Skip to main content

Winning Back Love

Pratap was at the gateway to the Gurukul. The same Gurukul where he had learnt the harsh truths of life. Something told him he was yet to learn a few chapters on relationships here. He went in with Sarang.

Raghavendra Rathore was sitting in his hut, meditating. No one was allowed there at that time. Well, no one but Pratap. Guru Raghavendra was expecting his favourite student there ever since the Samanth putri of Bijolia voluntarily arrived to help at the Ashram.

He knew her as Raoji's daughter, but his students Veni, Bheem and Chakrapani, who had arrived there a month back along with Saubhagyabati to seek his blessings, had told him about Kunwar Pratap's choice of a bride. He knew something was terribly wrong; Ajabde's cold, calm eyes spoke enough. He had taken a liking to this girl. She cooked, cleaned and even taught children. She was a lot mature for her age and in many of her qualities he a reflection of Kunwar Pratap.

The first day he saw her practice sword fighting, he was in awe of her natural skills with the sword. He was sure she was taught right by his best student. He had smiled watching her move around the arena, religiously practising her moves with dedication.

Kunwar Pratap touched his feet, making him look down at his favourite student. A few months of war and inner turmoil seemed to make him more mature. His looks said so.
" Gani Khamma Guruji."
" Khamma Gani Kunwar Pratap!"
" Woh..." He didn't know where to start.
" What brings you here?" His Guruji asked.
" I was at Bijolia, with my family, Choti Maa... had an argument with Raoji's elder daughter. " He was carefully choosing his words.
" Who is Raoji's Daughter?" He asked, wanting him to speak out.
" Ajabde." He looked away. " I have come here to say sorry to her."
" Kunwar Pratap, she doesn't want to meet any family or friends; she is here to volunteer."
" I know, she... She is angry. I just need to talk to her once."
" Kunwar Pratap, she has been here only two days, and she has already won everyone's hearts. She is so gentle and simple. I hope your intentions towards her..."
" My intentions are clear and they won't change ever, Guruji, I promise you." He was firm in his words.
With a smile, Raghavendra turned around and said, " She is at the Kanha Temple with the children. Meet her there."

Pratap entered the temple hands folded. He actually prayed and hoped she was not angry with him. He had failed to protect her from Dheerbai's insults. He didn't know how to face her. She sat singing bhajans to the lord... "o Kanha Mora..." The children sang along. The sight was so peaceful he couldn't help but smile. She got up to do the aarthi. He walked across the crowd and stood beside her. Hands folded, eyes closed. She opened her eyes and saw him. She thought she was daydreaming. She looked at him wide-eyed as he smiled at her.
The children flocked around her.
"Jija... Prasad!"
After the crowd dispersed, she looked up at him.
"Kunwarsa..."
" Let me speak first, Ajabde. I'm here to apologise for whatever happened. I promised to fight together, but I was not there to protect you." His eyes shone with tears he tried to hide. "When Ratan told you that you had left, I felt so guilty."
"Kunwarsa, stop. I came here for some peace and happiness. It's not because of you. I have hurt Ranima's expectations. I lost my self-control. To tell you the truth, I am not used to such complexity in relationships and family. I love things simple and with you..." She stopped.
" With me, things are never simple. I know." There was a hint of sadness in his voice.
" I didn't mean..."
"It's okay, Ajabde, you are right. I can't drag you in this." He looked at her, waiting. Hoping she would reconcile. She didn't know what to say.
" I am leaving tomorrow, and you are coming back with me. Everyone is worried about you. What happens after that you decide once you are home?" He prayed hard that he didn't lose her.
Ajabde sat in her hut, wondering. They were in love. They were happy. Yet an outsider could win over it? She was ready to give up when he was fighting his own family? Her inner voice told her to fight till the end.

That evening, Ajabde made her way to the temple for prayers. On the way, she saw Kunwar Pratap teaching some children the basic skills of sword fighting. She smiled, remembering her first lesson with him. He watched her walk away with a smile.

