Party in Udaipur

"Get me the car, please, Kaka!" He kept his phone and turned to see her checking hers. A red Ferrari sports car drove up as the driver handed over the key to Pratap. Ajabdeh's eyes widened.

"Whoa!!! This is cool, man! You should mention having a car like this. Pata hota to Kuch aur pehenti!"

" No, what you are wearing is fine!" He opened the door for her.

" I can't believe this! " She gushed.

" What?" He frowned as he sat at the wheel.

" Wait, let me take a selfie!" He frowned at her some more.

She uploads the picture on Instagram as she says aloud, " Hashtag(#) Palace #Royalty #Ferrari #outwithaprince #omg"

He stares at her, amused, " Really? Out with a prince?"

" Kyaa?" She raised her eyebrows. "My friends in Delhi are always like Kaunsa Gaon mein You stay gal! This is my chance to show off a little!" She shrugged.

He shook his head, " I can't believe this!"

" Can I tag you?" She asked, ignoring his amusement.

" No! Wait... Do you follow me?" He asked.

" Ya so?" She shrugged.

" Nothing!" He looked surprised. "I didn't know that."

"I don't expect someone with a blue tick and thousands of followers to even know." She shrugged.

The car drove out of the archways as Ajabdeh waved to a much-surprised Kaka.

" Chalo Princy, where are the engaged specimens?" She said, turning to face him.

"First of all, Princy sounds like a dog! Secondly, what on earth are engaged specimens?" He asked.

"Haan! You see, let me explain..." He shook his head. It was going to be a long drive.

" ... They are getting married, so to all the unmarried people, they are like specimens. They go through the experiment, we learn from it..." Ajabdeh moved her hands animatedly as she spoke.

" Learn what?" He asked, eyeing her in his peripheral vision.

" That you should never get married. Ever!" She shook her head with a chuckle.

He laughed, amused. " I thought all girls have this prince on a white horse dream."

" Not this girl!" She shook her head. "I have more of a queen of my kingdom dream."

" Well, sadly, I have to get married." He sighed.

" Why?" She frowned.

" Royalty, sole heir, empire!" He shrugged.

" Like a Princess?" Ajabdeh narrowed her eyes.

" Maybe..." He shrugged with half a smile, concentrating on the road.

" Ewww, so typical. It's like a live fairytale." She looked away.

He stopped the car where another car was already parked. It was a white BMW. Chakrapani waved at his friend and stepped out, followed by Bhagwati, in a pretty white knee-length dress. Ajabdeh saw Bhago and forgot about her gown. " Eeee Bhago!!!!"

Within a few seconds, Pratap saw her get out of the car and rush towards a surprised Bhagwati and the next moment, with a loud thud, she was on the road. Ajabdeh Punwar had tripped on her gown.

She sat like a child, cursing, " Damn This Gown!"

Chakrapani was surprised but quick to help her up, and Bhago asked, " Are you all right?" Pratap just couldn't control his laughter at what had just happened before his eyes! She glanced, narrowing her eyes at him, then came up with a taunt, " Wow! So princely of you!"

" Now, I am with Ajabdeh Punwar, Kuch toh asar hoga na!" He laughed again, and all four of them started laughing.

They arrived at the party. The grand hotel made Ajabdeh say, "Whoa, you bought this thing?"

" Ya, I did!" He nodded.

They entered the private banquet as his friends and acquaintances scrutinised the girl with him.

" Guys, meet Ajabdeh Punwar, she is Ram Uncle's daughter and Bhagwati's childhood friend." He introduced her to his friends.

" I am Ven. Venkatesh. Pleased to meet you, I must say you are very pretty. " Ven held out his hand to her.

" Oh, I know that!" Her answer stunned him and made Pratap smile. He saw Chaks tell Ven by hand gesture that she was indeed a bit mad!

"I'm thirsty." Ajabdeh declared.

" Let me grab you a drink then." Ven insisted.

" Well, anything non-alcoholic!" She smiled.

" You don't drink?" Pratap asked, surprised.

" This girl needs no drink to have fun." She winked as he turned red and looked away.

" OMG, Princy, you are so shy!" She laughed.

" Here, juice!" Ven came with a glass, " Baojiraj is so shy that you are practically the first girl he is introducing us to."

" Really? Princy! Didn't expect this from you!" She took a sip. " Why?" He frowned.

" You look good, matlab thik thak, you are rich! Then there are all these girls staring at you right now." She smiled matter-of-factly.

" I won't say I enjoy the attention." He shrugged. "They see my status, not me."

"Deep. Profound. Boooring!" She shook her head.

" Speaking of girls!" Chak interrupted, " Baojiraj, run!"

" What?" Pratap stared at him, clueless.

All eyes were at the door, where a beautiful lady, about nineteen, had entered in a red, backless dress, and the male eyes hovered on her. She looked around and smiled at Pratap.

" Damn! How could she spot me with so many people around so easily?" Ajabdeh heard him murmur.

" Hi, Pratap!" The girl waved with a smile. " Rajkumari Phool Kanwar!" He smiled back.

