In this segment, like all the others, beautifully written, filmed and edited, presented and created by Michael Wood,
he cover Babur, the founder of the Moghul Dynasty and Babur's descendants, especially
Akbar and Dara Shiko (son of Shah Jahan) and the evil doctrinaire Aurangzeb, who killed Dara and his son Prince Salim at Humayun's tomb.
Contrary to what I thought before, the plinth is the throne of Akbar, who like Babur, was also 12 when he ascended the throne.
Wood does a great job, and the people he talks to are great too, all the historians, present day inhabitants of these historic sites, men and women and children.
He shows a great sensitivity to and respect for the subject matter, at one point wearing a white cap and taking roses to offer at the shrine of a Sufi saint.
Incidentally, the Indians all speak beautiful English, as contrasted with present-day Burmese, and it just shows how wise Indians (especially Nehru was) not to do away with English in the Independence period.
Thus we have world class Indian or Indian-born writers like Salman Rushdie, Jhumpa Lahiri and many many more.
The short-sightedness of the Burmese rulers.
K.M.Kaung
1-13-2017
Illustration--from the Baburnama, now in the British Library.
Babur celebrates the birth of his son Humayun.
Image in public domain.