She was on her way back, and it was already dark, and it started to rain heavily. She took shelter in an abandoned hut, waiting for the rain to stop. Suddenly, she heard footsteps closing in. Gathering a stick from the place, she was ready to attack. He caught the stick with his hand as she swung it eyes closed.
"Ajabde!"
"you?"
"See who you are hitting first!" He was amused. " It seems you need some more lessons on self-defence."
"Shama Kijiye..." An awkward silence followed.
" Seems like the rain won't stop soon," she sounded worried.
" You are scared to be with me?" His smile made her blush.
" We need to rest. We will be leaving early... Waise... What are you doing here, Kunwarsa? You were near the huts, na?"
" I... Woh... You were at the temple..."
"How do you know I was... Are you following me?" Getting caught, he turned red.
"No, I was just enjoying the weather."
"You are lying."
"No, I'm not!"
A sound of thunder made her jump into his arms, startling him. She hid her face in his chest, saying.
" I am very scared of thunder."
With a little hesitation, his hands travelled to hold her upper arms.
" Am here Ajabde. To protect you always."
Realisation dawned as she moved away. She was shivering wet. Pratap went inside the hut and found a haystack.
" Ajabde..."
"Ji?"
" You stay inside. You are cold. I will keep guard outside." He was about to walk out as she sat on the hay.
"Kunwarsa..." He stopped.
" You can stay here too."

Their eyes met. She looked simply beautiful even in the dark night. He nodded and seated himself carefully away from her. The sensations of the hug were still in him. She felt the same and looked away. They started talking about odd things. Childhood stories, siblings, their mothers and friends and finally about the ashram.

The rays of the blazing sun woke Pratap. He looked at her, asleep, peacefully resting her head on his shoulders. He looked at the beautiful face. He didn't want to wake her up. He felt time would freeze there. He removed a strand of her hair from her face and placed it behind her ears. She looked up, eyes met, inches from each other.
" woh... Get ready, we are leaving." He moved away.
She sat up, realising she was sleeping on his shoulder all night. 

Meanwhile, in Bijolia, Dheerbai was in for a surprise. Rana Udai Singh was angry with her. For the first time in her life, Jaivanta Bai was winning over her. She had to apologise to a mere Samanth family. And to top it all, Udai Singh had called Jaivanta Bai to his chambers.
"Ranaji?"
"Jaivanta Bai, I have made a decision." She looked at him, scared. Never had his decision pleased her?
"I'm not as bad as you think, Jaivanta. I will ask Raoji to give us Ajabde for Pratap." 

Jaivanta couldn't believe what she heard. She rushed to tell Sajja. Dheer Bai was in shock. The girl won over her! In her anger, she left for Chittor. Sajja called Shakti and Chakrapani from Chittor with the good news. The duo planned a surprise for Pratap and Ajabde as Pratap's letter arrived from the ashram informing them of their arrival soon.



Popular posts from this blog

Purnota: Chapter Eleven

Bondita opened her window to find Thamma and Jyatha Moshai missing from the lawn. The chairs were empty. Was she sleeping till late? She checked the clock and shook her head. Taking the towel, she hurried towards the bathroom, countering Kalindi on the way. She was reading the newspaper with her rimless reading glasses on. “Umm… why are you here? Where is Jyatha Moshai?” Kalindi raised her eyes briefly and sighed without putting the paper away. Her lack of response puzzled Bondita as she made her way to take a bath. When she came out in a pair of jeans and a shirt, rolling her sleeves up, Kalindi observed her keenly. “Will you be going somewhere?” She enquired. Bondita nodded.  “Ah, yes, the District Office, some of my paperwork for the Bar Membership needs to be signed by a Gazetted Officer. Jyatha Moshai knows someone…” “Don’t go by their house… he is in a bad mood.” Kalindi placed some Chirer Polao in front of her and spoke as Bondita rubbed her wet hair with a frown. “Why?” “Oh...

