Our World

Holi in Surajgarh was always traditionally colourful and nice, with delicious homemade sweets and Thandai and lots of childhood memories. The people were too happy to find the Royal Family back in Surajgarh for Holi. Away from the media and news, these simple people who still looked up to the Royals always wanted them to come back home, unaware of the happenings of the fast lives in the cities. Their small world would celebrate Holi like never before this year. Surajgarh was decked up as soon as it knew Ranisa was coming on Holi. Ranisa, much like Ajabdeh Baisa, was their god-sent angel, who solved problems like miracles, and the people loved and respected her. Jaivanta did a Khamma Ghani to the crowd in her elegant, gracious way that always mesmerised Ajabdeh. She smiled, inspecting the latest happenings with the Panchayat, much to Jaivanta's delight."Jija, we are here for the holidays, so please don't talk about work." Shakti dragged her away as she said, "But..."Patta met them with a not-so-convincing smile as Ajabdeh asked, "What happened to you?"
"Nothing." He frowned as she looked suspicious. "Everyone can rest till Holika Dahan. Rukaiya especially." Hansa spoke up. "And you?" Rukaiya looked down as she scolded."Mausi scolded her; she kept me on my toes all the time. Now it is her turn." Sau giggled. "Aarchi is coming with Mausi" Ajabdeh smiled at the baby. "Say bye to everyone." She walked away talking to the baby in her room, while the others went to theirs. Pratap was playing ball with Brownie when he heard Shakti and Patta with Jalal in the corridor. "What is cooking here?" He frowned. "Jalal, if you do some mischief with them, I swear I will..."

"No... I am responsible." He made a serious face. "Pratap trusts me." Pratap frowned at his smile. Jalal quickly walked away to his room as Pratap watched Shakti go to him. Jalal frowned at Rukaiya's pale face as she was sitting in bed and having water."Ruk, are you okay?" He asked worriedly. "Just a little nausea..." She smiled faintly. "Umm... is it normal?" He hated it when the doctor and the patient were the same people. It worried him that she would always hide something. "Yes, it is." She giggled. "Do you remember my senior, Dr Mahamanga?" "She seemed very motherly to you." Jalal smiled. "She will be looking at me." Rukaiya smiled. "Relieved?"
"No, sleep." He frowned. Rukaiya giggled at his worried face as he kissed her forehead and repeated, "Sleep."Aww, Aarchi..." Ajabdeh was playing with Aarchi, who was smiling at Mausi. Pratap entered, smiling at the scene."Look at her!" Ajabdeh smiled excitedly. "I think she got a little taller?" Pratap looked clueless as she put a kajal tika on Aarchi's forehead. "Nazar na lage meri princess ko."He sat down beside her, staring as she smiled at Aarchi. The baby started crying as Ajabdeh promptly picked her up, saying, "Aww, what happened...." She cradled Aarchi as Pratap frowned at how at ease she was with the tiny baby. "Are you hungry? Is Aarchi hungry?" She said, worried and got up.
"Go to Kakasa, I will bring your food from Mamma!" She promptly placed Aarchi on his lap as he tried to protest and ran out. Pratap looked terrified, eyes wide at the door as she ran."Oh God...err...." He looked terrified as the baby moved. "Hi, Aarchi." He managed a smile, but the baby pouted and started sobbing. He remembered how Ajabdeh was cradling her, and that made her stop. "What do I..." He looked petrified. "Ok....erm... Aarchi... hush..." He tried in vain. Jalal walked into the room, amused. "Look who is taking care of Aarchi!" He smiled. "Jalal!" Pratap was all smiles as he handed Jalal the baby. "What I... she is crying...." Jalal looked scared. "Stop her, come on!" Pratap smiled, relieved. "Practise."
"Pratap! Yeh... umm... hush-hush... Aarchi... hush...." He tried in vain as the sob turned to cries, and Ajabdeh said, "I'm coming, baby, Mamma is making your food..." The baby cried louder as they looked at each other. "Hahaha! What's happening here!" Shakti smiled, amused at the duo. "She is a baby, not a battlefield. Let me try." Pratap and Jalal were happy to hand Aarchi over to Shakti, who thought the baby would feel good if he twirled her. He used to twirl Patta all the time. Only he was a two-year-old and not a month. But Shakti gathered that all babies are the same. Two whirls and she stopped as the men smiled at each other, Shakti more proudly. A moment of silence later, the cry was louder than ever. "I should hurry." Ajabdeh looked worried as Sau smiled. " Let me see Pratap's condition now." She giggled as Chaks agreed." Aarchi is..." Heer entered, spotting Aarchi on Shakti's lap as the three looked terrified. Aarchi was all red from crying. "Three grown men can't hush a baby?" Heer looked disappointed as she took Aarchi and tried to make her stop, as she sobbed softly. "Bhaijaan, I didn't expect this of you!"

