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The emperor

The beauty of satire is it can show the any ugly situation in a comic vein so that it looks ridiculous and you though still angry, will laugh out loud.

The book "The Emperor" which describes the last days of Ethiopian emperor Haile Salassie is one such example. The author of the book Ryszard Kapuckinski has used a new technique here. The story is told as a series of narrations by different courtiers of the emperor.

Well it can be the story of any emperor, or any autocrat or any other ruler. Look at some of the examples. The emperor personally appointed people to various posts, selecting them from long line of waiting people. And these appointments were done on the basis of their loyalty to the emperor, not based on their talents. Once these appointments are made, a great transformation will take place in the person so appointed. His head can move only vertically, down when facing the emperor, straight up with everyone else. When he is talking to people, his gaze will be on a far distant object, convincing the other person that he is pondering something deep and important. His talk will be in mono syllables, grunts or mumblings. But if and once he is demoted, all these changes will automatically reverse, and he becomes his normal self.

At 11 in the morning the emperor will be in the court with his treasurer and his assistant carrying the lambskin bag of money. And people will flock to him asking money for various reasons. The emperor will scrutinize them thoroughly, questioning them elaborately. But if he is satisfied, he will be generous. He will whisper something in the ears of treasurer who will put some money in an envelop and hand it over to the petitioner. Only later will the person realize that the envelop contains much lesser money than was asked for. But what can he do, go back and give one more petition? Instead he will just curse the treasurer.

The emperor wanted to appoint ineffecient and bad ministers always. How else will he be the noblest, most generous and most efficient one?


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