Skip to main content

Home

Ajabdeh looked around the unfamiliar surroundings nervously. The last two days have passed like a dream. The Marriage, the Vidai and the arrival at Chittorgarh. She was now sitting in the room she called her own, yet seemed so unfamiliar. She got up to see whether anyone was there keeping an eye on her. A little relieved, she took the lota from the centre table and placed it on the bedside table. 
As soon as she placed it, three Dasis appeared at the door asking, “You need something, Kunwaranisa?”
Eyes wide and nervous, she replied, “N…No… I was just…”
“Maharanisa has told us to be at your service for every need.”
“I… don’t… need….” She was scared at the thought that three Dasis will be at their toes for her needs.

“Disperse now.” Sajja Bai’s voice made her feel relieved.
“I will get Kunwaranisa dressed for Kunwarsa’s arrival.” She smiled at a nervous, happy bride.
Kunwar Pratap’s eyes were not easy to outsmart. He caught Rawatji in the corridor, running out of Rana Udai Singh’s room, worried.
“Rawatji.” His voice stopped the man. “What happened?”
“Baojiraj. Nothing. You…”
“Rawatji, tell me.” He insisted.
“News is that Maldeo has joined hands with Bairam Khan, and your Daajiraj is worried. Also, Badshah Khan is active with the Afghans; we are afraid they will also ally with the Mughals.”
“Badshah Khan? “ He frowned. “Shams Khan’s son.” Rawatji nodded.
“The Afghans have attacked at Kelwara in the evening,” Rawatji said absentminded.
“What? You are telling me now?” Kunwar Pratap looked disappointed. “I will be getting ready to…”
“No, Kunwarsa.” Veer Baiji stopped him. “Your new bride…”
“Veer Baiji. “ Dheer Bai appeared behind her “I am sure Ajabdeh knows her duties as …”
“Don’t worry Chotima. Ajabdeh will be happy to let me go.”

The new bride was sitting with nervous expectations as he entered the room, worried about how to put the situation in front of her. Kunwar Pratap had forgotten that his new bride was Baijilal. One look at his face and she frowned, “What happened?” Her question made him smile faintly.
“Ajabdeh.” 
She walked up to him and asked again. “What happened?”
“Badshah Khan attacked …” He sounded a little unsure.
"Who?" She frowned. 
"Shams Khan's son. He attacked ..." Pratap looked angry.
“What are you still doing here?” She looked displeased as he looked up at her face. She walked away towards the adjacent room and came back with his sword as he stood admiring her.
“You get ready, I will do the puja.” She reassured with a smile. 
As she turned to leave, he held her back by her wrist, making her stop.
“Ajabdeh.”
She turned with a smile as his eyes twinkled proudly.
“Kunwarsa…” 
He hugged her tight, as she found peace in his arms, then moved away from his embrace shyly. 
“Go. You are getting late.” He smiled with a nod.

As Kunwar Pratap got ready for the mission, she put down her aarti thal from her puja placed on the table in the room beside his sword. As she opened the door, she saw a Dasi standing.
“Maharanisa has called upon you both, Kunwaranisa.”
“Ji.” 
She nodded as he heard the orders, and their eyes met with a nod.

Jaivanta Bai smiled at the newlyweds as Ajabdeh handed him his sword. Rana Udai Singh walked in and stopped as Jaivanta Bai smiled at him proudly. He nodded with a faint smile as she did his aarti. Pratap and Ajabdeh smiled at each other as he walked behind his father. Maharani Jaivanta Bai urged her to accompany her to the Rani Mahal gates.

As Kunwar Pratap glanced over his shoulder at the gates, she smiled reassuringly at him. He smiled back faintly before looking at his mother, who gave a reassuring nod before he left. As his horse went out of sight, suddenly Ajabdeh felt a cloud of loneliness around this unfamiliar place. She needed to shake off the feeling. It was home now.

Ajabdeh turned around as Jaivanta Bai said, “Come stay with me tonight, Ajabdeh.” She smiled faintly with a nod.
" You know, when Pratap was just three, we used to live in Kumbhalgarh, he..." Jaivanta Bai knew her mind and soul needed to ease. They spend the night, telling and hearing childhood tales, mostly of Kunwar Pratap's adventures. Jaivanta Bai smiled at the sleeping figure as she caressed her head with a sigh and whispered a small prayer. For her, mostly for him.

