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, with no veil of formality, reflected in his eyes.
" Did you not get informed..." She spoke up in her defence. "Did the messenger not take the message to him?"
" When Dheerbai ji? When was the messenger supposed to inform us?" Maharani Jaivanta Bai, clad in white, entered the hall as people bowed before her. "After your son's coronation?"
Jagmal looked a little petrified as two guards came to remove him from the throne for the Rajabhishekh. He refused to move, clutching at the cushion, eyeing his mother, waiting to be saved from the humiliation.
" Maharani Jaivanta Bai, Rana Udai Singh, has stated in his last wish that he wants Jagmal as his heir." Rana Raimal of Jaisalmer spoke in a clear tone as Rawat Chundawat interrupted, " Who witnessed that?"
" I did, Jagmal and Dheer Behna..." He eyed his sister.
Rawat Chundawat stopped the man. "Rana ji always wanted Kunwar Pratap on the throne, and so did Mewar."
" But Rawatji, if that was Daajiraj's last wish..." Kunwar Pratap was unsure. It could be possible that his father, who secretly always felt intimidated by his popularity among subjects, wanted Jagmal on the throne. After all, he was the eldest son of his favourite queen. He was fed up fighting against his family for the throne when bigger enemies loomed in Mewar.
" No, Kunwar Pratap. Mewar needs you. We all need you." The chieftain's voice was matched by the people who cheered for him. He had lived for these people, and he had sworn to live for his motherland. His eyes searched the crowd and stopped at Ajabdeh's. She nodded in approval. Her eyes said this was right. All his doubts disappeared. He nodded in approval as a horrified Dheer Bai watched her son being lifted and dragged out of the throne in an embarrassing turn of events.
"Rana Pratap Singh Ki Jai. Rana Pratap Singh Ki Jai."
The new king took his throne as Amar exclaimed to a smaller Chand,
" See, Bhai Chand, we are not Bhanwar anymore." He smiled.
" We are not? Then?" The toddler asked, confused.
" You are Kunwarsa now, Chand." Rajkumari Phool Kanwar exclaimed happily. At last, some luxuries of the mahal are ours. Jasobai and Ashabai thought the same, too. They were uncomfortable with their life in Kelwara, hiding from Mughal encampments while Pratap took charge of Kumbhalgarh after the Mughals attacked the fort.
" Why haven't you unpacked, Jija?" Solankini asked Ajabdeh, surprised.
" Because we are moving soon, Behna." She smiled, tying the Princess's braids.
" Moving?" She asked, surprised. " Where? We just came here."
" I don't know. All I know is he won't stay in Gogunda, or in Udaipur." Ajabdeh shook her head absent-mindedly. "He never thought it was a safe place to be a capital."Solankini rushed to tell the others not to unpack. Jija was never wrong about anything, especially about him.
He looked at the packed things around the room and smiled. Ajabdeh was putting Amar to sleep. She was wearing gold after many days, and he gathered as he realised she had changed a lot from when they left Chittor four years ago. He sat down silently and looked at her with a questioning face.
" What?"
" Why haven't you unpacked?" he smiled. She knew his soul.
" Because I gathered we will be moving soon." She said nonchalantly, watching her son sleep peacefully.
" How did you know that?" He asked, surprised as she shrugged, smiling.
" We are moving to Kumbhalgarh the day after tomorrow." He said.
" Kumbhalgarh?" Her eyes twinkled, remembering the tales of Rana Kumbha, Rana Raimal and Panna Dai.
" Yes, I was ..."
" Born there, I know." She smiled.
" I will show you the place, it's still there, I heard." He managed a smile.
" Kun... Ranaji." Her call stopped him at the door as he turned. He was getting used to the new title.
" Are you..." She sounded worried.
"I am fine, Ajabdeh. I need to go talk to Ranima," he forced a smile.
The first court session in Kumbhalgarh saw the attendance of every chieftain showing their support for Mewar. Pratap expected Shakti to be there. He had taken over Baasi from Chundawats and was the Thakur there. He expected Shakti to come back and be his ally, since Udai Singh was no longer the king, but his absence made him worry. Had Shakti been disappointed with him for taking the throne against his father's last wish? He wondered.
