A Riddle for kids

A Riddle

A boy and his father were in an accident. They are rushed to the hospital, where the doctor exclaims, "I can't operate on the boy! He's my son!" How is this possible?

Answer: The doctor was the boy’s mother.

Tale of Kohinoor (The King of Diamonds)

Tale of Kohinoor (The King of Diamonds)

Sham S. Misri

Tale of Kohinoor (The King of Diamonds)

‘Kohinoor’ is a world famous name of one of the oldest and most precious diamonds in the world. Its story is a mixture of pain, pleasure, ruin and revival. It tells us the story of confusion and conjecture; interest and disinterest. Many historians regard it as a ‘transitive diamond’ as it saw good travels from the place of one king to the museum of other crowns and so on. There are few who call it as an ‘unanimous diamond’, who saw unprecedented battles, invasions, upheavals, and devastation.

The current name of the diamond, Kohinoor is in Persian and means “Mountain of Light”. The timeline of this priceless diamond is as follows:

5000 years ago

It is believed that the diamond was first mentioned more than 5000 years ago in a Sanskrit script, where it was called the Syamantaka. It is worth mentioning that there is only speculation that the Syamantaka and the Kohinoor are the same diamond. After this first written mention, for over 4,000 years the diamond is not mentioned. Its description is found in the famous Hindi epic Mahabharata. Thereafter, this diamond passed into a period of darkness. Historians are unable to tell where the diamond was during this long period. Thereafter, how this diamond went to Gwalior is also not known. However, a group of historians hold the opinion that the emperor of Gwalior might have got the diamond stolen from the palace of Malwa, with the help of his spy.

1304 A.D.

Up until 1304 the diamond was in the possession of the Rajas of Malwa, but back then, the diamond was still not named Kohinoor. In 1304, it belonged to the Emperor of Delhi, Allauddin Khalji.

1339 A.D.

In 1339, the diamond was taken back to the city of Samarkand, where it stayed for almost 300 years. In 1306 in a Hindi writing, a curse is placed on the men who will wear the diamond: “He who owns this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes. Only God, or a woman, can wear it with impunity.”

1526 A.D.

In 1526, when Humayun conquered Agra, the emperor of Gwalior gifted it to him as a token of friendship. Humayun was too impressed by this diamond that he presented it to his father, Babur. The Mogul ruler Babur mentions about the diamond in his writings, Babur- Nama. He was the one who described the diamond’s value equal to half-day production costs of the world.

The beauty and elegance of the diamond cost a spell on Babur. He started loving it more than his life. A popular anecdote throws light on the fact that how much love Babur had for this great and glittering diamond. Once, Humayun was seriously taken ill. All the royal doctors yielded in the face of his serious illness. At this dark moment, a renowned sage advised him to donate the dearest thing to god and Humayun would be healthy again. The sage had indirectly referred to the Koh i noor. But, Babur preferred to stake his life in place of Koh I noor. Surprisingly, Humayun recovered in a few days and his father Babur died. After this event, the majestic stone remained in the Mughal dynasty 

Shahjahan was an emperor well known and noted for his immense contribution in building monuments. The honour and esteem given by him to this great diamond is one of its kinds, in the pages of history. Kohinoor added to the grace and glamour of crown of one Mogul emperor or ‘Taket-e-Taus’ of the other. The Mogul queens would necklace it and often the princes used it in their bracelets. The diamond was given special importance in royal festivals and celebrations.

1707 A.D.

Aurangzeb protected the diamond diligently and passed it on to his heirs. In 1707, death of Aurangzeb spelled the eclipse of Mogul empire. The great diamond also girded up its loins to undergo a foreign trip.

