Mughal Sequence

Anand Thakore

Poetrywala, 71 pages, R200

“I was trying so hard to be an Emperor,” says the Mughal Humayun; a dancing girl declares, “I was born with a gift but now I have become one,” while the sensualist Babur, repentant of his hedonism, orders his men “to fill the empty wine tank with lemonade”. In this delightful sequence of poems, Thakore portrays the Mughals as sensitive, brooding figures who speak to us across the ages.