Promises

Pratap was in the arena at dawn, and he was surprised as the sun was high in the sky, yet there was no sign of Kunwar Shakti in the arena. He was religiously there following his elder brother. Today was different. Kunwar Pratap was swinging his sword and thinking about what Ajabde had told him about Shakti the previous night. He glanced across the garden to the Palace corridor, and still no sign of his brother. He kept his sword and decided to go look for him. Through the corridor, he took a turn and stopped. Ajabde was at the cow shed feeding Laxmi. A smile appeared as he stopped to look if someone was spotting him from the roof or Jharokhas. Then he moved towards the cow shed.

" You know, Laxmi, Ratan has become so responsible nowadays. It's like she is all grown up. Yesterday she told me to stop worrying about Maa sa and Balwant because she will take care...." Ajabde stopped at his footsteps.
" Kunwarsaa? You need something?"
"No ... I... Came to see Sarang. " He stopped. " Where is Bhai Shakti?"
A smile broke on Ajabde's face.
" You won't believe it. At dawn, he was up with Ranima and Heer Baisa making garlands."
" What? My Bhai Shakti??" He looked at her face as if she wanted to say I told you!
" Dadabhai...." Kunwar Shakti came up behind him. "Am I interrupting?" He smiled.
" No! We were talking about you only. "Ajabde smiled.
" Where were you?" Kunwar Pratap sounded displeased. " I was waiting at the Arena..."
" Wohh...." Shakti looked away, red.
" Are you hiding something?" Kunwar Pratap was straight with his question.
" No, Dadabhai, why will I hide...."
" Follow me to the Arena then..."
" Ha...." As Kunwar Pratap moved away, Shakti whispered to Ajabde.
" Bhabisa!"
" Ji?"
" Help me, please!" Ajabde acted clueless.
" Heer... " He was embarrassed as Ajabde smiled, amused. She nodded a yes as he smiled.
" Are you coming or not?" Kunwar Pratap's voice made him run as Ajabde went inside.

Kunwar Pratap noticed his brother's unmindfulness at the Arena. Ajabde is never wrong at reading people; maybe she is right. He smiled unmindfully.
" Baojiraj, smile as much as you can now! Once you are married, this smile won't come back!" Chakrapani's words made Shakti laugh.
" Look at me, she orders I follow!" He pointed at the bag full of clothes and jewellery Saubhagyawati had asked him to bring from her home.
"Ajabde is not like that! She doesn't order me!"
" Well, not now... let the marr...."
" Kunwarsa Kunwar Shakti has been called by Maharani sa." A daasi declared as Kunwar Shakti almost ran with a smile. Pratap followed eagerly.

Jaivanta Bai was sitting with Sajja Bai and Ajabde, discussing a list of things. Heer and Ratan were making garlands, and Shakti was standing in all smiles, at Heer, then at Ajabde.
"Kunwar Shakti, tomorrow Chakrapani and Bhagwati will accompany Ajabde and Heer Kanwar to the Eklingji temple at dawn. Can you go with them?"
" Surely Badima," He said, eyeing Heer, who smiled at him.
" Anything for Bhabisa."
Ajabde and Shakti shared a secret smile.
Pratap interrupted, " I can go too, you don't need to...."
Ajabde's glare stopped him. She indicated towards Heer. Sajjabai laughed.
" Yes, yes, take him also!"
"That will be good, you two pray together to Eklinji." Jaivanta Bai was happy.
Ajabde followed him out in the corridor.
" Why do you want to go?"
" Aree..."
" Kunwar Shakti was going na... You didn't need to..."
" He can go now also... Besides, I am going to the temple, you can not tell me not to go " She is already ordering like a wife!
" Kunwarsa, you ruined our plan."
" What Plan?" she bit her lips.
" Nothing, Dadabhai."
Kunwar Shakti interrupted. Kunwar Pratap looked at his brother and then at Ajabde, who were looking at each other, both hoping the other would explain to Pratap.
" Wah... now you are a team!"
Kunwar Pratap was surely not amused as he walked off. Two of his closest people were keeping secrets now. He turned around to say, " All of you be ready by dawn."

