PINEY RIDGE TRAIL HIKE

Straightaway, uphill we toiled
As our duds with sweat we soiled,
Eight hikers all fairly hale,
On up the Piney Ridge Trail
Through the mountain laurel.

It's not an easy climb,
Especially in the summer time.
Of such a trail you can be sure
When you hike with T. Upshur,
I'd say, every time.

We hiked along a ridge line,
Which I think was fine
Even though we couldn't see out,
For the laurel blooms were out,
So beautiful in the bright sunshine.

After a few rest stops,
We finally reached the top
Where it was almost cool.
T carried with him a tool,
The stray branches for to lop.

Since no one was badly drooping,
On top we did a bit of looping.
We followed a route worked out by T.
On the Sulfur Spring Trail and A.T.
Then back toward the cars we went trooping.

And I do declare
'Twas all downhill from there.
Downhill is what I'd rather.
As for the weather,
It continued to be fair.

SURPRISING ATTITUDE

Here we have an attitude
That shows a lack of gratitude.
It really is surprising
That they call this advertising.
How can they be so rude?

PARROT PILFERS PASSPORT

Though a passport it needed not,
The parrot liked this one a lot.
It beaked the book with ease
And flew off into the trees,
Leaving its owner on the spot.

DON'T SMILE

For your DL photo don't you smile.
Just be neutral a little while.
The reason that lies this rule beneath
Is that if you show your teeth
A face reader cannot compile.

SATI

Is there any custom so nutty
As that of widow sati,
Which ended a widow's life?
I guess the status of a wife
Was about like that of putty.

Whether he was working or retired,
When an Indian man expired
It was his widow's duty,
Be she homely or a beauty,
To jump on his cremation pyre.

THE RANI OF JHANSI

I won't keep you in the dark
About India's Joan of Arc.
The year was 1857.
She was one more than twice eleven.
And the fighting, it was stark.

Dead was the king of Jhansi.
So it fell to her as Rani.
She took charge of the troops,
And she never let them droop,
For she was a spunky lady.

Being greatly in demand,
Of volunteers she took command.
She died fighting for the cause.
Of her bravery it is because
That she's a heroine throughout her land.

I want you to understand
That on this she had not planned.
But the situation deteriorated
Until to fight she was obligated.
Then the British got the upper hand.

MY HIGH SCHOOL XC TEAM

I think of my team of '55,
On which I was number five.
How many are running still
Now we're so over the hill?
How many are still alive?

INDIA'S HISTORY

About the Mughals we've learned a bit,
But let us not forget
That it's but a sample
Of a history that's so ample
When you think of all of it.

Think of Indian lives in times medieval
Under rulers in league with the devil.
Think of royal offspring,
Men named Singh,
And the partition upheaval.

Folks obliged to make a hajj
Made troubles hard to dodge.
Indians no doubt were skittish
When along came the British
And built a mighty raj.

There were maharajas by the score
And all too often war.
There were some nasty fellas.
There were Lodis, Cholas and Chandelas
And, I'm sure, many more

Like Persians, Sultans, Afghans, to name a few,
Xxxxxx, Yyyyy, and others quite a few,
Like Dutch, French, and Portugese
And others such as these
And, lately, independence too.

An event not so minor
Was their war with China.
On this they did not plan,
Nor on those with Pakistan.
(That's clear from my recliner.)

A lot they've been through,
These people largely Hindu.
But they've had Mohandas Ghandi,
The Congress party
And the family Nehru.

FRANK CONTE

Enjoy the reunion, Frank.
We have you to thank
And others like you
Who, in World War II,
From duty never shrank.

LU, REPUBLICAN CENTER

LU is a Republican hub.
It abides no Democrat club.
If you're a Democrat
And LU is where you're at,
I guess you flubbed the dub.

CRAPS RECORD

Craps she's now played twice.
The dice to her were nice.
Her rolls were a hundred fifty four.
No one's done that before.
Her winnings should suffice.

STUDENT TAX

For taxes cities thirst.
This would be one of the worst.
Making students nervous is
This proposed tax on services.
Of its kind this is the first.

CHIEF SNEAD

A pay cut our cops don't need.

Preventing it will be Mr. Snead.

In his budget he'll find relief.

He says he is the chief,

And he is indeed.

EARLY BIRDS

It's a deal with high mileage
From our community college.
For the kids it's right cool.
When they finish high school,
They're halfway through college.

PEOPLE POWER

What little power they can glean
From an exercise machine --
From riders who approve
On a bike that will not move --
They glean it in Eugene.

If you have energy to get rid,
You can put it in the grid.
Your power is not a lot.
Economical it's really not.
Educational it is instead.

INDIA'S ELECTIONS

India will now be able
To have a government stable.
The elections are over.
To do much, moreover,
The commies won't be able.

