longstanding personal relationship with Sergio Galeotti, who died of complications from AIDS in 1985. Reflecting in 2015, Armani said of Galeotti: “when I travel, I bring his photograph. There is something that remains. His spirit lingers. For sure. He lives on. I see Sergio everywhere, and I am sure he sees me. And I have hope that whatever I have done, he knows about it”. Armani described his inability to prevent Galeotti’s death as the greatest failure of his career.

In later years, Armani spent much of his time on his yacht, and loved sailing. He had been in declining health in the months leading up to his death.

More well-dressed stories coming-up in the weeks ahead. Suit and boot yourself with Freewheeling.