The next day, two palanquins and a procession left Bijolia for the temple. Heer shared a palanquin with Ajabde, who spotted her looking at Shakti riding ahead and smiled.
" Rajkumari sa...."
" Please, Bhabisa, call me Heer."
" You like someone? As in, with whom can you get married?"
" Me?" She looked a little surprised.
" No, no, I'm not easily impressed! Has to be someone brave and handsome to impress me. Has to be someone Dadabhai would approve!"
" Kunwar Shakti is a lot like him, don't you think?" Ajabde's question made Heer look up and blush.
" Bhabisaa...." The Palanquins stopped as a Daasi informed them they had stopped at a garden near the temple to rest for a while before the Pujas.

Ajabde stepped out, followed by Heer, and Kunwar Shakti looked at his Bhabisa, who smiled and nodded.
With a smile, he said to Heer, " Rajkumari sa, may I have the honour to show you around the garden?" Heer nodded as the duo left a smiling Ajabde behind. Pratap walked up to her.
" Heer Baisa likes him!" She gushed.
" You asked her?" He was shocked.
" Well. Not directly!"
They walked together into the garden.
"I want to talk about something."
" What's wrong?"She looked at his serious face!
" Woh... Whatever Chotima told you about marriage alliances and princesses..."
" How do you know about that?"
" Saubhagyabati Bhabisa heard it and told Chakrapani."
"Oh, you are worried about...."
He held her hand, making her stop.
" I promise you, Ajabde, no alliances, no women, I will always be yours."
" Kunwarsa, alliances are a necessary part of a Royal life, a part you can not deny."
" But Ajabde... I don't want to hurt you."
" Our responsibilities to our motherland come first!" Her words made him look into her eyes and beam with pride.
" Ajabde but..."
" Kunwar Pratap, you are thinking too much! Don't forget you are Mewar's son first...then my..." She stopped.

Meanwhile, in another part of the Garden, Heer Kanwar was offered a red flower by Shakti.
" I like yellow ones better." He brought her yellow wildflowers.
" White flowers are so useful, they can also be worn...." He went looking for white ones as Heer giggled to herself.

" Your?" Kunwar Pratap had a teasing smile as a nervous Ajabde looked away.
" Am sorry."
" For what?"
" I was angry and I took your name."She looked at him, scared.
" It's not the first time, is it? Last time you ran away... anyways..."
He stepped an inch closer, holding her hands in his.
" You can call me Kunwar Pratap when we are alone."
" Ji? No... No..."
" Why Not? I would like it more than what people call me. You are my friend, my..." She looked up at him, smiling as a sound interrupted their conversation.
" Panditji, you can't remember the simplest of things! You forgot the holy water."
" You order too much Bhago, why don't you take things yourself?"
Ajabde smiled at the newlyweds, amused as Pratap looked at her and back at them, and a worry crept in. This is my future!
" You said something?"
" No, no, gather everyone, we will go to the temple." He left Ajabde wondering.

As they stepped into the temple, Kunwar Pratap and Ajabde looked at each other and smiled. They remembered their first meeting there... How destiny plays its game! Smiling, they lit a diya together and prayed for a happy future.

" Get the procession ready to go back to the Mahel!" He ordered. She looked at his face; he seemed to be preoccupied with thoughts she couldn't read. As eyes met, he smiled at her, indicating for her to get into her Palanquin for the journey.

Sibling's Day

Shakti always had a very strict sibling equation with Pratap. Though they were only two years apart, the siblings had very different tastes and preferences. For Shakti, Pratap's disciplined and well-planned life looked like he was missing out on a lot of things. He sometimes didn't even approve of how impulsive Pratap was when he was emotional. Shakti, on the other hand, prioritised experiences over plans. He never found a need to feel deeply for anything the way Pratap did, and over the years, mostly in Pratap's absence from the family, he had managed to find a way with his parents. But he didn't really have any other elder sibling figure. All his cousins' sisters were close to him and younger. But with Ajabdeh, he had developed this very strong connection over the past few weeks. As a child, Shakti's playmate in the house used to be Sajja, while his father worked, his mother ran NGOs, and Pratap was always found with his head in a book. Ajabdeh was up for an...