After a month-long, five-phase process to elect the members of the lower house of India's parliament, results were counted (most of them anyway) and released yesterday. May 16.

This is from an Internet article:
India's ruling party wins resounding victory

"NEW DELHI – The ruling Congress party swept to a resounding victory Saturday in India's mammoth national elections, defying expectations as it brushed aside the Hindu nationalist opposition and a legion of ambitious smaller parties."

"The strong showing by the party, which is dominated by the powerful Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, laid to rest fears of an unstable, shaky coalition heading the South Asian giant at a time when many of it neighbors are plagued by instability, civil war and rising extremism."

"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared victory, telling reporters that voters had given the Congress party-led coalition a 'massive mandate.'"

This is from Ramana Rajgopaul, an Indian whom I don't know at all who is an aquaintance of Cynthia Springer, a member of our travel group:

"Our election process is over, and contrary to many opinions, it is now possible to have a stable and progressive government for the next five years. The greatest result has been the substantial reduction in the number of seats that the communists have won. They cannot now act as spoilers. With a stable government, we can now look forward to handling the Pakistan and Taliban problem with more optimism."

BUFFALO PLANE CRASH

There were warnings they did not heed
Because of chit-chat they did not need.
They might well have made it
Had they accelerated,
Nosing down to pick up speed.

CIVIL WAR SURGEONS

Changing dressings when they began to stink,
They were more advanced than we think.
They sometimes with prostheses
Replaced limbs shattered to pieces,
After amputating quicker than a wink.

STEFAN & CASSIE

Cancer surely fun is not.
Three bouts, that's a lot.
She's been at his side.
With each other satisfied,
They will tie the knot.

They'll soon be graduating.
For next May they're waiting.
Four years in college spent.
For each other they are meant.
That's beyond debating.

LU MARRIAGE MILL

Liberty students are reminded
That their mates can there be finded.
When the real world the face,
They won't find another place
With so many prospects like-minded.

'CILE TURNER

Talent she did not lack,
This white lady who sang black.
Her voice could be no clearer
Than when to this lady's era
Her recordings take you back.

POPLAR FOREST ARCHITECTURE

Along came Andreas Palladio,
Of architecture the daddy - oh.
He measured buildings Roman.
His own with them had much in common
And became somewhat faddy - oh.

Along came Thomas Jefferson,
Who always loved the octagon.
Interested in how a building looks,
In college he bought Palladio's books
And learned more in Paris later on.

Tom built his retreat as a man mature.
Interested in blending man with nature,
Symmetry, landscaping, convenience,
Porticos, and a classical influence,
He was his own man for sure.

Saturday afternoon Helen and I attended an interesting talk by Travis McDonald at Poplar Forest (Thomas Jefferson's second home). McDonald is Director of Archaeology at Poplar Forest.

Andreas Palladio wrote books on architecture in the 1550s and 1570s after being a stone cutter in the 1520s, studying the only available archeological books in the 1930s, and then going to Rome to study Roman ruins. He created architectur for villas, taking ideas, such as porticos, from public buildings and putting them on private houses

Poplar Forest has been said to be the last true Palladian house. It was a blend of ideas from Palladio and others and Jeffersonian innovations, including the wing of "offices" with the flat roof on top. Jefferson worked on that flat roof for 30 years, trying nine different variations.

CHRISTINE

Christine has a lot of poise.
No one this annoys.
All her skirts are highs --
Way up on her thighs.
This is pleasing to us boys.

And this to me it means:
With her, by all means,,
I'd keep an appointment.
It would be a disappointment
If she was wearing jeans.


Yes, her name is Christine. No, I won't tell you more.

ATONEMENT NEEDED

These boys really should atone.
Their misdeeds to all are known.
Their conduct is appalling.
They would have had a scalding
Had Old Faithful blown.

The Roanoke Times, 16 May 2009:

Yellowstone workers fired for urinting on geyser

"CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- Two seasonal Yellowstone National Park concession workers have been fired after a live webcam caught them urinating into the Old Faithful geyser."

Park spokesman Al Nash said a 23-year-old man was fined $750 on Tuesday and placed on three years of unsupervised probation for uninaing, being off trail in a restricted area and taking items from the area. The man also was banned from Yellostone for two years. The second employee's case is pending."

"The park's dispatch center was called after someone watching a webcam on the geyser saw six employees leaving the trail and walking on Old Faithful on May 4. The geyser was not erupting at the tiem."

"Xanterra Parks & Rsorts general manager Jim McCaleb said the former concession workers were hired at the Old Fithful Inn and that such incidents were rare."

BABY BOOM

Do you know what it was like
After Hurricane Ike?
Other options away were taken,
Leaving little but baby-making.
That's how it caused a baby spike.

