Indian Emperors on Pitara Kids Network

The King Who Tested Babies

Fri, 31 Aug 2001 00:53:34 +0000

Children are always asking questions, like ‘Why is the sky blue’, or ‘Why do we have only one nose’. And sometimes they also open up things like clocks to understand how they work. Emperor Akbar was also like that — always wanting to know this or that. He continued to ask such questions even after becoming the emperor.

Once he asked a very interesting question. How do babies learn to speak? Was it by listening to people talk? What if a child grew up in a place where there was no one to talk to? Would the baby learn to speak then? It was Akbar’s view that children learnt to speak by hearing people’s conversations. He decided to check it out.

The Emperor who Rolled his Eyes

Sat, 25 Aug 2001 05:23:40 +0000

At the age of 18, Akbar had been emperor of the Mughal empire for four years. This was 440 years ago, in the year 1560. But the king still had many desires that any ordinary young man would have at his age. He loved cock-fights and he liked to play practical jokes. He also had a great curiosity to know about the lives of ordinary people. For that reason he would go to places where festivals were celebrated — not as emperor but as an ordinary man without any fanfare surrounding him.

When a Whacky King Turned Serious

Thu, 08 Feb 2001 10:28:19 +0000

As a young emperor, Akbar seems to have had a whacky sense of fun. Since he was very fond of cock fights, he once announced that anyone coming to see him must bring a fighting cock with him.

One person who got a real taste of Akbar’s sense of humour was the governor of Punjab, Shamsudin Atka. He was on his way to meet the emperor when he received an order from Akbar that he should have his head shaved.