Excerpt from Letter No. 83, written sometime after 14 June, 1861

We have just got over the noise of Mohurrum. I tell you what:--if a great poet were to rise among the Mussulmans of India, he could write a magnificent Epic on the death of Hossen and his brother. He could enlist the feelings of the whole race on his behalf. We have no such subject. Would you believe it? People here grumble and say that the heart of the Poet in Meghnad is with the Rakshasas. And that is the real truth. I despise Ram and his rabble; but the idea of Ravan elevates and kindles my imagination; he was a grand fellow...