Purnota: Chapter Forty Four

Aniruddha tapped his black loafers on the Italian marble floor of the entrance as he eyed his watch. It was almost half past five. He checked himself in the full-size mirror beside the coat hanger, looking fresh as he shaved and bathed, set his hair, chose a white summer blazer over his black shirt and trousers and abandoned the idea of a tie. He cleaned his glasses with the handkerchief, contemplating whether he should knock at Asha’s door, telling Bondita to hurry. He wondered what the women were doing there for such a long time. He could hear them giggling and gossiping as he walked past the room. He wondered what huge deal a party was that a woman needed another to help her dress up. He took out his phone and wondered if he should call her downstairs instead to avoid the awkwardness of knocking on the door. It was then that Aniruddha heard footsteps on the stairs and looked up in a reflex. He would give her a piece of his mind for wasting precious moments, especially when they...

AAYA TERE DAR PAR DEEWANA

Pratap was outside the gates of Meera Girls College in Udaipur by the next afternoon, unsure of whether to go in and ask for her. He spotted a few girls walking out, and one of them kept staring at him suspiciously before approaching him. He stood in his spot, still awkward as she asked, “Aren’t you that ASI guy that Roshni met?” “I… what?” Pratap narrowed his eyes “I am sorry, I don’t remember you.” “I am Mahek.” The girl waved her hand and smiled, “I was with her at Chawand.” “Oh, I see.” Pratap sighed. “I found some information that might help her …err… project.” He stopped at Mahek’s suspicious frown. “So I thought…” “You came all the way here to give her some information about her project?” Pratap cursed himself inwardly. Indeed, that sounded lame when she repeated it. “Why didn’t you call her?” “I…” He cleared his throat “I lost her number, so… I was hoping that she would be interested in an on-field internship…” “Oh, wait, I will give you her number. But she isn’t here, and I do...

Purnota: Epilogue

“Hello?” Saudamini’s voice was heard on the other end of the telephone as Aniruddha breathed in. “Mini, this is Aniruddha.” “Oh, Ani, how are you? How is Bondita?” Her voice changed from doubtful to excited. Aniruddha was standing by the couch in the living room with a phone book on the coffee table and a sheet of paper with a guest list in his hand. The mention of Bondita made him involuntarily eye the visible corridor to the dining area, where he could hear her voice, instructing Koeli. Ever since the marriage, she seemed to have taken up the job of ordering everyone around the house like a true landlord, and even he was not spared from her occasional orders. That is exactly how he had landed on the couch with a phone book. “Umm… she is good. Everyone’s good. I’m calling because…” “Oh, do tell her I truly apologise for not attending the wedding. I know she was disappointed with me and thought it was some payback for her not attending mine.” An amused smile formed on Aniruddha’s lips ...

Purnota: Chapter Forty Five

Aniruddha stared at the clock on his chamber wall for the third time and verified its working condition by checking it with his watch. He had asked Bondita to come to his chambers at six. It was almost six-ten and there was no sign of her. The peon he had sent to call her in had also left. He wondered if she had gone home earlier than usual. But then would she not have informed him? He eyed the partnership deed he had prepared to be signed, going through the terms one last time before he decided to go downstairs and see where she was for himself. As soon as Aniruddha got up, taking the coat from behind his chair to go, gathering the paperwork of the deed, a knock resonated on the door as he straightened his glasses and found his most professional voice to ask her to come in. Bondita looked a little breathless as though she had run up the stairs and apologised in a hurry, “Sorry, sorry… Meghna had some issues with her computer.” “There is a tech guy for that.” He narrowed his brows slig...

The Adventure of PI Ved: The Case in London

There is something funny about the phrase “as dead as a doornail.” Why? Because I am dead and I don’t look like a nail of any sort. I lie on my living room carpet, hands stretched out, the knife stuck to my back...such a backstabber. I hated them all my life! And what is the purpose of killing me? It is not like I would have lived much longer, I was eighty-five, for God’s sake! I lay here, the blood turning thick as I stared at the painting on the wall. It is such a hideous painting. I bought it for so much money, I was duped. I am waiting for the morning when my caregiver arrives to discover me on the floor. But I feel they are still around, looking for something. Searching every room. It is around 7 AM that she rings the bell. She bangs the door. She yells out, “Mr Smith!” Oh no, she is going back. Come back here, you fool! The criminal must still be upstairs. I hear them come down the wooden staircase and exit from the back door. Now the useless caregiver lady is back. Oh, she ...