At dawn, Dheer Bai ji walked into the decorated room of the newlyweds and frowned to find it empty.
“You need something, Chotima?” Ajabdeh’s voice startled her as she turned to see her, in a red and yellow lehenga, ready after a bath, with a puja thali in hand.
“No… I…. Kunwar…” She sounded unsure.
“Kunwarsa and Rawatji have gone to stop Badshah Khan, remember?” Ajabdeh smiled.
“He…went?” Dheer Bai managed a sly smile. “Leaving his bride on the wedding night, already?”
“He went.” She nodded. “For his mother needs him to save her.”
“I feel so bad for you.” Dheer Bai faked a concern.
“I feel so proud that I am his wife.” She smiled as she meant every word.

Kunwar Pratap and Rawatji arrived in time to scare away the small troops of the Afghans, but something in Kunwar Pratap said it was not over so soon. Shams Khan’s son wouldn’t stop. He made sure the borders were secured as of now; every bordering state needs alert. 
Shams Khan's son was hiding in a khema in the Mewar forest after his escape. Pointing at a fort on the map, he looked at his generals.
"Kunwar Pratap will pay for killing my father. And this is how. Prepare to attack the eighth day from now."
"But Huzoor, why here?" A man asked. Badshah Khan smiled faintly.
"Because, according to their Rajput rasm, this is where we will find his strength, alone, in seven days. You rip his heart out, you devastate him, and revenge is taken. This is personal." He smiled, pleased and confident. He had all the information he needed to gather on the Samant family, Bijolia and the new Bride.

Kunwar Pratap looked at the Mewar map in his khema with a frown. He circled out three places. Shook his head. He was missing something. What was he missing? The doorman announced Rao Ram Rakh's arrival. He folded up the map with a smile.
"Kunwarsa... you are going back to Chittorgarh, I am leaving for Bijolia at the earliest."
"Ji Raoji, I will give Ajabdeh your regards." He smiled.
"Actually, I'm here to invite you for the Pakfera there on the seventh day, and like the rule, Ajabdeh would... stay back till the tenth... Hansa Bai will write to Maharanisa." Raoji's words made him smile like he had found something. Raoji stopped, confused.
"Don't worry, we will be there." He nodded as Raoji turned to go.
"Raoji...." He stopped the man. " Keep your troops ready. In case." He nodded. Kunwar Pratap opened the map and circled the fourth spot with a frown on his face. However, he was happy that in just two days, they would be back in Chittorgarh.

In these two days, Ajabdeh learned many things with Sajjabai’s help. At first, she thought she needed a map of the palace of Rana Kumbha. She knew the road leading to the mandir and garden; others she dared not use out of fear. The princesses were in awe of their new Bhabisa as they showed her around the garden and the mandirs. Meera Ma’s mandir filled her imagination with the lady’s tales.
In the evening, she read out to the eager audience of princesses, as she missed Balwant and Ratan. She missed home. She prayed twice daily for his safety. He who made her call this unfamiliar place home.

The news of his arrival filled her heart with happiness and her mind with nervousness as Jaivanta Bai ordered the Dasis to get her ready in her wedding attire and jewellery before he arrived. He needed to see her just the way he left her.




Popular posts from this blog

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...

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. ...

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

Bondita was up early when she heard Thamma in the washroom and did not wait for her alarm clock to ring. She stared at the clock, wondering when it would be a decent time to run to Saudamini’s house and knock. She even took out some chocolates from her purse to give to the child when she went to see her. She had so much to catch up on and apologise for. She had quickly dressed in a white Salwar Kameez, added a pearl stud to her ears and headed for Mini Didi’s old home, paying no heed to Kalindi lamenting about the mess in the bedroom. It felt like Deja Vu as she pressed the bell and waited in front of the green door before she heard footsteps on the other side. “Mini Didi!” Saudamini was startled by Bondita’s hug as soon as she opened the front door. “Bondita?” Saudamini held her by the shoulder, inspecting her with beaming eyes. “My God, Bondita!” She exclaimed. “How beautifully you have grown!” Bondita’s eyes fell on the boy, about twelve, staring at her with surprise as she let Sau...

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...

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 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...

Happy Ending

Dheer had a sleepless night. Yes, she had killed the Maharani, but to seek revenge for her son. Jagmal was all she had for a dream, and Rana Pratap's first decision was to banish him. He had never been that tough with his other brothers who went with Akbar, then why him? Just because he wanted to be a king? Just because they brought a false letter and bought a few witnesses? Her son died in Ajmer, so young. And she had always blamed Ajabdeh Punwar for Rana's hard decision. After all, ever since she came as a support for Jaivanta Bai, she had been like his shield, even though creating misunderstandings didn't help Dheer Bai Bhatiyani. Ajabdeh had done the impossible, showing him the real face of his Chotima. What bothered Dheer now was whether he remembered anything, and most importantly, if she did. Dheer had turned pale at the song and smile Pratap gave, but if he knew she had killed Ajabdeh, it meant Survi remembered her walking to a dying Ajabdeh and confessing that ...