Purnota: Chapter Thirteen

Aniruddha eyed Trilochon, sitting at the desk in his room, attending to some paperwork. His reading glasses were on his nose, and he appeared engrossed in a financial document. He stood at the threshold, a bit unsure and glanced over his shoulder at Somnath, Batuk and Bondita. She gestured at him to go on. Aniruddha cleared his throat. That prompted Trilochon to look away from his document at his nephew. “Jethu, if you are busy, I can come back…” He suggested unsurely. “Come in and close the door.” Trilochon glanced over Aniruddha’s shoulder at the others who walked away hurriedly. Aniruddha closed the door, and Bondita tiptoed to place her ears on it. Batuk and Somnath stood at a distance. “So you met her?” Trilochon spoke while cleaning his glasses. Aniruddha nodded. Somnath had introduced them to Ashalata. Bondita, Batuk, and he had met them in a Dhaba off the highway. Although Bondita did most of the talking, initiating a friendly gesture to put the nervous Ashalata at ease, he had...

Purnota: Chapter Twelve

Bondita woke up to the alarm clock ringing as she struggled to get her hand out of the quilt wrapped around her. She sat inside the mosquito net, rubbing her eyes and staring at the clock, trying to remember why she had set the alarm at 3.45 AM. Then her eyes shone in delight. It was Mahalaya. She remembered that during her days in Dehra, she had educated her roommate on the tradition of starting pujo with the voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadra echoing through the air. She was uninterested, and Bondita had borrowed her headphones to hear the program and deeply missed home. She remembered that as a child, while her father was still alive, he would gently wake her up, and take her on his lap to the huge Banyan tree near the Panchayat where people gathered near the Pradhan’s radio, putting flower garlands and lamps around it and folding their hands as they heard Mahishashur Mardini killing the Asura. When she arrived in Kolkata to get her law degree, she thought things would be different. B...

You Deserve More

Ajabdeh woke up with the song of birds as she felt something warm on her hand. Her eyes went wide. Her hand was on the pillow in between them, between his hands, clasped as he slept. She thought of removing it slowly, but he was holding on to it so tightly. Ajabdeh's heart beat faster and faster. What do I do now? How do I not wake him? What if... why is my hand in his? She was utterly confused.   " Am I...In love?" Pratap was staring at the sleeping figure on the bed as he stared back at the rain. Then he frowned as he noticed that she shivered. He closed the windows of the room to make it cosy, then sat on his side of the bed. A lamp flickered on her side like always, and he stared at her sleeping figure as he put his blanket over her as well. She shifted a little in her sleep to make herself cosy again. Her payals and bangles made a rhythmic sound, breaking the silence of the room. Her hand was out of her blanket and on the pillow in between. He tried to slowly put it ...

Purnota: Chapter Ten

The rain clouds gave way to the scorching sun the following day as Bondita woke up as the first rays of the sun hit her face and disturbed her sleep. She cursed herself for keeping the window open and sat inside the mosquito net with a sleepy yawn. She eyed the alarm clock on her desk that said 6.30. Bondita scratched her head and pulled the mosquito net up to search for her slippers. She heard the bell ringing from Thamma’s room and the chanting of mantras. A smile came involuntarily to her lips as she realised that she might have come after ages, but everything in Chandannagar seemed to have been at a standstill. She grabbed the Kurti from the chair to change from the top she was wearing and wondered what she could do for the day. For the first time in a long time, she was free from the routine of boarding houses. Her eyes fell on the mess around her room since she had not unpacked the day before. Bondita decided to spend the morning unpacking her belongings. She opened the door of h...

