Colours and Fun

The Palace was decorated for the wedding, the guest rooms were filled with renowned guests, and the family was busy with the wedding preparations. Rana Uai Singh, Raja Surajmal and Rawatji sat discussing matters of the state with Kunwar Pratap. The Ranimahal was filled with the laughter and giggles of princesses, queens and noblewomen. Everyone was eager to meet Ajabde, keeping her busy since the morning. Heer sat pretty in a white and gold lehenga while Shakti wore a white dhoti. The Ranimahal was separated into two groups: the bride and the groom.

Maharani Jaivanta Bai had made sure the royal tailor made dresses for every occasion, not only for the bride and groom but also for the newlywed Pratap and Ajabde. For Haldi, Ajabde was wearing a white lehenga like Heer's with a marigold yellow dupatta and pink borders. Pratap's white kurta had the same pink borders, and his turban matched his wife's dupatta. Ajabde wore her own wedding jewellery that made her look as gorgeous as the bride.

The Haldi powders and paste were first taken to Shakti. Jaivanta Bai, Sajja Bai and all other relatives were smearing Shakti with Haldi as he sat blushing, and Ajabde smiled, remembering her own wedding. She came forward, and Shakti smiled at her, putting forward his cheeks to his Bhabisa, making everyone laugh.
"Kuwaranisa will take the Haldi to Heer."
" Ji Ranima."
" Where is Kunwar Pratap?" Sajja Bai asked.
" He must be hiding somewhere, fearing the Haldi." Chakrapani smiled.
" Aree, you are here!" Ajabde hugged Saubhagyabati, whose baby bump was starting to show. Jaivanta Bai greeted them. Then she told Chakrapani,
" Now it's your job to drag him out of Rajkarm and make him enjoy the wedding, Chakrapani."
" I will do that, Maharanisa." Ajabde smiled at Jaivanta Bai before leaving with the Haldi.
" Aree... Bhabisa..."
" You want to say something, Kunwarsa?" Shakti had caught Ajabde in the corridor.
" Woh..."
"You want to say something to Heer Baisa?"
Shakti was a little hesitant, then he handed Ajabde a mala of Heer's favourite flowers.
" I got this for her hair..." Ajabde smiled and nodded, and took the gift for Heer.

"Jija, you are here!" Heer hugged Ajabde. "You look beautiful. " She swiftly handed Heer the gift while hugging, and she hid it beneath her dupatta. Jasobai saw that and smiled.
The Haldi ceremony was done; all the ladies were in the common hall, smearing each other with the remaining Haldi. Jaivanta Bai remembered she had kept some Haldi to dry on the roof of the Private Mahal of the family.
"Kuwaranisa, go fetch the remaining haldi too if it's there on the roof." She ordered.
" Ji."

" Chaliye Baojiraj!" Chakrapani was dragging Kunwar Pratap by the hand away from the kings and nobles.
" Aree, where are you taking me, Chakrapani?"
" I am following Maharani Sa's Aadesh Baojiraj!"
" What?"
" Yes, to keep you away from Rajkarya till the wedding, so I'm taking you to the Ranimahal!"
" Chakrapani, stop!" Kunwar Pratap let go of his grip." I have no work in the Ranimahal Chakrapani. The ladies are busy with the rituals there. I am going to my room!"
" But... Baojiraj!" Chakrapani was calling in vain at the retreating figure.
"Ohho!" Pratap was talking to himself. " If I go there, then Shakti can attack me with the haldi, the whole Mahal is filled with haldi, where will I go?"

