You had it figured out since you were in school, everybody loves pretty, everybody loves cool - Lucky One. Pratap didn’t know how his sibling managed to get on his nerves every time. He had steered clear of his younger brother’s antiques and spent all his childhood not getting into trouble for a fair part of his seventeen-year-old life. He was the “good boy” of the family. The apple of his grandparents' eyes, the son his parents flaunted with pride for his grades and habits. What pissed him off more was the fact that Shakti never learned from his mistakes. How could he? Every time he got himself into a mess, his best friend managed to get him out of it before his parents even found out. Something in their bond annoyed him to the core. Weren’t friends supposed to point out each other’s mistakes rather than be supportive of them? He didn’t understand the kind of bond his brother shared with that girl. That girl. Who would say she was only fourteen? Which fourteen-year-old protested a...
“Take me home where we met so many years before.” - The Very First Night. Ajabdeh had rehearsed the scene in her head a thousand times over. She wouldn’t flinch, she wouldn’t even give a smile. A smile would mean she was happy to see him, right? For an overthinker like herself who tends to see more into things than she should, it was tough to conclude. How does one behave toward someone they haven't seen in a long time? How do you behave so that it is evident that she doesn’t care about a mistake of the past but cares enough to be a friend? Was it a bad idea to bring Jalal along for her cousin’s wedding? Or perhaps it would be a pleasant surprise for Pratap to see his childhood friend dating the girl who is crazy for him ? Her jaws tightened as she remembered the taunt in their voices, the amusement in his. Who would believe her now if she told them that he was the same person who pushed her up against the staircase wall and kissed her like he wanted to savour her? That it wasn’t ...
We do not know exactly when Ajabde Punwar passed, but it was after the capital was shifted to Chawand, and we can assume it occurred between 1583 CE and 1597 CE. During the last few years of his reign, especially after the birth of his first grandson, Karan Singh of Mewar (Born on 1st August, 1583, according to Veer Vinod), to Aarti Bai Chauhan and Amar Singh I, Maharana Pratap decided to leave most of the administrative work to Amar, while he focused solely on rebuilding an army to regain the outpost at Chittorgarh which was under his half brothers rule who had joined the Timurids. The timeline also coincides with the time when a young Prince Salim, in one of his early expeditions, was injured in Mewar, and that prompted Akbar to remove Timurid outposts from Mewar (according to Akbarnama). However, the real reason was the constant attack on these outposts by Mewari Soldiers, and the cost of movement of these soldiers proved to be expensive for the emperor, who, after the Battle o...
The war was over, and so were the hopes of regaining Chittor. The Battle at Haldighati had robbed the Rana of all his wealth, and brave men, and bruised him for life. Trying to match up to Akbar's chief of arms, Raja Man Singh's army, with one-third its strength had cost dearly. He had lost his friend and companion in the loyal steed that had saved his life. He had brushed past death so nearly for the first time in a lifetime of battles. He had almost given up hope when Bhahma Shah came by like a god-sent messenger to help him. It took him a lot of strength to accept that he was helpless and had to ask for financial aid. It took more strength to assemble a troop once again and reach the battlefield of Dewair. It was eerily near Haldighati, and the Timurids seemed to be more prepared with their guerrilla tactics this time. He had to make sure they were introduced to newer techniques to surprise them. The only good thing that this war ensured was that Akbar accepted that he could...
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