It’s Just a ‘Matter of Time’ Travel

Time travel, isn’t it such a fascinating idea? Imagine having the ability to control time at your whim or having the super-power to travel back to the past or see what lies ahead in the future. What a concept! There’s so much one could do with it, witness things they didn’t have the chance to – well, due to a lack of ‘time’. Someone who genuinely wants to fix something and mend their wrongdoings would find blessings in this concept.

The paradox of time travel talks about oddities, not impossibilities – it states that a possible world where time travel took place would be a most strange world and very different from the world we think is ours. A few years ago, Stephen Hawking stated that he had ‘experimental evidence that time travel is not possible.’ But, that’s a topic to be discussed for another day.

However, if time travel was possible and everyone had access to a time machine, the world would become this really crazy place. I guess it would be great to just give access to those in dire need or who is responsible. Well, we will definitely need a set of rules to follow and specific eligibility criteria to use a time machine. I might be going on a different tangent now, but that’s how much the concept of time travel fascinates me.

Now before I create a fantasy world of my own, I might just stop and instead share what my teammates would do if given a time machine. Read on to know more!

Madhurima Roy

I would go back to 69 BC, Egypt & be in Cleopatra’s court as her advisor! Cleopatra is arguably the most fascinating woman who has ever lived. The Pharaoh is so captivating that 2000 years after her death, there are nearly 200 films, movies and documentaries and almost 4000 books written about her. Contrary to popular belief that Cleopatra was merely a seductress (a tactic she used sometimes), it was her political prowess that lifted her status to legendary. She used her femininity and brilliant tactics to maintain her own political power during some of the most dangerous and complicated times the world ever saw.

And if I can’t reach out to Cleopatra, given my luck, I might as well be an enslaved person. Help drag a rock, 10,000 miles across the desert in extreme heat, to pile up on a new pyramid. I’d either run into some guy named Moses or some handsome pharaoh and get hitched! Maybe steal a bunch of scrolls from the Library of Alexandria or some ancient jewels for real! I don’t especially wish to be stoned to death or enslaved by a pharaoh for my mischievousness, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be mummified!

Saumya Singh

If I ever get a time machine, I would love to go and live in the times of Harappan and Indus Valley civilizations. These chapters in history have always intimidated me. Reading about the Great Bath, the concept of the Citadel, planned drainage system, barter system, granaries and much more has always made me want to go and experience life in an architectural marvel built around 1700 BCE. Also, the historians have mentioned the kind of jewellery that people adorned. I want to wear such jewellery made by heating bricks and amulets sealed with fire. I wish to live in houses made up of bricks and play with terracotta dolls.

I would have loved to see the making of the two iconic remnants of this civilization – ‘Dancing Girl‘ and ‘Priest King‘. I wonder how these beautiful sculptures were made without any modern-day equipment. Also, the farming practices that made them one of the biggest exporters of cotton, grains, wheat, and barley made me curious and pushed me to learn the import-export business from our ancestors who managed everything so well and kept the economy growing. So, if I had a chance to travel back in time, I will definitely go to the Harappan Civilization.   

Anushka Dave

As boring as this may sound, I want you to know this is how I feel. I am neither passionate to go to the past nor excited to know about the future. What has happened is in the past and what comes ahead of us is a box of surprises. I wouldn’t want to know about something which might disrupt my peace in any sort. So I would love to live in the present and anticipate what life holds for me next. I would hate myself for not using it to unravel all the world’s secrets, but again, we could leave for scientists to find out. The thought behind my reasoning is that I don’t want to prepare myself for the future circumstances which will help me grow. I also do not want to go into the past to change my mistakes because that has forged me into who I am today. So yes, I would very much like to stay in the moment and work hard on building a wonderful future.

Safiya Khanam

If I ever get my hands on a time machine, I am going straight to the 17-18th century. History textbooks and movies have always left me wishing and imagining me walking through the halls of castles and darbars back then. 

Be it the Mughal Era of India or the Early Modern period of the Europeans, I want to see it all and live that life for a few days. My to-do list would definitely include wearing corsets and crinoline, going to ball dances, sitting in carriages, wearing a knight’s armour, and probably watching a war happen! And if I end up on the Asian continent, I’m definitely walking through the mahals and darbars of the Badshahs (kings) and Ranis (queens), see the lined-up courtiers, learn sword fighting and witness the royalty and customs of the people back then. 

This era was definitely the most fascinating. Although I’m glad I live in the 21st century, I’m definitely taking my time machine back in history to gawk at the lifestyle, places, clothing, music, and dances of the people living then.

Anushree Acharya

The concept of ‘time travel’ has always fascinated me. This is mainly due to the sci-fi movies and TV shows I watched over the years. If I had the chance to time travel, I would love to have the power to control time at my whim. On days that I feel it’s flying by too fast, I would love to slow it down, and on days that feel dull, I would love to make it fly really fast.

On another note, I would love to go back in time and witness the era of the 20s. There’s so much to learn from that era; the period which saw economic prosperity, the development of automobiles, films, radios, telephones and other electrical appliances. Art, culture and fashion flourished during this time. Most importantly, women enjoyed a freedom that they had never enjoyed earlier. They could vote, have a job (both blue-collar and white-collar); there was ease in the household work due to new machines and technologies like washing machines and vacuum cleaners. Women’s fashion had more simplicity, and the silhouettes were very comfortable. The hemlines became shorter, and women had the liberty to experiment more with their styles.

I have always admired all things vintage, and I would love to live in that era and experience the concept of following a rule. There was an outfit for every time of the day, every outing and every type of party. How wonderful it would be to have a closet from the 1920s! My heart weeps in joy every time I think about it. Well, I will come back from my fantasy land to the present and enjoy the fashion trends that keep getting recycled every now and then.

Jaishree Tambi

If I were given a chance to time travel, I’d like to go 10 years into the future, which would definitely blow minds. Getting 10 years forward would be insanely amazing—the social norms and taboos, the music and fashion, the advancements in technology and philosophies on life would be beyond our imagination and amazingly enlightening to learn about. It would be great to know if humans managed to solve major problems like global warming, poverty, etc. Moreover, I would love to know how my life will turn out after 10 years. The world might be totally different, but I’d probably understand the changes enough to quickly catch up to speed. We might learn a lot, but it would still leave a lot of mystery about where humanity is headed and the nature of the universe.

And what about you? What would you do if you got hold of a time machine? Let us know in the comments below!