The Roanoke Times, 16 May 2009:

MATERNITY

Baby boom expected 9 months after storm

"HOUSTON -- It's taking a while for one consequence of Hurricane Ike to become clear -- nine months, to be exact."

"Several obstetricial practices associated with one of Texas' biggests hospitals for births say they're expecting a baby boom apparently connected with the storm that slammed into southeast Texas on Sept. 13, stranding thousands of people at home with no electricity for days or even weeks."

"'You can only do so much when there's no television, nothing open and there's nowhere to go,' said Dr. Rakhi Dimino, an obstetrician/gynocologist with Houston Women;s Care Associates ..."

Dr. John Irwin, the chief of surgery service at The Women's Hospital of Texas, said he usually delivers 15 to 20 babies a month but expects 26 deliveries in June.

HUMAYAN

The second Mughal Empire boss,
The whole empire Humayan lost,
Won it back in warfare gory,
And built a tomb for his own glory
At quite a lot of cost.

He was an addict and alcoholic

And, according to a critic,

His greatest deed by far

Was the fathering of Akbar

Who, as greatest, is my pick.

LESLEY'S RACE

Not only just for fun
Monday's race was by us run.
Of course, it was Memorial Day.
We kept that in mind all the way
As we ran it for the Kidney Fund.

There were some beginners.

All knew they'd have good dinners.

As medal earners, some stood out.

Others went home without.

All of us were winners.

AURANGZEB

The sixth Mughal king India had
Wanted to be king so bad,
I have to tell you,
That his brothers he slew
And locked up his dad.

Aurangzeb ruled for years quite a few.
Under him the kingdom grew.
Ruthlessness and bigotry his traits,
He stirred up discontent and hate
Among his subjects Hindu.

He who for power couldn't wait
Left the treasury in a sorry state.
Leaving damage hard to undue
And weak successors too,
He was the last king great.

JAHANGIR & NUR JAHAN

Of wives he had plenty
When along came number twenty.
He wanted so much to pet her
That he proposed the day he met her.
He was that sentimenty.

Jahangir was always stoned.
Nur Jahan was the power behind the throne.
(As an addict and alcoholic,
Jahangir always was too sick
To govern on his own.)

WHAT IF

What if boobs were not hidden
And gawking were not forbidden?
If that were the case,
There'd be a smile on my face,
And I'm not kiddin'.

SHAH JAHAN

Shah Jahan's queen, Mumtaz Mahal,
Had seventeen pregnancies in all.
Fourteen were live births.
She died in childbirth.
Jahan built her the Taj Mahal.

Nineteen years they were married.
Three times the queen miscarried.
Twenty-three years the project took.
When you're in Agra, take a look.
From Makrana the marble was quarried.

The Taj makes us assume
Mumtaz needed a big tomb
Most three hundred feet tall,
Of marble with inlaid walls
And with plenty of room.

This monument so fair
Built with the greatest of care
Is the ultimate sublimity,
And it had perfect symmetry
Till he was in it interred.

The shah lived on broken hearted
Over the loss of his queen departed.
And imagine how disappointed
When his third son self-annointed
And a new reign started.

As the shah lived on in Agra Fort,
I can, having been there, report
He looked out on the Taj Mahal
Wherein lay Muntaz Mahal
Until he, too, was mort.

Those who in the Taj have been
Know it holds both shah and queen
Down below those coffins false,
Surrounded by those marble walls,
Where it's tourist free and, no doubt, serene.

AKBAR

Though he came out of no school,
Akbar was nobody's fool.
Though he could not read,
The advice he could heed
Of his nine jewels.

Fine things you learn at Fatepuhr Sikri

About Akbar, strong as hickory.

No infidel could outlast him.

I wouldn't have put it past him

To resort to trickery.

ORAL SEX

I have no quarrel
If sex be done oral.
For those who do it,
Let them go to it,
Be it moral or immoral.

About it I've wondered.

Into it I've not blundered.

Should I make it a plan

Since I'm an old man

Approaching one hundred?

I might not so much cower

Were it right after a shower.

If my taste buds are not faulty,

It might be a bit salty

But surely not sour.

I wouldn't dive in pell mell.

I'd first check out the smell.

No more time would I then waste

In checking out the taste

If the fragrance was swell.

SHIRLEY AND CLARENCE

Shirley and Clarence
Were not good at forbearance
When their lack of a condom
Caused them a conundrum.
So now they are parents.

QUTUB ADDENDUM

He caused a lot of sorrow.
Temple stones he loved to borrow.
This message I can send:
Of India he was no friend,
Though he left a mighty tower.

SAWAI

This maharajah of Jaipur
Made his kingom purr.
There's been no monarch finer
As a city designer,
Mathematician and astronomer.

Perhaps you may have heard
The title on him conferred.
It was a pretty tall order
Living up to one and a quarter,
But passions in Sawai stirred.