My Everything

Kunwar Pratap stormed into the Mahal at Gogunda amidst uncertainty and chaos. Happy faces of the chieftains and soldiers welcomed him as Rawat Chundawat, and some other chieftains stopped the ongoing Raj Tilak. A visibly scared Kunwar Jagmal looked clueless at a visibly angry Kunwar Pratap. Rani Dheerbai Bhatiyani hadn't expected Kunwar Pratap to show up, that too, despite her conveying to him his father's last wish of crowning Kunwar Jagmal. Twenty-one days after Udai Singh's death, she was finally close to a dream she had dared to dream since Jagmal was born. He was not informed about the Raj Tilak as per Dheerbai's instructions. She eyed Rawat Ji. He must have assembled the chiefs to this revolt against her son, against the dead king. No one except them knew where Kunwar Pratap was staying. It was for the safety of his family. " What are you doing, Chotima?" A disappointed voice was directed at her. She could stoop down so low? For the first time, an anger...

His Wife

" Where is the Kesar, Rama? And the Kalash?" Ajabdeh looked visibly displeased at the ladies who ran around. " They are at the fort gates, and nothing is ready yet!" She exclaimed. She was clad in a red lehenga and the jewellery she had inherited as the first Kunwarani of the crown prince. Little Amar ran down the hallway towards his mother. " Maasa Maasa... who is coming with Daajiraj?" His innocent question made her heart sink. " Bhanwar Ji." Sajja Bai called out to him. " Come here, I will tell you." Amar rushed to his Majhli Dadisa., " Ajabdeh." She turned at Jaivanta Bai's call. "They are here." " M... My Aarti thali..." Ajabde looked lost like never before. Jaivanta Bai held her stone-cold hands, making her stop. She patted her head and gave her a hug. The hug gave her the comfort she was looking for as her racing heart calmed down. Jaivanta Bai left her alone with her thaal. " Maa sa!" ...

Protectors

Rao Surtan was at the Fort gates as the soldiers tried in vain to attack with arrows from above the towers. His troop was stronger and more competent than the one Balwant headed at the Bijolia Fort Gates. They had managed to hold the troops back for a day, but they feared they could no longer do so. “Break the door”, Surtan ordered the elephants. “Where is Ajabdeh?” Hansa looked around the cellar. “Jija!” Ratan exclaimed. “She was on the roof last time I saw her.” “Ajabdeh.” Hansa Bai opened the cellar door and stepped out, followed by Ratan, who was equally worried. “Stay back!” Sajja Bai called in vain as Jaivanta Bai too walked out and up the stairs to the corridors of the Rani Mahal in search of Ajabdeh. Surtan’s troop had entered the palace, and he made his way to the Rani Mahal. He was having different thoughts now. Killing Jaivanta Bai won't yield him anything… Maybe capturing a few young maidens… Ratan froze in the corridor, seeing the man approach. Behind...

Begum Sahib: Forbidden Love

2nd June 1634, Burhanpur. " My heart is an endowment of my beloved, the devotee and lover of his sacred shrine, a soul that enchants mine." The Raja of Bundi had arrived at Burhanpur after a win in the war of Paranda. He had met the crown prince Dara and was honoured with a sword and elephant before he came to pay his respect to the Padishah Begum as per the norms of the court. Jahanara was writing in her room. Her maid came with the news, “Begum Sahib, the Raja of Bundi has arrived at court; he is at the Bagh to pay you his respect.” “Tell him to sit in the courtyard of my bagh, I will be there.” She had risen from her place, covered her face in the veil of her dupatta and walked to the place where he waited. “ Begum Sahib”, he had acknowledged her presence with a salutation. She returned the bow with a nod. She was sitting inside the arch while he was on the other side of the Purdah, the sun shining over his head as he took his seat on the velvet carpet th...

RAABTA

Search This Blog