The Gharial, a pan-media magazine, aims simply at truth in all formats. Writers from across the world contribute, and photo/video/music sections will be coming soon. Please direct comments to editor@thegharial.com
A Word on Us and Our Mascot:
The Gharial (Gavialis Gangeticus) is a massive reptile. That obvious fact doesn't explain why it's our symbol.
The Gharial outlived the entire rest of the Gavialidae family. The Gharial comes from an epoch when massive reptiles made the show, and little mammals scampered out of the way. Then humans hunted it, for no reason other than the Gharial looked scary when alive, but pretty when made into a handbag. A gharial can't eat a person, it's physically incapable. But some ancient terror remained in their little warm-blooded hearts, so they massacred the Gharial to the verge of extinction.
We come from a different time as well, though none in particular. Perhaps when fresh-faced lads strode into their local East India Company and demanded to find their "Hearts of Darkness." Perhaps when minstrels could become princes with a brilliant enough epic. Perhaps when wars could be ended with giant wooden toys. Really just when the world was a dangerous place with many large beasts out to eat you.
The long snout represents directness, though it swivels quickly from side to side to catch fish from any angle. Unlike other reptiles, the Gharial's tongue is not forked; it speaks only truth. Cold-bloodedness in humans often means cruelty, in reptiles it is only the ability to see what needs to be done, then do it. By nature, a cold-blooded creature adapts to its environment, rather than stupidly forcing the opposite. And a thick skin needs no explanation.
What we offer will not make the world any less savage, nor civilization less of a dirty word. This is not the goal. We wish only to entertain, and remind people that forces larger than themselves still prey on the unsuspecting.
The Gharial outlived the entire rest of the Gavialidae family. The Gharial comes from an epoch when massive reptiles made the show, and little mammals scampered out of the way. Then humans hunted it, for no reason other than the Gharial looked scary when alive, but pretty when made into a handbag. A gharial can't eat a person, it's physically incapable. But some ancient terror remained in their little warm-blooded hearts, so they massacred the Gharial to the verge of extinction.
We come from a different time as well, though none in particular. Perhaps when fresh-faced lads strode into their local East India Company and demanded to find their "Hearts of Darkness." Perhaps when minstrels could become princes with a brilliant enough epic. Perhaps when wars could be ended with giant wooden toys. Really just when the world was a dangerous place with many large beasts out to eat you.
The long snout represents directness, though it swivels quickly from side to side to catch fish from any angle. Unlike other reptiles, the Gharial's tongue is not forked; it speaks only truth. Cold-bloodedness in humans often means cruelty, in reptiles it is only the ability to see what needs to be done, then do it. By nature, a cold-blooded creature adapts to its environment, rather than stupidly forcing the opposite. And a thick skin needs no explanation.
What we offer will not make the world any less savage, nor civilization less of a dirty word. This is not the goal. We wish only to entertain, and remind people that forces larger than themselves still prey on the unsuspecting.