He designed the city of Jaipur,
With wide streets, you can be sure.
Sawai didn't fool around
But relocated into town.
His new palace there he preferred.

Sawai built the Jantar Martar.
For this he had no mentor.
Perhaps his crowning glory,
This astronomy observatory
Aids astrology summer and winter.

Sawai was a lady's man.
Understand it not I can,
But ten were the wives he had.
Was this a maharajah fad?
They helped him grow his clan.

He visited each wife in her chamber

In the Palace Amber.

He came through a secret passage

And delivered a loving message

Once into bed they clambered.

The wife of whom he was most fond -- oh,

She had the nicest condo.

Keeping it was an art.

A small mistake on her part

Could her status undue.

His system worked out fine

And was never undermined.

Guarded by Sawai's eunuch,

Who always wore a tunic,

Were his wives and concubines.

Maharajah "Sawai Jai Singh II, remarkable Monarch of Jaipur, was a mathematician, an astronomer, and a town planner par excellence." He founded and designed the layout of the city of Jaipur with its wide streets, built a new palace there, and in 1727 moved to it from the nearby Amber Fort Palace.

He built the Jantar Mantar obervatory in Jaipur in 1728. This observatory does not contain a telescope. It contains very accurate "instruments" including sundials, useful under clear skies. These stationary instruments are more or less house-size. Because of the importance of astrology, it was very important to know precisely the timing of certain astronomical events.

Maharajah Jai Singh II was given the title "Sawai," meaning one and a quarter, by the Mughal emperor, who said he was worth one and a quarter of any other maharajah.

Concerning a small detail, it is by way of poetic license and not bad memory that I have attributed certain features of the new palace in Jaipur to the old Amber (or Amer) Fort Palace. These are (1) the secret passageways from the maharajah's apartment to the apartments of his wives, and (2) the nicer apartment for the favorite wife as compared to the apartments for the other nine wives. Perhaps similar features also applied to the Amber Fort Palace, but I don't know that.

GREENWEAVER

In ecology an investor,
Jo D'Angelo is an attestor
That used plastic bottles,
Whatever they bottled,
Make a fine polyester.

The Roanoke Times, 6 May 2009:

A Salem company is poised to turn recycled plastic into graduation gowns.

Cut from different cloth

"D'Angleo and Hodges said customer inquiries and the company's own environmental concerns helped lauch Oak Hall's exploration of producing gowns and mortarboards from recycled materials."

"But a 'spork' played a role."

"Aboutr 15 months ago, D'Angelo said, he paused during lunch on a college campus to muse about his biodegradable utensil -- a marriage of spoon and fork."

"'If a spork can be environmentally friendly, why not a graduation gown?' he wondered."

"At first, at Oak Hall's direction, a company supplier experimented with fabric from bamboo."

"'It was terrible,' D'Angelo said."

"Easily wrinkled, the material quickly resembled Shar-Pei."

"Next came plastic from recycled bottles."

"Fourteen months of development yielded GreenWeaver, a fabric that feels lik ployester cloth. Oak Hall said it is the only company in the cap-and-gown business poised to manufacture gowns from recycled plastic."

PADRE CUTIE

When he vowed to stay celibate
It really sealed his fate,
Putting romance out of reach.
Yet he romanced on the beach
With a delightful date.

It's not for Padre Cutie,
Who pledged to romance no cutie,
To consult with an attorney
While on his prayerful journey,
Relieved for now of duty.

Though contrition he may not lack,

He can no way go back.

The fact he must face

That he has fallen from grace

And other priests will take up the slack.

"JODAA"

To assure peace with mighty Akbar,
The maharaja in Palace Amber
Decided that he oughta
Betroth him his daughter.
So "Jodaa" married Akbar.

Would it cause a rough patch
That their faiths were a mismatch?
For Akbar it was no whim,
For crucial it was to him
That a son she should hatch.

As they married, Akbar was elated.
Then patiently he waited and waited.
He displayed a big smile
As he waited a long while
Till their marriage was consumated.

There was naught, I must say,
That she gained by delay.
Had she been a bit smarter,
She'd have been a prompt starter
And cozied up right away.

Couldn't she have pretended
When so much depended?
Shouldn't she have cooperated
While instead her husband waited
For a period so extended?

I guess it wasn't easy
For a Hndu to love a Ghazi.
We shouldn't be surprised
That when he gazed into her eyes
She felt a little queasy.

After quite some time the empress,
Naked and with tenderness,
Came on to the emperor
And, just then, likewise he to her,
And it led to success.

For the truth did not escape her
That otherwise he might rape her.
So they loved hot and heavy
Till with child she was heavy
And that caused them to taper.

