A Tale of Two Cities

Situated on the straits on Malacca, on the southenmost tip of Malay Peninsula, that juts out between Sumatra and Borneo, right on the artery of world trade, is the City of Singapore. Singapore, is a very unique city. Geographically, it might very well be the Constantinople of Asia, the bridge of commerce between the Sinicized East, and the Indicised south of Asia. Several billions, if not outright trillions of dollars worth of material passes through Singapore every year, (perhaps every month as well).

Several thousand kilometres away, in the as of writing war ravaged Ukraine, far too the West, near the border of Poland, is the city of Lviv, once an important city of the Kingdom of Ruthenia, later an important city in Poland, and the subsequent Commonwealth and to be known as Lwów, until Poland was eaten up in the Partititions by Austria, Russia and Prussia. Lviv would go on to become a center of Polish nationalism in it's own right during this dark time for Poland, and in the modern day, finds itself in the East of Ukraine, home to several fleeing the devastating war in the East.

Hear Me Roar

What binds Lviv and Singapore, is a common thread, actually binding several cities across the world. Particularly in Europe, with a heraldric penchance of majesty. As it would happen, Lviv is in Latin, what Singapore is in Sanskrit.

Called Leopolis, in Latin, Lviv is actually the city of Lions, (a tradition it shares with several cities across Europe, including everyone's darling Maritime Republic of Venice). Very much how, Singapore, deriving from सिंह - पुर or otherwise lion city, the city of lions.