To Bahadur Shah Zafar

The Emperor wrote

a lonely note. In exile,

he wept for a grave in his

Native land. Colonials

took a firm stand. That was

more than a century ago. An

era swept history beyond

sepulchral lores. Returning

to his country of yore, the

Emperor, would he win a vote?

Would he be marginalised?

Would he be able to get his rights?

Sifting sands of time redefined

temples, mosques and churches.

Democracy on crutches dug

trenches for the dead. Ghosts

continued to lean out of windows

waiting to leap into the future.

But the Emperor? The Emperor—

could he ever return?

Mitali Chakravarty seeks love & harmony and in that spirit founded the Borderless Journal.