If the film's suggestion be true,
"Jodaa" ever remained Hindu.
Of his three wives, she was the one
Who gave Akbar a son.
'Twas the best thing she could for him do.

Things for them had clicked.
Don't know if they were strict.
Akbar had a helpful Hindu hon
And now as well his son --
The future king and addict.

Their joy was extreme
Now that true was their dream.
'Twas truly earth-shaking.
Seven years it had taken.
And they named him Salim.

Akbar, who was nice at court,
In war was a different sort.
Especially early in his reign,
From cruelty he did not refrain
But practiced it like a sport.

And "Jodaa," perhaps she changed.
Much help for Islam she arranged
When she could along her path.
I wonder if her faith
For Islam she exchanged.

"Jodaa" became a power in the court.
To good projects she gave support.
No longer Hindu (should we assume?),
She built herself a tomb,
According to report.

On January 20, 1562 the third Mughal emperor, Akbar, married a Rajput Indian princess. They were both the same age, 19 years. She was Hindu. He was Muslim. She was the eldest daughter of the maharajah in the Amber Fort Palace near the present city of Jaipur. The maharajah's territory bodered the emperor's. The marriage was intended to cement peaceful relations and create an alliance between the two realms. (The emperor was famous for diplomacy, and the maharajah was a good diplomat as well. And marriage was a diplomatic device.) It's reasonable to assume that the religion difference may have been seen by some as a potential problem.

In the evening in our hotel near Jaipur we watched the 3.5-hour film "Jodaa Akbar." We also learned about a little about "Jodaa" from our guides, particularly when we toured the fort-palace Fatehpur Sikri near Agra (her home after she was married).

About the film, I remarked to our trip leader-guide, Som Bose, that it must be a little history and a whole lot of fill in. He agreed. I didn't realize then the extent of it.

I composed several verses based on what I had learned. Then I read some Wikepedia articles on the subject. I wrote additional verses to reflect some of the things I learned from the articles. Here are some points that interest me:

1. Jodaa wasn't her name at all (nor Jodhaa, nor Jodha, nor Jodha Bai, nor Jodhabai) although there is a popular perception that she was known as Jodha Bai. She was never known as such during her lifetime. Her maiden name was Rajkumari Hira Kunwari Sahiba (or just Hira Kumwari), alias Harkha Bai. Her married title was Mariam-uz-Zamani Begum Sahiba, often shortened to Mariam-uz-Zamani, and meaning "Mary of the age."

The name Jodha Bai erroneously first came into use for her in historical writings of the 18th and 19th centuries. A particular book is mentioned as first using the name Jodha for her. According to the Wikipedia article, Jodha Bai or rather Jodh Bai was actually the name of Jahangir's Rajput wife Princess Manmati of Johhpur, whose real name was Jata Gosain. (This Jodh Bai was a daughter-in-law of "Jodaa.")

"Jodaa" was indeed the mother of Nuruddin Salim Jahangir (1569-1627), who became Akbar's successor, the fourth Mughal emperor (ruled 1605 - 1627).

Akbar is a title meaning "Great." Akbar's full name was Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar.

2. A major theme of the movie is that "Jodaa" insisted on remaining Hindu (not converting to or being force or coerced to convert to Islam), and that she was permitted to remain Hindu, and that she did remain Hindu. According to the movie,"Jodaa" (who in reality probably had no say in the matter) was willing to marry Akbar but only if she could remain Hindu.

It is reasonable that she was permitted to remain Hindu because Akbar has the reputation of being exceptionally liberal about religion and tolerant of Hinduism. Actually, Akbar was liberal toward Hindus some of the time and cruel to them at other times.

Apparently "Jodaa" was allowed to practice Hinuism freely. But did she eventually change her faith of her own accord? Here are four items in a Wikipedia article that suggest that she may have changed her faith:

(a) "Maryam Zamani died in 1622. .... Her tomb, built in 1611, is on the Delhi-Agra National Highway, near Fatehpur Sikri. She was buried according to Islamic custom and was not cremated according to the Hindu religion."

(b) "... the mosque of Mariyam Zamani Begum was constructed in Lahore, Pakistan, in her honour."

(c) "Maryam Zamani owned and oversaw the ships that carried pilgrims to and from the Islamic holy city Mecca."

(d) "Maryam Zamai used her wealth and influence to build ... mosques around the country." It doesn't say she supported the building of Hindu temples.

3. Another major theme of the movie is that it was Jodaa's father, the maharajah in the Amber Fort Palace, who came up with the idea and advanced the idea of her marrying the Mughal emperor, Akbar. (He was Kacchwaha Rajput, Raja Bharmal, Raja of Amber, the older name of the state of Jaipur.) There is an item in the Wikipedia article that hints it might have been otherwise, i.e., that maybe Akbar came up with the idea and applied pressure, or that maybe it was the maharajah's idea, but he and others of his family didn't feel good about it, maybe felt it was something distasteful that circumstances required.

