What was That?

As Days Passed By...

Kunwar Pratap was by now used to being called Aswapalak by everyone as Ajabde still stumbled upon “Kun…” and “Pr…” once in a while. He had managed to take time out and tell her about the letters he received. His mother was fine, and everyone missed him, he felt happy. She smiled at his childlike enthusiasm, as he read out parts of Majhli Maasa’s letter. Two days went in a flash as Ajabde got busy taking care of her friend’s wedding. Everyone was in praise of the way she single-handedly took care of every detail so easily.

Ajabde was dressed in an orange and gold lehenga and minimum jewellery for the wedding. She had taken up the task of dressing up the bride all by herself. She had put the dupatta on her friend’s head as Saubhagyawati blushed and Ajabde smiled a satisfied smile. She held her friend’s stone-cold hands reassuringly as the nervous bride managed a smile.

The sound of drums filled the air and Ratan came shouting “The groom is here.” Ajabde was separating out petals in different thaals for the guests to shower on the couple when Ratan dragged her to the Jharokha. A reluctant Ajabde made her way to the jharokha with the thaal in hand saying in vain “Aree… Ratan…I…”

They appeared in the Jharokha looking at the Baraat. Ratan’s friend called her to another Jharokha for a better view and she ran, pushing Ajabde out of her way. Ajabde stumbled forward only to balance as the thaal tilted from the Jharokha and a few petals fell before she managed to straighten it. Worried she looked down to meet another pair of confused eyes, shaking the petals off his pagri. He smiled as she appeared on the Jharokha and she murmured “ Sshama Kijiye…” to herself worried. Kunwar Pratap could see she was embarrassed and shook his head slightly to say it was all right before he walked in, out of her view.

“ Baojiraj. Baojiraj.” For the hundredth time, Chakrapani whispered to his friend. Kunwar Pratap was now irritated by how he was behaving. He gave a cold stare only to remind him that he was Aswapalak or Pratap. Chakrapani stopped and added “ Please ….”

“ I am not married Chakrapani Mishra, nor do I intend to be this early. I have no idea how to decrease your tension so stop bothering me.” He was clearly irritated at the groom.

Ratan appeared with a smile as she added “ Aswapalakji, Maasa was looking for you.”

“Ji.” He went towards the Ranimahal in search of her.

“ You see when you know him and be his friend, you will understand what he needs when he needs it, how he likes things and it won’t be this scary Bhago.”

Her voice stopped him as he looked at the closed door from where the sound resonated. She was attending to her nervous friend so calmly that guilt crept in him at how he had shouted at Chakrapani. 

Hansa Bai appeared behind him and said “I was looking for you. “Startling him out of his thoughts.

“Ji Mausi?”

“I was looking for you.” She smiled. “Here, Your mother send this for you.” She handed him something wrapped in a piece of cloth and left. He eagerly unwrapped it, and it was a small idol of Lord Ganesh. He smiled happily and pressed it against his forehead.

After the wedding, everyone gathered around the newlyweds as Chakrapani flaunted his astrology talents.

“ Predict Ajabde’s future please.” Saubhagyawati softly spoke to her husband as a reluctant Ajabde said “ No No I…”

“ You will lose something to win something Baisa…” Chakrapani obliged his bride’s request as Ajabde frowned. “Ji?”

“That is the strangest thing I ever heard.” Kunwar Pratap chuckled at his friend.

“You will have a turn of fate too… or so my calculations say.” Chakrapani smiled at a frowning Pratap.

" I believe we make our own fates." Kunwar Pratap smiled, "With our actions." He stared at a disturbed Ajabde as she looked worried about what Chakrapani had said.

After the wedding, Kunwar Pratap came back to his room and remembered the idol. He had to place it somewhere he could worship daily. Holding the idol in his hand he was lost in thought as he looked around the room he called him now.

Dawn. Bijolia Palace.

“ Ajabde?” He whispered softly at the sound of Payal, hoping it was her and not Ratan.

“ Ji?” Her ever-smiling face appeared as he smiled.

“ Woh… I needed help…” He appeared relieved.

“Letters?” She smiled as he nodded a “No.”

Confused her eyebrows narrowed as he directed his hand for her to enter his room.

Soon, Ajabde was setting up a corner of his room, for the idol, decorating it with lamps and flowers. He watched her do it eagerly, as she instructed him on the Puja rules.

“ Lord Ganesh loves red flowers. I will leave some here every day, with a garland, when you go to the Dangal, you can come back and do the …” She turned around to see if he was listening as he nodded his head saying “Ji.”