Dreams and Wishes

At dawn, the Bhil women took the girls to the Kalika Mata Temple and the Jal Kund. Dressed in white, a nervous Heer followed everything Ajabde knew and did, trying to explain the significance of the rituals to her. They prayed to Lord Ganesh. Kunwar Shakti and Kunwar Pratap were staying at Punja Ji's place, as they were not supposed to see the brides before the wedding. Ajabde was dressed in her mother's lehenga, a mang tika Jaivanta Bai gave her as a family heirloom and the simple nosering Pratap had gifted. They made their hair into a simple bun with wildflowers before putting on their dupatta. Heer was dressed in traditional Bhil jewellery of silver and beads that the women had gifted her. They made her wear a red and white saree draped as a lehenga and a red chunri with it. She looked like a pretty, colourful Bhil bride. Kunwar Shakti was a nervous groom dressed in a traditional bhil dhoti, kurta and cap. The bhil shawl hung from a side, making the white attire colourf...

Purnota: Chapter Sixteen

It had been a month since Bondita had started working in the firm. With Somnath’s wedding date being set for winter, many things were keeping Trilochon and Kalindi busy as they took charge of the smooth running of things leading up to the wedding. They needed to shop for everyone, buy gifts and choose jewellery and sarees for the bride. Despite his attempts, Trilochon found Binoy reluctant to participate in his son’s wedding arrangements. Somnath took him and Kalindi to places they wanted to go, especially Kolkata for shopping, and Trilochon made arrangements to make sure that the first wedding of the generation was grand enough. Bondita tried to help as much as she could as she noticed Aniruddha being oddly aloof from the entire thing. She assumed it was due to Trilochon’s reactions to his lack of interest in marriage. Trilochon kept pestering her to enquire into his reasons while she kept stalling him with excuses. Bondita also failed to know more about Kalindi and Trilochon’s past, ...

Towards You

The Afghans, after Sher Shah Suri's untimely demise, were at loggerheads for power. Their troops near Mewar were now led by Mehmood Shah. They secretly captured territories in the forests and waited to attack Mewari camps when the time was right. Rawat Chundawat and his spies had confirmed the news, and Udai Singh sent a warning to Mehmood Shah to withdraw his troops from Mewar in vain. Now that it was out in the open, it was time they declared war. Mehmood Shah had limited resources in Mewar. His internal rebellion against his commander did not help his cause. His spies clearly suggested that in no way could he win, especially with Kunwar Pratap leading his troops. He was having second thoughts about the war. It was then that one of his aides suggested a perfect plan. Maharani Jaivanta Bai had decided to go to the Mahakaleshwar Temple near the outskirts of Chittorgarh, in the forestlands of Bhilwara. They had travelled a long way and across the Gambhiri river that meandered during...

Confrontation

Maine kahan tha saath rahunga Banunga main tera saaya Par tere saath kuch kadam bhi Main nahi chal paya Bondita got out of bed and left the room before Aniruddha woke up. She went about her chores and decided to ignore his presence until she found herself a logical explanation for her impulsive behaviour, good enough for him to forgive her mistake. She made breakfast and told the cook to note down who preferred what for when she would leave. She waited in the kitchen long enough for the breakfast to be served by the house help and eaten. His routine was fixed. He would go to the study room and leave for work in half an hour. Then, she wouldn’t have to put up with this hide-and-seek till late afternoon or evening. But things rarely go as planned in life. “Bondita? Bouma!” Trilochan’s call made her shake her head. She pulled the ghomta above her head and walked out to the dining area. Eyes met briefly as she looked away and spoke to Trilochan as if dismissing his presence altogether....

Purnota: Chapter Fifteen

A week was all it took for Bondita to get used to work and the new routine. She would wake up early and hurry through her chores, helping Kalindi prepare a tiffin of either Chirer Polao or bread jam and then proceeding to the Roy Chowdhury house. She would arrange the day’s paperwork before Aniruddha arrived at the study room. Occasionally, she would hear him call out to Koeli for breakfast and pack her things, knowing he was almost ready to leave. He would walk into the chamber, check his list, and they would go to work. She would follow him from courtroom to courtroom. She would be sitting in the audience and learning. She would follow him to conferences and client meetings and take notes. They would discuss complicated cases. She would share the tiffin she brought from home. He would at first take a reluctant bite, then eat more than her. She often gave him her share of food discreetly. They usually stayed back after everyone was gone and ordered food for dinner. Some days, he woul...