"Still there is an ambiguity over her rajput origin. Rajputs are said to have swapped their daughter with a low caste maid as the final revenge just before the royal marriage. Though there is no historical evidence, such stories are common among Rajputs mostly suggesting redemption of her honor."

Well, Akbar wasn't always the fairy-tale nice guy depicted in the movie. (Maybe he was in court.) Terrible things happened to the citizens of little kingdoms who defied and fought him and lost, and they were sure to lose. See Items 8 and 10.

4. The movie doesn't make anything explicit about other wives. Since other wives are not mentioned in the movie, one could conclude from it that "Jodaa" was Akbar's only wife at the time, i.e., his first wife. At Fatehpur Sikri we learned that Akbar had three wives. From a Wikipedia article I learned that "Jodaa" was indeed Akbar's third wife.

I went to the Internet about the question of how many wives Akbar eventually had. It seems that he eventually had seven principal wives, whereas Islam allowed only four wives, and that he eventually had a total of some 300 wives, and a total harem or over 4,000 women (mostly concubines and slaves)!

I was curious what other children besides Salim were fathered by Akbar. I didn't learn any specifics, but I presume with 300 wives or even seven wives, there must have eventually been a bunch.

I also took an interest in learning some details about his first and second wives. "Akbar's first queen was the childless Ruqaiyya Begum." She was his cousin, and he married her when he was 15. I couldn't learn when she was born or when she died. Akbar's "second wife was Salima Sultan, the widow of his most trusted general, Bairam Khan." Bairam Khan was also Akbar's regent and guardian. I couldn't learn much about Salima Sultan except that she died in 1613. Since Bairam Khan's death was in 1561, her marriage to Akbar had to have occurred right after Bairam's death and only a short time before Akbar's marriage to "Jodaa" in January, 1562. How old Salima Sultan was in 1561 I can only guess, and I guess she was 25 or 30. Salima Sultan at least had one daughter with Bairam because she is mentioned as a mother-in-law of Jahangir.

5. The movie ends early in the marriage -- before the birth of her son. There was no mention one way or the other in the movie about the eventual standing of "Jodaa." She lived from 1542 to 1622. Akbar lived from 1542 to 1605 and ruled from 1556 to 1605. I learned from a Wikipedia article that "Jodaa" became an exceptionally powerful person in the Mughal court.

"She is said to have been politically involved in the court until Nur Jahan became empress."

"Like few other women at the Moghul court, Maryam-uz-Zamani could issue official documents (singularly called farman), which was usually the exclusive privilege of the emperor. Maryam Zamai used her wealth and influence to build gardens, wells, and mosques around the country."

6. Mention of Nur Jahan in my Wikipedia article on "Jodaa" led me to look up a Wikepedia article on Nur Jahan. And that's a heck of a story. Nur Jahan (1577-1645) was the 20th and favorite wife of Jahangir. (So she was a daughter-in-law of "Jodaa.") She married fourth emperor Jahangir in 1611 and became the most famous empress of the Mughal Empire. The name Nur Jahan was given to her by Jahangir and is composed of parts of his name. "She remains historically significant for the sheer amount of imperial authority she wielded - the true 'power behind the throne,' as Jahangir was battling serious addictions to alcohol and opium throughout his reign - and is known as one of the most powerful women who ruled India with an iron fist."

7. It seems strange to me that Akbar was illiterate, could barely sign his name. The court certainly would have had the resources to provide him an education as a youth. Could it be that an unsuccessful attempt had been made to educate him? His grandfather, Babur, was literate. His father, Humayan, died from a fall on the steps in his library. His guardian, Bairam Khan, was a noted poet who wrote in three languages. Although Akbar was illiterate, he had libraries of books on various subjects, and he had people read them to him. And he had his "nine jewels," learned men who discussed various topics with him.

8. Akbar is depicted in the film as the exact opposite of what he was in terms of treatment of captured "infidels."

I have an article from the Internet titled The Real Akbar, The (Not) So Great. "Akbar ... ordered slaughter of all the captives from Hemu's army after the second battle of Panipat and had a victory tower built with their heads." Hemu's elderly father was slain when he refused to convert to Islam.

"Similarly, Akbar later on ordered a massacre of 30,000 plus unarmed captive Hindu peasants after the fall of Chitod on February 24, 1568."

"It is indeed true that Akbar drifted from orthodox Islamic practices and became more tolerant of other religions. However, more often Akbar used and twisted religious principles to his own advantagee."

"... his rule was better compared ONLY to the other Mughal and Turko-Afgani rules."

See Item 10.

9. Akbar attempted without success to found a religion "in which he vaguely tried to combine practices of Islam and Hinduism."