A commotion downstairs made them stare at the door as Balwant appeared gasping “ Jija, woh the….some people… Daata is not home…”

They both rushed down the spiral staircase leading to the court she put the dupatta over her head in a hurry and walked towards the courtroom jharokha.

“ Daata is not here.” Her voice made the commotion stop. “You can tell me…” 

Kunwar Pratap decided to be a silent spectator than attract attention. Something in him said she could handle it.

“ Baisa… what to tell you… the money lender Parvat Das is so cruel… he beats us up and takes double rates and ransacks our houses if we cannot pay the amounts. He comes at night and thus leaves no eyewitness. Even if people see they are too scared to protest…”

“ Help us Baisa.” An elderly woman sobbed. “He said if I can’t pay my interests he will take my daughter and… and…” Kunwar Pratap’s fist tightened as he left the room, hearing Ajabde telling them to maintain peace.

“ Where is this Parvat Das active?” Balwant asked as Ajabde narrated the tales to Raoji.

“ As far as I know the little village by the Bijolia Jheel.” Raoji seemed bothered, there was too much on his plate now. An angry Surtan Singh, his people’s problems and… Sakhaveer and Baijilal.

That night Sakhaveer appeared on the other side of the Jheel as he stared at the lamps of the village on the other side. He was determined to solve this problem first. Surtan was a bigger problem and he hoped Chittor would take care of him.

“ As far as I know, he will go to an old lady’s place and attack today.” He turned at her voice as she stared ahead. “ Her name is Girja Dhai.” The name made him look wide-eyed. She was his Dhai when he was born and she got dispersed from work when he grew up and she was older. He knew she lived around here with her daughter but was in so much trouble he didn’t know.

“ Girja Dhai?” He repeated thinking. 

She stared right at his worried eyes asking “ You know her?” He shook her head with a no.

“She was Kunwar Pratap’s Dhai.” His name from Baijilal’s mouth sounded familiar.

“ Kunwar Pratap?” He frowned at how she knew that. 

“ You know him?” His heart skipped a beat as he asked.

Baijilal was a little startled at the question as she nodded “ No, I heard… "

“Such news also spread? Why are people so eager to know about the Royals? Such details…”

“He is not any Royal! He is Mewar’s crown prince!” 

She seemed amused at his lack of knowledge of Kunwar Pratap’s importance. The most humble royal you will find Sakhaveer!

“You seem to admire him.” He smiled.

“Only his bravery… not like…other girls admire him.” She said a little awkwardly.

“How do other girls admire him?” He asked eyes wide.

“Are we here to talk tonight?” She frowned and walked ahead as he followed confused.

Parvat Das was dragging out a girl in her late teens as the mother cried for help in vain. She blocked his way as he pushed the old lady away. She was about to fall when a strong pair of arms held her. She looked up teary-eyed at the brown eyes and the red tilak in the saffron attire.

“Kunwarsa?” She asked surprised as she remembered the baby she held for the first time at Kumbhalgarh and how he used to make her run around the palace. Those eyes spoke intelligence and bravery. She could never forget those eyes.

“ No… I… “He choked. He was sorry not to know her pain like she knew his.

“ Sakhaveer!” Baijilal’s call startled him as he saw her holding one of the aides of Parvat Das by the collar. “ He’s escaping!” She pointed.

As grateful as he was that she didn’t hear the call, he was furious at the man. This war was now personal. He ran after the man and caught him, as the girl ran to Baijilal. She held her reassuringly, as Sakhaveer beat up the goons and Parvat Das fell at his feet. Baijilal frowned at how merciless he seemed today like it was some personal anger. He was almost killing a man when she had to intervene and held his bleeding fist shouting “ Stop!”

He stopped looking at her scared eyes as the mother-daughter duo hugged visibly shaken.

She looked at his bleeding fist and back at him, as she held it with both hands and looking at her worried eyes made his anger disappear. He was about to speak when the sound of hooves distracted them.

“Mewari Soldiers?” Girja Dhai looked stunned as both eyes widened. The capturing order!

They got up and Sakhaveer picked up the fallen Parvat Das and threw him at the first line of soldiers.

“ Give justice to this lady by capturing this man.” She added before he whistled and two horses appeared galloping out of nowhere and they ran.

“Hurry! They are leaving!” Raoji shouted at his men as he appeared at the scene.

“ Why are they after Sakhaveer and Baijilal?” The gathered villagers wondered in surprise.

They ran the horses through the forests beside the Jheel. The soldiers followed suit with Rao Ramrakh.

“ Quick! That broken temple!” She pointed as they both jumped from the horses that galloped away, trained to make soldiers lose the trail of their masters.

