8- A Bruised poet
In fourteen years Prince SALIM proved his might on and off the battlefield, another war had ceased and the result was victory
In an army camp,
A doctor waits outside Salim's camp,
DURJAN SINGH enters
DURJAN SINGH
You stand here with your arms tied,
Your duty is to dress his bruises
Doctor
Believe me lord- I often tried
But poetry over health he chooses
DURJAN SINGH goes inside SALIM'S camp where Salim stood near a lamp,
Writing poetic words on his wartested swords
DURJAN SINGH
Do your wounds not wish to be healed?
If untreated- it'll only get worse,
After bathing blood in the war field,
Poetic prince still writes up verse!
SALIM
These aren't wounds- just unpretty flowers
And withering is a rule of Mother Earth,
Poets are kings, poets are lovers
And words cost more than diamonds' worth
SALIM shows the sword to DURJAN
Sometimes this is a weapon for a battle,
Other times, a canvas for my quill to kiss,
Once a murderer of unguilty cattle,
Next a hero for the nation's bliss
If Akbarnama were written on stone
And not on the valued golden leaves,
Would Akbar's legacy lie unknown
Or will he be counted among the thieves?
DURJAN SINGH
No your majesty,
It doesn't matter which mouth sings,
A song is definitely a song
SALIM
Then my friend,
Your emperor has done me injustice,
A wrong is definitely a wrong
*The Akbarnama which translates to Book of Akbar, is the official chronicle of the reign of Akbar, the third Mughal Emperor(r. 1556–1605), commissioned by Akbar himself by his court historian and biographer, Abul Fazl who was one of the nine jewels in Akbar's court. It was written in Persian, the literary language of the Mughals, and includes vivid and detailed descriptions of his life and times.