10. A critical event in the movie is based on historical fact, but related details were changed. This is from an Internet article: "In this second battle of Panipat, the Mughals were saved by a lucky accident after a hard fight which looked more than likely to go against them. An arrow hit Hemu in the eye and although it did not kill him it had peirced the cerebral cavity enough to make him unconscious. In any battle of this period the death of the leader meant an end of the fight, and the sight of Hemu slumped in the howdah of his famous elephant Hawai was enough to make his army turn tail. Shah Quli Khan captured the Hawai elephant with its prize occupant, and took it directly to Akbar. Hemu was brought unconscious before Akbar and Bairam. Bairam pleaded Akbar to perform the holy duty of slaying the infidel and earn the Islamic holy title of 'Ghazi.' Among much self-congratulation Akbar then severed the head of unconscious Hemu with his saber." Apparently the title of Ghazi was a badge of honor and right of passage. "Akbar like all Mughal rulers had the holy Muslim title of Ghazi (slayer of kaffer - infidel)."

In the movie this arrow shot was not an "accident." Rather, an archer was sent into battle with the mission to shoot Hemu in the eye and succeeded in doing so. Taking nothing away from the skill of medieval archers, I think this is far-fetched. His eyes were his only features not protected by Hemu's helmet and other armor.

In the movie Akbar (age 14) declined to slay Hemu. So Bairam slayed Hemu on the spot.

According to the movie, in a scene in a later battle, Akbar permanently dismissed Bairam because he was too cruel and sent him on a hajj to Mecca. (Bairam was about to slay another defeated infidel.)

This does have a connection with actual history in that Bairam Khan was dismissed as Akbar's regent and guardian in 1560 upon Akbar's coming of age (18), and he did leave on a hajj to Mecca. But there is no historical indication of the two men differing on treatment of captured infidels. Bairam Khan was killed by an assassin in 1561. His year of birth is not given.

According to the historical articles, Bairam was Akbar's "most trusted general" as well as his regent and guardian, and Akbar married Bairam's widow, Salima Sultan. (She was Akbar's second wife.)

11. The movie shows Akbar abolishing a tax on Hindus making religious pilgrimages. This turns out to be true to actual history. "... Akbar did abolish two obnoxious taxes on Hindus namely the pilgrimage tax in 1563 CE and Jizya (A tax stipulated in the Koran to be paid by Zimmis or unbelievers) in 1564 CE, ..."

12. Our trip leader, Som, mentioned the phenomenon of Jauhar, the self-immolaton of women in cases of defeat in wartime. I found a mention of that where women jumped into a roaring fire rather than face the cruelty of Akbar upon the fall of Chitod: "That night flames leapt to the sky as thousands of Rajput women performed Jauhar ... They preferred jumping into a roaring fire, to being captured by Mughal Akbar. Later events do lend credit to their astute judgement."

13. The movie shows Akbar dismissing an Islamic scholar because of a long-standing disagreement between them. I think the issue was that there was a practicing Hindu at court who was not converting to Islam. In real life, over quite a different issue, Akbar, a Sunni, "dismissed the Khazi, the highest religious officer from his court, a Sunni, and replaced him with a Shiite who did agree with him!" The issue was that Akbar had more wives than the four allowed by Islam. Akbar "used 'Mutta' principle to justify his 300 wives. As per Shia interpretation, 'Mutta' constituted a legal Muslim marriage. ... a Muslim can have a 'Mutta' marriage with a free woman of OTHER religion. A 'Mutta' marriage involves no ceremny, but is a private pact between a man and a woman for, officially, ' a limited period of time (as short as one night)' agreed between them."

------------------------------------------------
Regarding my third verse, for those who've not seen the film, although "Jodaa" was willing to marry Akbar (since she could remain Hindu), it took her a very long time to develop affection for him. I guess that's "Hollywood," India-style. I suppose in reality, "Jodaa" might well have had a fear hang-up, not just a lack-of-affection hang up.

-----------------------------------------------

The Mughals were cruel foreigners. Yet it seems to me that, for the most part, the Indian people have chosen to "adopt" the Mughals as their own, take pride in them, emphasize whatever good they can find in them, and overlook their cruelty.

Admittedly, the Mughals would have become "Indianized" to an extent because of their marriages with Indian pricesses and because they hung around so long. Yet I believe their lives at court were isolated from the Indian people, and they kept their foreign culture pretty much intact.

Here is a final quote: "Why don't the Indian School texts give these details of Akbar and What else are they hiding?"

GLAD OR SAD?

Success would make me glad,
For little I've lately had.
My hopes are not sky high.
I'll take my pill and try.
Perhaps I won't be sad.

WEDDING NIGHT

On their wedding night each had vim.
And it was not like sink or swim.
Still, these questions do occur:
Was he shy with her?
And was she shy with him?