They ran into the temple as they saw the soldiers follow the horses.

“Behind that pillar!” 

Before she could react, he held her wrist and pressed her against a pillar, standing close, so that their reflections don’t fall separate from the pillar. His heavy breath was resounding in her ears as she stared at his barely visible shiny eyes, looking out for the men. His hand was still holding her wrist, and her injured hand travelled across her to hold the pillar in a protective posture.

She looked at his fist still bleeding and wondered what had gotten into him that day, he was so proud of his skills that he rarely used his hands, but today… she wondered if she should ask … after all, now they were … She paused. Who were they? Friends? Acquaintances? Two people with the same objectives?

“ We can’t fight our own people.” His voice startled her as he whispered worriedly.

“Yes, but they don’t consider us our own, do they? How could Ranaji give such orders?” She was clearly angry.

“ I don’t think he did.” His voice seemed firm.

“But his order…”

“ There is something more to it.” He cut in, looking at her eyes that looked worried. A moment passed as he felt her look worried. He couldn’t just look away.

“ Look Footsteps! They are here!” Raoji’s voice startled them out of… what was that?

“ We need to move.” 

He spoke up as his hand directed her by the wrist inside the temple. They hid behind the large stone idol of Goddess Bhavani that was now broken.

“ Please Bhavani Ma, don’t let Da… umm… Mewari soldiers find us… we can’t fight our own!” She was whispering a small prayer eyes closed made him smile.

“Someday, like under the daylight, suppose we meet…” He looked at her worried face looking out for the soldiers as he whispered. “ It will be strange because we won’t recognize each other.”

“ They are gone.” She appeared relieved. “ What?”

“ Nothing.” He shook his head at the thought. “Let’s go.” 

He then realized that he had not let go of her hand and neither had she realized it. He let go awkwardly as she held his injured hand making him stare at her. She took a piece of cloth from her dupatta and wrapped it around the bleeding hand, adding “Someday I would like to know the reason behind such a fit of rage.”

“Not someday soon I am afraid.” Although he said it with a chuckle he wished he could tell her.

They made their way to the Bhimlat knowing that from how they had trained their horses they would be grazing there. Sakhaveer ran to his horse and patted him. She caressed hers.

She was about to leave when he called. “Baijilal?”

“ Ji?” She turned around.

“I was wondering if you… umm… if someday soon we have no missions, would I still find Baijilal here?” He asked as her eyes looked surprised. The pause made him feel he had offended her.

“You may just find her here.” She replied.

“I would like to meet the face behind her someday.” He smiled as she added “Not someday soon, that’s for sure!” and rode away leaving him smiling.

 “ They just disappeared?” Balwant asked clearly amused as Raoji looked angry. 

Ajabde handed him the thandai with a serious face. The morning at the Bijolia Palace was not in for a good start. Kunwar Pratap made his way from the Dangal and stopped to find the family there.

“ Any problem?” He asked as Ratan responded, “ Yes two, Sakhaveer and Baijilal.”

“Ratan!” Ajabde scolded softly as Kunwar Pratap looked at Raoji’s face and made a serious face and nodded. Ajabde dragged Ratan by her hand and walked past him into the corridor where he heard her scold “ Don’t talk like that again, he asked Daata not you!”

He made his way to his room and did his pooja like she had taught him. Then he went out with an empty jug looking for water. He stopped at the kitchen door, hearing Ratan and Ajabde giggle.

“ And I heard Surtan was on fire!” Ratan laughed adding “ I like Baijilal.”

“ Sakhaveer is braver. He threw Surtan into the pool of mud.” Ajabde smiled as a smile appeared on his face.

“Aswapalakji? You want something?” Ratan’s voice made Ajabde turn.

“Ji…I… came to take…” He pointed at the jug.

“ Give me I will…” Ajabde came to take the jug but he refused to give it.

“It’s all right, I will…” he insisted.

“You are our guest and it’s only…”

“ Maan jaiye….” Ratan giggled as they stared at her. “She is very stubborn.”

“Ratan!” The scolding made her run as Kunwar Pratap smiled.

“ Waise…she is right you are.” 

He handed her the jug as her eyes fell on his neatly dressed fist and her heart skipped a beat.

“What happened to your hand?” She looked at him wide-eyed.

“Woh…. At the dangal… I went to the vaidji…. It’s fine..”

“This happens when you are a Sadharan Aswapalak trying to be a Prince with the sword.” She bit her tongue hoping she hadn’t offended Kunwar Pratap with her joke as he burst into laughter and she followed suit.

“ You are right.” He smiled and walked away with the filled jug. She smiled watching him go.

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