" I think you should declare Kunwar Amar as Yuvraj." Rawat Krishnadas insisted.
" But Kunwar Amar is so small. What if people try to harm him after the..." It was Balwant who spoke. He was the new Rao of Bijoliya after the demise of Ram Rakh Punwar in the Chittorgarh war. It made sense that after everything he experienced, he was tense about his nephew. Rana Pratap looked at the two elderly men having doubts about the future, and he concluded that he needed to talk to Ajabdeh.
He walked in as she was making garlands, and his footsteps made her smile.
" Where is Amar?" He asked, looking around the quiet Ranimahal.
" He is with Ashabai; she is helping the ladies-in-waiting pack Dheerbai ji's bag for Vrindavan; he is there too."
" Is that... safe?" He was doubtful.
She frowned. " Ranaji! She is not here, and Ashabai is an overprotective mother to Amar."
" How can you trust all of them so easily, Ajabdeh? I can't!" He shrugged as she gasped disapprovingly at him.
" They are your wives. You should trust them. I know them enough to know my Amar is safe with them. They are as much his mother as I am." She was firm, her voice almost scolding, reminding him of his Gurukul teacher.
" But what if someone fakes concern and... and... tries to harm..." He did not want to bring up the unpleasant truth he had faced all his life.
"Pratap!" She exclaimed at his thought. " If you can't trust your family, then how can they trust each other? What is wrong with you...?" She looked worried. " What... Did someone say something?" She asked, scrutinising.
" Balwant was..." He stopped, alarmed, at how her sisterly side would give him an earful if she heard what he dared to imply in open court.
" Oh! He is new to this. Forgive him for..." Ajabdeh looked apologetic. "Ever since Daata..."
" No, no Ajabdeh, he was my father too. I understand he is just worried about us." He stopped. " Rawatji was saying, to declare Amar as Yuvraj and..."
" Amar hasn't proved his worth yet. When he will, we will definitely do that, not this early." Her words made him stare like she was a reflection of Jaivanta Bai.
" But Ajabdeh...." He reasoned, "Tomorrow is uncertain, and I don't want..."
" Chand is a toddler, and by doing this, we will make it evident that we don't trust anyone." Ajabdeh protested firmly, "That will cause animosity which is not there." She held his hand reassuringly. " I don't want that."
Her decision was his. He nodded.
"I think once we get Amar married, we can think of it." He smiled. Ajabdeh gasped. "He is just thirteen, he is still a boy." She protested. "There is plenty of time..."
"You never told me. Was it true that he tried to protect you in the forest?" He questioned as Ajabdeh's eyes beamed with pride. He had indeed, when he was ten, and they were travelling from Kelwara to Ranakpur through the forest, and the Mughal soldiers had spotted the entourage. Amar had taken out his sword, swearing to protect his mother and motherland. The guards and soldiers did their job, but Amar had his first taste of battle, and as he winced at his injury, Ajabdeh had never been so proud, cleaning his wound. He had made his mother swear not to tell Daajiraj, afraid he might scold him for it.
" It's time that the Maharani takes the throne with the Maharana. " Rawatji smiled at the gathered crowd. The women witnessed the scene from the jharokhas.
" Ranaji will choose his Maharani." Made Solankini Bai smile at Ajabdeh, who blushed.
" Ranaji had chosen his Maharani long before." Champabai giggled.
" Before he knew he was king," Jasobai added.
" Jija, go before you are called." Phool Kanwar smiled. "Why are you so modest?"
" Let him choose his consort." Jaivanta Bai hid a smile at his teasing wives as Ajabdeh looked trapped amidst them.
" Ranaji?" Rawatji asked as per the norms. He turned to his right, where Amar Singh sat.
" Kunwar Amar, call your Ranima."
He said it loud enough to reach the jharokhas. Ajabdeh touched Jaivanta Bai's feet as she blessed happily.