Ajabde was picking up the powdered and dry paste Haldi in a bowl when she sensed his presence. He was a little taken aback seeing her there as he looked here and there to see if anyone was watching before he approached her with a smile. An idea struck Ajabde's mind. She smiled to herself.
" Ajab..." She turned around, throwing powdered haldi at his face, surprising him. His face and Kurta were smeared in Haldi as he looked at his wife giggle.
" What just happened?"
" You got smeared in Haldi." He couldn't help the little haldi on her left cheek as she laughed.
" Accha?" He took a handful of Haldi from the one spread on the floor.
" Nahi Kunwarsa!" She ran to the other end of the roof. Her payal made tinkling sounds, and he ran after her. Her dupatta was flowing.
" Why are you scared?" He caught her by the hand and pulled her close, and used his other hand to smear her face, neck and hair with the Haldi powder.
" Kunwarsa!" In a flash, she threw what remained of the bowl at him. He sat down, hiding his face with his palms.
" Aah, my eyes, Ajabde!"
" Are you all right?" Worry crept on her face as he pulled the haldi spread on the cloth on the floor and rained her with it, laughing.
" You tricked me!" She complained as she realised all the Haldi was now on the floor. But a Rajputani never loses. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the bucket of water nearby. She rushed to it before he could grab her.
" Ajabde No!" She splashed him with the water as he got drenched.
" You are in big trouble, Kuwaranisa!"
" No No No!" He grabbed a pail of water and splashed her lehenga. Now, as they ran, their footsteps made footprints across the floor of the roof. They ran about, throwing whatever they could find at each other, from dried leaves to even mud from the pots. Their laughter rang through the silence of the roof.

Jaivanta Bai wondered what was taking Ajabde so long; maybe there was no haldi left, and her Agyakari daughter was making some more. She walked up the stairs, followed by Sajjabai and her Bhabisa. They stopped hearing the laughter of the duo. Never had she heard Kunwar Pratap laugh so loud, let alone Ajabde. The trio exchanged a surprised look.

Jaivanta Bai stepped out on the roof to find it smeared in water and Haldi, and mud, and their footprints everywhere. Kunwar Pratap's Pagri lay undone in the water. She travelled towards the sound of the laughter as she caught a glimpse of the sight before her. Pale in hand, Ajabde was ready to throw some water, and Kunwar Pratap was standing opposite her, in warrior stunts with what appeared to be some mud he picked up from a pot. The duo froze at her sight as Sajjabai and Mamisa stepped forward and exchanged a surprise look. Jaivanta Bai had a serious face on as she looked around the messed-up rooftop, and Ajabde hid behind Kunwar Pratap, dropping her pail and trying to put her dupatta back on. Both were dripping wet, smudged in Haldi and mud.

" Ranima... woh...." He opened his mouth as he spotted his undone pagri and went to grab it, exposing Ajabde, who was standing, red and staring at her own feet.
" Kunwar Pratap, go and have a bath." Jaivanta Bai was trying hard not to laugh. Ajabde walked past Pratap and them and ran down, followed by an embarrassed Pratap. The trio broke into laughter.

After a bath, Kunwar Pratap was in a Royal Blue kurta and was adjusting his red turban when Ajabde came in, in the same blue lehenga, her open hair wet and hanging from one side. Eyes met when he smiled. She had a worried look on her face.
" What happened?"
" Chi Chi Chi, Ranima saw us, with Majhli Ma and Mami sa. What will they be thinking of me?" She hid her face with her hands, making him laugh.
" Ajabde, you were there with me, not a stranger..."
" It's all your fault, Kunwarsa!"
" My fault?"
" Yes!"
" Who started it?" He folded his hands and stared at her as she looked away.

A daasi came in announcing, " Rajkumarisa is calling Kuwaranisa."
Ajabde left a smiling Pratap, who made his way to Shakti's room. Shakti was getting dressed for the wedding with Chakrapani's help when Pratap walked in. He was setting his brother's turban straight as the duo smiled at him. Ajabde entered the room rather awkwardly as Heer smiled at her.
" Jija, what happened on the roof?" Heer giggled.
" Woh... Hum... I need to go give Kunwar Shakti something." She left embarrassed.

" Dadabhai, whatever happened today ... has spread like wildfire!" Shakti kept a serious face as Chakrapani chuckled.
" You want to get married or not?" Pratap eyed his brother and then his friend.
Ajabde's entry made them all turn as she handed Shakti the neckpiece.
" Look, he is threatening again, Bhabisa!"
" Stop complaining like a kid, Bhai."
" Leave him alone, Kunwarsa."
" But Ajab... I..." He nodded and left, followed by Chakrapani.
" Waise Bhabisa! People really enjoyed the Haldi. Didn't they?" Shakti chuckled as Ajabde turned red and was about to leave when Chakrapani came back to announce, " They are calling the groom to the Mandap." Ajabde smiled and followed them out to see Kunwar Pratap waiting.
As they walked ahead, he gave her his hand, saying, " Chaliye."
She took it before carefully leaving it once they arrived at the corridors leading to the halls. He smiled and walked past her to Shakti as she smiled to herself. It truly was a Haldi she would remember!

