In Dougie Wallace’s photos of Mumbai taxis, the chatter, yelling, and constant horns of the city are almost audible. A selection of his images is on show at Gayfield Creative Spaces, Edinburgh, as part of the Retina photography festival until 30 July. For four years, the Glasgow-born Wallace focused his photos on one kind of taxi in particular: the Premier Padmini, a 1960s workhorse painted in black and yellow. Locally known as “Kaali-Peeli”, there were once more than 60,000 of them in the Indian city. But thanks to laws restricting pollution, the cars now are fast disappearing from Mumbai’s streets. (Photo by Dougie Wallace/The Guardian)

Do you think that history is a science? Well, not exactly. First, and foremost, history is the state's “legend of wars”, it’s official regalia. Of course, public historians are not interested in scientific truth – quite the opposite. In this respect, any attempt to present a state’s history as altruistic and benevolent as possible is welcomed and encouraged – as opposed to any revisionism attempts that may be more accurate. In this matter, Chinese have surpassed us all – they revised in highly creative manner (but rather shamelessly) the technology already invented by Europeans, a process that resulted in oldest state on the planet. Here is an interesting paradox: ask any sinologist about the Middle Kingdom during second century B.C., and he will describe it to you in such a vivid manner as if he has been living there all his life – but as soon as you will ask him to describe Chinese history in the 19-20th centuries… let's say, his eagerness will be greatly diminished. However, we will discuss China in a different article, and in the meantime we will try to understand how exactly historic “legend of wars” is formed and functions – based on a specific and well-known example. A great example is Ferdinand Magellan's first voyage around the world.

“JWT India created a series of disturbing ads for the Ford Figo, one of which shows former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi flashing a peace sign from the front seat of a car that has three curvaceous women tied up and gagged in the trunk”. – Laura Stampler via Business Insider. (Photo by JWT India)

New York City Deputy Police Commissioner John A. Leach, right, watching agents pour liquor into sewer following a raid during the height of prohibition, circa 1921. (Photo by Tom Marshall/Mediadrumworld)

Members of the general public enjoy the “BEACH” at the National Building Museum August 25, 2015 in Washington, DC. The “BEACH” is an interactive architectural installation, with an “ocean” of nearly one million recyclable translucent plastic balls, that brings the experience of going to the beach indoor. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Visitors visit the upside-down family size house in Taipei, Taiwan, 23 February 2016. The three story upside-down family size house attracts hundreds of visitor’s who are amused with the exhibit. According to the organizers, the total cost of the construction is around 600,000 US Dollars and took 2 months to complete. (Photo by Ritchie B. Tongo/EPA)

American singer-songwriter Chloe Bailey in the first decade of April 2024 shows off her assets in an orange bikini. (Photo by chloebailey/Instagram)

A man cries over the body of his girlfriend, who was killed by shelling in the Kalininsky district of Donetsk, territory under control of the pro-Russian Government of the Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine, Thursday, June 9, 2022, during the Russian invasion. (Photo by Alexei Alexandrov/AP Photo)