1739 A.D.

Mohamad Shah, the grandson of Aurangzeb, was not a fear-inspiring and great ruler like his grandfather. In 1739, the Persian general Nadir Shah, an invader went to India. He wanted to conquer the throne, which had been weakened during the reign of Sultan Mohamad Shah Rangeela. The Sultan lost the decisive battle at Karnal in Punjab and had to surrender to Nadir Shah. The invader Nadir Shah had heard much about the great jewel and was too eager to obtain it. Some treacherous officer of the Mogul Emperor told Nadir Shah that Sultan Mohammad Shah keeps the jewel hidden in his turban. When Nadir Shah had to leave back, he compelled Mogul Emperor, Sultan Mohammad Shah to exchange turban with him. Thus he took the Kohinoor to Iran along with him and studded it in his crown. This way the great diamond after spending a long time in the Mogul dynasty, left its home country. It was the Persians that gave the diamond its current name, K oh-i-noor meaning “Mountain of light”. During its short stay in Iran, it was brought under great limelight. Its popularity spread rapidly in the Gulf countries. Stories of its grandeur became the talk of every town. This created an exceeding urge and eagerness among the kings of Gulf countries to obtain the charismatic diamond.

1747 A.D.

Nadir Shah did not live for long, because in 1747 he was assassinated and the diamond got to one of his generals, Ahmad Shah Abdali. He (Ahmad Shah) got a golden chance to bloom up into a strong self styled king. From 1750- 65, he raided India several times. He then came to Afghanistan and settled there. The jewel remained in his dynasty for about a century. During the early decades of 19^th century, clouds of internal mutinies eclipsed the kingdom of his descendants.

A descendant of Ahmad Shah Abdali was Shah Shuja Durrani. He was forced to emigrate from his country. He came to India and was given refuge by Sher– e--Punjab, Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It was Shah Shuja Durrani who brought the Kohinoor back to India in 1813 and gave it to Ranjit Singh (the founder of the Sikh Empire) as a good will gesture. In exchange Ranjit Singh helped Shah Shuja get back the throne of Afghanistan.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh was very much fascinated by the great diamond. He always kept it along with and considered it closer than its shirt and skin. The death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh opened the lid for civil wars and internal conflicts. This deeply shook the foundations of the Mighty Sikh Empire. The period between 1845 and 1849 saw two fierce battles between Sikhs and East India Company. Finally, in 1849, Punjab came under British rule. Ultimately, the diamond passed in the hands of the Britishers.

1849 A.D.

In 1849, after the conquest of the Punjab by the British forces, the properties of the Sikh Empire were confiscated. The Koh-i-noor was transferred to the treasury of the British East India Company in Lahore. The properties of the Sikh Empire were taken as war compensations. Even one line of the Treaty of Lahore was dedicated to the fate of the Koh-i-Noor. In 1850, Lord Dalhousie, sitting Governor General of India, presented it to Queen Victoria. The diamond was shipped to Britain on a ship where cholera broke out and supposedly the keeper of the diamond lost it for some days and it was returned to him by his servant. The diamond was handed to Queen Victoria in July 1850.

It is said that the Queen was so flabbergasted on seeing the great diamond that she awarded it as crown of jewel and kept it for public exhibition in the Tower of London. Koh-i-Noor’s real weight was 191 ct.  The British Queen found it too heavy. In 1952, she gave it to apex British Forum, ‘Garhuss of London’, for trimming purposes in order to reduce its weight and increase its lustre.  When the Queen decided to reshape the diamond it was taken to a Dutch jeweller, Mr Cantor who after trimming, its new weight was 108.93 carats.

There is a certain bit of gloom prevailing upon the birth of this diamond. Historians across the globe are of the opinion that it is of Indian origin. But the exact place could not be ascertained. Some people are of the opinion that it was found from Kolar mines in Karnataka. The diamond is about one inch long and 2/3 inch broad having a crystalline nature.

Kohinoor is still a part of royal property of British Kings family. After the diamond was handed to Queen Victoria, it was exhibited at the Crystal Palace a year later. But the “Mountain of Light” was not shiny as the other cut gemstones of that era and there was a general disappointment regarding it. Queen Victoria wore the diamond occasionally afterwards. She left in her will that the Kohinoor should only be worn by a female queen. If the head of state was a man, his wife would have to carry the diamond. After Queen Victoria’s death, the Kohinoor became part of the Crown Jewels.