The price of an empire

Did you know Akihito happens to be the only monarch who still refers to himself as an emperor? Bhumibol Adulyadej might be the longest serving king but then he's just a king. And Elizabeth II is on the verge of creating history in two weeks' time by becoming the longest reigning British monarch ever. But then, again, she's just a queen. An emperor is a much bigger denomination. Which is why i found a recent comment rather misinformed. Somebody called Aurangzeb a mass murderer—arguing that he doesn't deserve to be remembered or commemorated—conveniently forgetting that he was an emperor. And if one takes even a glimpse of history—no matter how muddled or misinterpreted—it's more than enough to understand no emperor can claim exoneration from the tag of a mass murderer. Be it Ashoka or Alexander or Genghis Khan or Charlemagne or Akbar or Musa or Shaka, each one of them killed and then some more to ensure that they remained the emperor of their times. They were no different from Aurangzeb even if one brings the religious angle into picture. At the end of the long day, people were killed for power's sake.

Completing a circle

They say that Christopher Columbus discovered America when the correct usage should be "Christopher Columbus discovered America...by mistake!" But then, you can always excuse the Italians (erstwhile Romans) for their mind-depriving errors. Nevertheless, humankind owes a lot to them in any case be it science, cuisine, religion, philosophy or matters pertaining exclusively to genitals. They've seen it and done it all. Of course, they are no longer the world's largest producer of wine anymore but still, for ol' time's sake, you have to give them their befitting due. Sticking to the topic, if it weren't for Columbus, there would be no New World per se. There wouldn't have been much delight in what we like to call the modern world, would there? There wouldn't have been no Hollywood. No Al Pacino or Robert De Niro or Leonardo DiCaprio. No nothing. Just some of the reasons why it's very interesting to note that a black-skinned President of a nation discovered by an Italian but currently inhabited by a white majority is visiting a nation Sig. Columbus originally intended to stumble upon. And let's not even get into Sonia Gandhi's origin.