" Bless me to be like you." She smiled as Jaivanta cupped her face.
" No, Ajabdeh, you did what I couldn't, you kept a united family, keep doing that!" She smiled.
Rana Pratap could hear her familiar Payal amidst the noises of the court. He remembered the first time he had heard her and made the mistake of looking up at the Jharokha. He looked up again as she got down from one today, helped by their son, to the dais. Her face was veiled. But he knew she smiled at him, a smile he had known and loved, and was thankful for years.
" Maharani Ajabdeh Baisa ki Jai," echoed. She walked up to the highchair, and this time he extended his hand towards her as she took it.
" Maharanisa will sit on Ranaji's left." Rawatji declared as she did the honours. Together, they gifted clothes to the subjects like they did back in Chittorgarh.
He walked into the room knowing she would expect him to. She was combing her hair as his reflection fell on the mirror.
" We are going hunting tomorrow. As per the traditions." He made her nod.
" Take Amar with you, too." She smiled.
" Ajabdeh, you know it's not safe. " He shook his head. "Not so soon."
" Who will teach him if not you?" She retorted.
" As far as I remember." He smiled. " His mother won a sword-fighting competition against me. By cheating."
" No, it was fair and square. You always lose to me." She looked wide-eyed.
" Ever since I lost my heart to you," he smiled. She blushed red and looked away.
" Let's read." She smiled. He nodded.
"Lord Rama lived for his subjects. He created the perfect kingdom, where all men were equal, and laws were equal for all. He trained Luv and Kush the way Sita wanted, fierce warriors but intelligent like their mother. He divided his vast kingdom amongst the two; Luv got the east and Kush the west."
" Yes, we are descendants of Kush." He nodded.
" He missed Mata Sita's intelligence, her questions and eagerness in everything. He missed the part of him that questioned the right and asked why the other way was wrong. Lord Ram's questions died with her departure. The only thing that remained of her was the trace of hair he had held on to. He spent nights lamenting about what if he hadn't let her go. Then maybe, just maybe, he could not be this immortal in the eyes of his subjects. His deeds and pain made him immortal. His sacrifices and work made him God." She kept down the book and looked up at his face. After a pause, he smiled.
" We will start the Gita tomorrow." He said like a child.
" No, we always end up in fights and debates when we read that." She reminded him.
" You fight, you get over-excited, Ajabdeh." He reasoned.
" I just stick to my view like you do to yours." She pointed.
" That's your ego." He loved to make her angry.
She took a deep breath and said softly,
" Rana Pratap Singh, the Vaidji, has told me not to stress myself. You are stressing me out. It is not good for the... baby." She looked away, blushing.
" When did I stress... wait... what? Baby?" He looked at her with wide eyes as she shook her head and nodded, "Yes."
" When... why didn't you tell me?" He asked.
" I confirmed this morning, and you had work." She shrugged.
" No work is more important than this." He held her hand. "Than you are."
" Ranaji, I am fine, Amar and Chand will be so happy." She smiled. He nodded.
" You make me so happy, Ajabdeh. In a life full of regret and mistakes, I am happy I found you."
" Ranima found me; you were about to reject me." She frowned.
" I am glad I didn't." He smiled. " And I will cancel the hunting trip, I will stay with you."
" No, I vowed not to come between you and..." She reminded.
" And I vowed you are my responsibility. If ever it so happens that you go before me, I don't want to repent like Lord Ram."
" Ranaji." She giggled, surprising him. " The Ramayana always gets the insecure husband out of you."
" And it's amusing?" He asked with a serious face.
" No." She looked scared, and then they laughed. The most carefree laugh they had in years.
Today was not about what Mewar faced or the future uncertainties. Today was about their love, their family and all the tests they passed together. Today was about the journey of Kunwar Pratap and Samantputri Ajabdeh Punwar Baisa into Rana Pratap and Maharani Ajabdeh of Mewar. Today was about the marriage that witnessed the greatest love, struggle and sacrifice saga Rajputana ever witnessed. They held each other's hands as time stood witness to their love.
The End