Paris, the city of light, gets ready to paint its Olympic masterpiece

THEY looked strange, almost surreal. The architecture of the Gothic structures that rose on either side of the Seine, stare at you teasingly, reminding you of the past and fusing in the present.

- INDRANEEL DAS

One of Europe's most famous waterways, the Seine has seen a lot. It was mute witness when the Romans conquered Lutetia, a swampy little fishing village on its banks, and it was still looking on when modern Paris rose on that site a few centuries later. It has seen revolts, refor mations, revolutions and romance. And now, history will once again be made on its banks as Paris leads another revolution of liberty, equality, peace and brotherhood. This time though, the river will do a lot more than just witness it.