" Call me Princess Rathore." Ajabdeh's loud slurp turned the attention to her. " Who is she?" The princess seemed to judge her.

" Ajabdeh, my childhood friend." Pratap smiled, leaning a little towards her as Ajabdeh looked surprised.

" No, I am not his childhood friend; I have known him since childhood." Ajabdeh moved away, a little.

"Pratap, you..." Phool started as Ajabdeh took another slurp.

" Ajab, you wanted to dance, right? Come!" He snatched her drink, keeping it down, dragging her by her hand to the dance floor before she could react with her mouth full of juice. She gulped it down, saying, " What? Me? When did I?"

" Keep quiet and dance." He spoke. " I can't," She shrugged.

" Follow me!" He sighed.

" By the way, I thought her name was Fool!" Ajabdeh giggled.

" That only you can think,, He smiled.

" You... umm...dating her?" She asked as he eyed her.

" You think? No, she is a college mate, an acquaintance." He shook his head. "She keeps coming at me at every party..."

"I hate slow songs." Ajabdeh startled him with her complaining tone. " DJ DJ!!!" She started waving, grabbing some unnecessary judgmental stares.

" What do you want?" Pratap held her shoulders and asked. " A louder song... more hippy! " she smiled dizzily.

" Ajabdeh. Are you alright?" Pratap frowned at her.

" Yes, I loved the juice." He shot a glance at Ven, who was smiling. He shook his head, "Damn!"

The music grew louder. " I want to go home!" She let go of his hand and collided with another guy.

"Sorry!" she was quick to apologise.

" Home? But you wanted louder music!" Pratap asked, surprised.

" Are you mad? I hate loud music. Take me home, Pratap. Now!" She sulked like a baby.

" Did you just call me Pratap?" He asked, surprised. " Hushhhhh! Princy!" She started giggling, "You are too loud." She whispered almost into his ear.

" Let's take you home!" He shook his head and dragged her away from the crowd by her hand.

He made her sit in the car and went to grab the keys. She moved to the driver's seat, shouting, " I wanna drive this Baby, now! Where is the Key?"

" Have you ever driven sober?" Pratap asked, amused. " I drive better than Lewis!" She shrugged.

" Lewis? Who is that?" He raised his brows. " Buddhu!!! Hamilton!" She giggled.

" Ajabdeh, you are making no sense. Move aside." He opened the door. " No, I'm driving, bhrooom bhrroooom gooooo Ferrari!"

He pushed her to the other side.

" Music," Ajabde commanded.

" No." He shook his head.

" Main Tenu Samjhawan ki... Na tere bina lagta jee" Her melodious voice filled the air as he drove out. In the next thirty minutes, she sang the song on a loop before falling asleep. He smiled at her sleeping figure and smiled. " So much fun you are!"

Arriving at the Palace, he tried in vain to wake her up. He opened the car door and picked her up. He laid her down in her pink room and removed the hair locks falling on her face, then covered her with a blanket. He instructed the maid. " Be with her if she needs anything."

Jaivanta Bai watched a disturbed Pratap drive out of the Palace. He needed to give Ven a piece of his mind. What he did to Ajab, even as a joke, was uncalled for.

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 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, ...

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...

Purnota: Chapter Seventeen

Bondita opened the curtains of her room at The Park to find the view of Stephen Court and the street below going towards the Maidan. She eyed the double bed and placed her things on one side while lying down on the empty side. The soft bed made her yawn as she sat up, staring at the clock. She needed to change for a quick dinner. They had an early matter at the High Court, and the client’s car was supposed to pick them up around 9 AM. As she changed into a full-sleeve black top and jeans, removed her earrings and adjusted her smudged Kajal, she heard a knock on her door. She opened it to find Aniruddha standing in a pair of jeans and a grey polo-necked T-shirt, his hair brushed back, as he cleaned his thin-rimmed glasses with the edge of his T-shirt. “Are you ready for dinner?” He asked, putting the glasses back on. As she nodded, she grabbed her handbag. They walked into The Bridge, and Bondita was a little conscious of her environment. Many foreign guests, businessmen and even s...

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...

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...

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 ...

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 Fourteen

“Why can’t she work? I will too.” Bondita had barged into the Roy Chowdhury living room early in the morning, still in her loungewear, as Aniruddha looked up at her through his glasses. Trilochon was showing Aniruddha some paperwork from one of their investments as Bondita stood by the coffee table, wearing a frown. Aniruddha looked confused. Trilochon cleared his throat as he shook his head at Bondita. “It's different. She is going to be the daughter-in-law.” Aniruddha eyed Trilochon and Bondita, who shook her head in disappointment. “So?” She questioned, “She can’t have a life?” “When a woman marries…” Trilochon stood up, straightening his Panjabi “Her life is about being a good wife and mother.” Bondita gasped. Aniruddha’s jaws tightened as he kept the papers down. Bondita spoke before he could. “Then by that logic, men should also concentrate on being husbands and fathers.” “Then who will earn the bread?” Trilochon rolled his eyes. Bondita eyed Aniruddha, expecting him to speak...

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...

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