Purnota: Chapter Thirty Two

Bondita got down from the local train with a duffle bag and her hoodie tied around the waist of her dark green Kurti, which she teamed with white leggings and a white dupatta. The weather at Canning seemed hotter and humid than Chandannagar, and at first glance, Bondita spotted the spring blooms of Krishnachura painting the tree at the station red. She picked up her bag and looked around the crowded station. Someone was supposed to come and get her. She dragged her bag through the crowd and finally reached the gates. The rickshaws, vans and small autos were shouting out names of different places, names that appeared like images in her memories. “Bondita Malkin?” She turned to see a woman in a checked printed saree worn above the ankle with a Ghomta over her head and the Anchol tied to her waist. Bondita nodded as the woman in her forties surprised her by touching her feet. Bondita jolted away in shock. “What are you doing?” She asked with raised brows as the woman took her duffel bag. ...

Purnota: Chapter Thirty One

“Please, Sir, we were going to show the evacuation notice to the lawyer.” The older man with a salt and pepper beard and a bald head pleaded with the Judiciary official, who handed him a paper of illegal occupancy. The NGO stood on the ground of the property that belonged to the Bhowmicks. Their lawyer, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, had sent a notice of warning and evacuation that the NGO did not pay heed to. The man in charge looked least concerned at the plea of the older man. His hands were folded, eyes teary, as the men who came with the Bull Dozer to knock down the one-storey house with thatched roof broke down the board of the NGO. “Why did you not show the notice then?” The man rebuked in a gruff voice. “Because we thought it was some mistake.” Another man, relatively younger and calmer, came forward from the crowd that stood there watching as he spoke. “We got the land as a gift from Mr. Bhowmick some eleven years back to make the school for the orphans.” “Then where is the dee...

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...

Purnota: Chapter Thirty Three

Aniruddha stepped out of his room, in a wrinkled Kurta, with a towel and toothbrush, to almost bump into Bondita, who was hurrying out of her room, trying to wear her watch on the go. He stopped before she barged into him and spotted her in one of Thamma’s Dhakai sarees. It was a white-on-white saree she had worn with a quarter-sleeved black blouse. Her hair was bunned with a claw clip, and she wore a small black Teep complementing her Kajol-drawn eyes. She looked slightly startled as she stopped at his dishevelled appearance and looked away at his stare. “Why are you…” He cleared his throat to do away with his morning groggy voice, “Dressed up?” Bondita shook her head at his words. “Because I have camp today, the NGO representative is waiting downstairs.” At her words, Aniruddha nodded and promptly held her wrist to check her watch. Bondita eyed his index finger and thumb, briefly brushing around her wrist as he suppressed a yawn. “But… It's 7 AM.” Bondita smiled, amused at his wo...

Purnota: Chapter Thirty Six

Bondita opened her door in the usual hours of the morning and found Thamma and Jyatha Moshai on the couch in their living room, sipping tea. She had half sat on her bed, leaning against the pillow all night, imagining her plight when she faced Aniruddha in the morning. What if he did not think of it as much as she thought of his actions? What if that was his uncomfortable way of comforting her because she was upset? But what about his eyes, his gestures? Had she misread all of it? Bondita blushed to herself the moment she remembered how his eyes followed her around for the past two days. Bondita was hurrying through her daily chores, eyeing the clock, for she would be late for work and overheard Trilochon lament about things not changing since Binoy left. He thought that things were getting better at home, but as soon as Aniruddha had left for Sunderban, Binoy informed him that he had changed the attorney in charge of his case. Bondita frowned slightly as her hand stopped at wearing th...