DRUNKEN RIDING

The officer had no remorse,
But to do his duty, no other course,
And no problem in deciding
To ticket drunken riding.
But what about the horse?

Colo. man on horse ticketed for riding while drunk

"ARVADA, Colo. (AP) -- A man in a cowboy hat who rode a horse through a Denver suburb has been cited for riding an animal under the influence."

"Police say Brian Drone was given a $25 traffic violation ticket in a strip mall parking lot Friday."

"Drone told KUSA-TV that he was out for a 'joyride' in Arvada with his horse, Cricket."

"Sgt. Jeff Monzingo says the citation was the first he'd seen in 15 years of working in law enforcement."

"Police say deciding what to do with the horse was a 'tricky call' because 'you can tow a car' in typical drunk driving cases."

"A stable owner eventually offered Drone and his horse a ride home."

:

BERLUSCONI

As for Italy's Berlusconi,
Flirting has cost him his honey.
She's as mad as a hatter.
He says it's a private matter
But not that it's baloney.

Berlusconie's wife files for divorce

"Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi's second wife is seeking a divorce after 19 years of marriage and three children, citing his reported flirtations with younger women."

"Former actress Veronica Lario confirmed she had retained a lawyer to begin separation and divorce proceedings agains the billionaire media mogul-turned-poitician, reported the ANSA news agency."

"Berlusconi issued a one-line statement, which said: 'It's a personal issue that pains me, that is in the private sphere, and which seems necessary not to speak about.'"

MINE THAT BIRD

I guess by now you've heard
What at The Derby has occurred.
Against odds of fifty to one,
The race by seven lengths was won
By a horse named Mine That Bird.

I'm sure it was a thrill
For jockey Calvin Borel.
I don't think he knew
What that horse could do,
Though he rode him well.

He seems a horse that was designed
With a home stretch sprint in mind.
It really was amazing
How he ran like crazy
And came up from far behind.

A win like this you can't assail.
Strange has been this colt's trail.
It really makes you wonder
If he'll prove a one-day wonder.
How'd he slip through on that rail?

PHILIP STREICH

A lad this smart is rarely seen --
Expert on nanotubes and graphene,
Musician, ace college scholar,
Entrepreneur, inventor,
Renaissance man, and just eighteen.

KAJURAHO ADDENDA

To monks no distraction
But for us an attraction
Are couples in orgasm.
And Kajuraho has 'em
Frozen in action.

It's hard to dismiss
A millennium of bliss.
And moving it is too
That as eternity they go through
They continue to kiss.

With these folks I have no quarrel.

To them, sex is moral.

And they have no inhibition

About its exhibition

Even when it's oral.

For in these illustrations

Of achievement of elation

A reasonable man supposes

That the models in these poses

Were members of the congregation.

WORKING FOR FREE

In today's economy,

Believing it has to be,

In special cases

To stay in good graces,

Some folks work for free.

Article in Business Section of USA Today indicates that in the present economy some entrepreneurs are doing work for free for special customers to stay in their good graces.

TWO GOOD MEN

Met two good men in a convenience store,

Veterans of the second world war. 

For sixty years they've been friends,

Though one is not Norwegian.

Right spry they are at eighty-four.

On my bike ride yesterday, I rolled into Mt. Horeb (pop ~6,600) tired and hungry.  I went into a very quiet little convenience store, bought a couple snacks, and ended up staying quite a long time and leaving refreshed.  The friendly, elderly proprietor bade me rest on a chair in his office, and he gave me a large mug of hot chocolate -- for free.  A friend of his came in, and they chatted, and I asked if they were brothers.  The proprietor said "He's not even a Norwegian."  (I guess that's unusual in Mt. Horeb.)  I chatted with both of them a long while and recited my poem about my ride.  They both seem to be in remarkable health at 84, and they hear better than I do.  Both are veterans of WWII, one a Marine, the other Army.  The Marine said he recently attended a reunion on Iwo Jima.  The other told of finding and making fast friends with previously unknown relatives in Germany.  The two men had been roommates when they first reentered the work force after the war.  I told them about our Friday noon support-the-troops vigils in Lynchburg and told them I'm a "cold war veteran."  I told them about Helen's family coming from the Philippines to San Francisco on a troop ship near the end of the war.  And I told them about my Norwegian and German ancestors.

RIDGE RIDE

Thought it would do no harm

To ride out through the farms.

While making good mileage,

I got whiffs of corn silage

And other farming charms.

'Twas as cold as a fridge

On that windy old ridge

As my lonely way I found

Past Mt. Horeb and Blue Mound

And beyond Verona just a smidge.

From Dodgeville to Barneveld,

Oh, the pain my bottom felt!

But I rode on a loner 

On into Verona,

A forty-miler underneath my belt.