New Delhi, May 9 -- In 1580, the sultan of Bijapur was stabbed to death in his own bedroom. Ali Adil Shah was an interesting type of chap. He ate not less than 12 eggs per day for his health; he liked to read, travelling even to battlefields with books; had interests in philosophy and the occult; and also styled himself a Sufi. Evidently, his sex life was quite adventurous too. The Mughals-foes to Bijapur-complained, for instance, of how the sultan was "staining the skirt of his chastity", rolling about in the "dustbin of carnality". It could just be enemy propaganda, but the story goes that one day Ali asked an uncommonly handsome eunuch to "lie with him". The latter went close, only to spring a surprise. Pulling out a knife, he "plunged...