Purnota: Chapter Thirty Five

“The bride is older than the groom.” Aniruddha heard one of the older villagers speak in a judgmental tone. “No wonder the higher castes don’t attend such atrocities.” He eyed the younger man he was talking to, who smiled. Aniruddha was sitting beside them on a bench in the open courtyard of a house where the wedding rituals were taking place. Tirio and Tumdak were playing rhythmically in a corner as some women danced to the tunes surrounding the new bride and groom. The men sat on the other side of the courtyard. “Forget about the Brahmins, we don’t expect them to come.” The younger man shook his head. “As for traditions, what is wrong if the bride is older?” He smiled sheepishly at the older man. “What’s wrong? Everything. Master Moshai, you can be educated, but our ancient traditions have reasons. The groom must be older than the bride. It has some reason.” He shook his head. The teacher, in turn, educated the man that it was a perfectly normal Santhali ritual to marry older wo...

The Difficulties

“The best of our characters are often reflected in our children.” Kunwar Shakta had visited the court at Udaipur after a Turk marriage offer was turned down by Rana Udai Singh for the third time for one of his Princesses. The Ranimahal at Chittorgarh buzzed with rumours of him warning his father about the consequences of enemity with the Turks and also about the impending doom of Mewar. He had apparently irked Kunwar Partap by suggesting a peace alliance with the Timurids was beneficial to Mewar. Rana Udai Singh, in his anger, had banished him from his court. Kunwar Shakta had sworn not to be associated with the royal family any further and to join allies with the Turks. Rawat Chundawat was calm enough to pacify the angry prince and offer him to shift to Bassi and give his decision a second thought. However, Kunwar Partap had refused to abandon Chittor, defying his father’s orders for a shift to the newly founded capital with his Ranimahal. He wanted to stay at Chittorgarh, which...

Scheme of Things

The ousting of Shams Khan and his troops from Chittorgarh earned Kunwar Partap Singh overnight fame across the land as tales of his bravery made their way through the dunes and hills, across rivers and borders to lands far and beyond. At thirteen, he had commanded an army troop to take over the fort of Chittorgarh and restore Mewar’s borders to their former glory. People started comparing him to his forefathers, the great Rana Kumbha, who built forts across Mewar and his grandfather, Rana Sanga, who had united all Rajputs against external threats. As bards sang praises of the prince, gossip soon followed. Gossip was the most entertaining one could get in the mundane city lives and village gatherings, and it often travelled faster than the fastest Marwadi horse. So alongside the tales of his absolute bravery and how he hoisted the Mewari flag on the fort, were the stories of how his life was in danger, the king and queen did not quite get along and how he was made to live in poverty by ...

Purnota: Chapter Thirty Seven

“Why will Bondita not come for Holi?” Asha asked as she inspected the colours, Abir, Pichkiri and balloons Somnath had ordered from Baro Bazaar. He shrugged. “She is scared of colours, I think.” Asha smiled, a little amused at her clueless husband. “She is not ten anymore.” He looked up at her words with a sheepish smile, “Well, I never saw her play Holi, perhaps Dadabhai knows the reason.” Asha contemplated her husband’s words. She did not share a relationship with Aniruddha frank enough for him to share things about Bondita. It would be easier for her to ask Bondita instead. “If you wish for her to come,” Som said, like he could almost read her mind, “Perhaps you can invite her. She won’t say no to you.” Asha nodded. “It will be good to have the whole family together. It's not been so since the wedding.” She smiled. Som agreed as he matched the list with the things. “Yes, and Baba will be coming too, he told me not to tell Jethu, but I was surprised by that.” “Maybe because he an...

Purnota: Chapter Thirty Four

“You are cheating, he can’t play!” Bondita was attracted by the commotion downstairs as she opened the window of her room. She walked out to the balcony to inspect it. It was Sunday, and Padma had promised to make Chicken Curry, knowing Bondita had invited Tapur to join them for lunch. In the courtyard was a group of boys, probably Sidhu’s friends, with a broken pipe for a bat, a wooden plank for a wicket kept between two bricks and a rubber ball, arguing over a game of cricket. Bondita’s eyes stopped at Aniruddha, marking a line with chalk and then measuring feet using steps to mark the boundaries. Bondita looked amused at the sight. “Batuk. You went out fair and square; give me the bat.” Bondita put her hands on her waist as she commanded. Batuk refused to part with his new bat. Som frowned at his brother. “She is right; it was a clean bowl. Give her the bat!” Som commanded. “I was not ready.” Batuk shook his head. “She knew that.” “It's still out.” Bondita frowned. Aniruddha wal...

RAABTA

Search This Blog