That heady feeling of reunification!

Being armless is one thing. Neither Venus de Milo nor Thakur in Sholay complained bitterly about keeping their arms at length. But the head, dear cerebral readers, is a totally other matter. Headlessness, as any chicken will tell you, is a different thing, not unlike what Maharashtra was these last few days until the worthies finally decided on a head of government (with two flunkies). The news is Septimius Severus – his surname making a point about his unfortunate condition – is about to get his head back. For context: SS ruled 2nd-3rd c. Rome, and his head – well, the head of his statue – had been tucked away all this while at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum in Copenhagen. The body, till 2023 in NYC’s MoMA, was ‘returned’ to Turkey last year. We suppose Turkey claimed both body and head because it’s historically closer to Severus than either the US or Denmark ever was.

We’re glad, really, that SS’ body and head are reuniting. But it has also made us ask how we can get other decapitated legends capitated as is their right. Most obviously, there’s the 2nd c. statue of Kushan king Kanishka at the Museum of Mathura, which not only has its head missing but also its arms. As anyone who has enjoyed Amar Kaushik’s 2024 horror comedy film, Stree 2: Sarkate Ka Aatank, you will know how special reuniting a head with its body is for peace of mind.