"What did I do?" Jalal frowned. "Pratap made her cry." He pointed. "I didn't..." Pratap defended as Ajabdeh rushed to the baby with the feeding bottle, and Sau and Chaks smiled in tow. Heer and Aarchi left for the baby room as the trio looked terrified at Chaks and Sau. "Welcome to our world." Sau giggled, amused. "It's terrifying," Pratap said wide-eyed. "Petrifying." Shakti agreed. "Oh no!" Jalal could see himself in the next few months. "I need to start looking for a new place after Rukaiya throws me out." His serious tone made them all laugh at his pale face.

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, ...

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...

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...

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...

Purnota: Chapter Twenty One

The morning after the Chief Minister of the state attended the reception party, Binoy wrapped the newspaper that had just arrived at their threshold, eyeing the picture of him and Trilochon with the chief minister smiling proudly, made a mental note of framing it for his office in Siliguri and stepped out to see the car waiting for him in the entrance to take him to the station. He glanced over his shoulder at the house, still asleep and watched Bihari put his luggage in the back seat. Bihari had been with the Roy Chowdhury House since he was a teenager. He eyed Binoy as he lit his pipe and straightened his jacket when Bihari approached him. “Boro Saheb, should I inform Kotta Moshai once?” Binoy eyed Bihari with a disapproving glance. “If I wanted to tell him, I would have done so myself, Bihari. Where is the driver?” He checked his watch. Bihari sighed as he ran to check on the driver. Bondita stopped on the gravelled path leading from the entrance to the main gate as she watched...

Purnota: Chapter Twenty Two

The winter morning was pleasant, especially when the sunshine hit the dewy grass on the lawn, and Bihari set down the porcelain cups for Trilochon and Kalindi to start their day. Kalindi had just taken up some orders to knit sweaters and mittens for some of the neighbourhood kids as she wrapped the thick brown shawl tightly around herself, on the chilly morning as she sat down on the lawn chair with her needles, pin and colourful balls of wool, as she knit a pair of mittens while waiting for Trilochon to join her. Bondita hurried out of their place and stopped at the sight of her sitting alone, unsurely. “Do you need something?” Kalindi raised her eyes briefly from the wool and asked as she shook her head. “I was hoping to talk to Jyatha Moshai…” She shivered a little as Kalindi scolded her to find a sweater first. She rushed indoors as Kalindi spotted Trilochon in a thermal t-shirt, a pair of pants and a shawl walking towards her with the cane in hand. He stopped as he watched her kni...

Purnota: Chapter Twenty

Trilochon’s only desire for Som’s wedding was for it to be so grand that the entire Chandannagar remembered it for the longest time. He had also invited the leaders of the opposition, ministers and even the CM, and if rumours were to be believed, he would accept the invitation. That meant trying to impress him for a ticket to the next Lok Sabha elections. He knew the only way to do so was also to showcase Som as a prodigy. Their family name was enough to earn votes for the party in the area. “Perhaps you could tell him about Somnath Babu’s involvement in some of the projects here. Like the slum area where water was flooding the pathways…” Poritosh had suggested. “But it was done by…” Bapi Da had stopped as Trilochon shook his head, “How does it matter who did it? What matters is that we say Som did it.” They agreed. “Jyatha Moshai.” Bondita walked into his room, not expecting the elderly men from the Party office to be there. “ Bolo, Maa. ” “The Gaye Holud is here.” She smiled. “How a...

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 Twenty Three

“So the question is, do the slum dwellers get their dues to relocate, or do they protest on the road, grabbing media attention? If one of them mentions the sewage project where all this started, we can’t guarantee not dragging certain names then. It will be beyond our control.” Bondita breathed in as she eyed everyone at the table. The conference hall of ARC & Associates had an oval table with a whiteboard, projector and podium and sitting around the table were a stenographer, Bondita’s secondary attorney, Debashish Ghosal, the contractor and his attorney Biswas, the representative of the NGO with the Union leader of the slum, Trilochon, Somnath and Aniruddha. The people of the NGO appreciated her strategy with a nod. Ghoshal looked perplexed as his lawyer whispered something in his ear. Somnath did not look up from the table as Aniruddha passed a note to Trilochon in writing. “Now the decision is yours.” Bondita continued. “We are keen on out-of-court settlement if our basic ...

Purnota: Chapter Nineteen

“Wake up, wake up!” Bondita smiled, amused at Aniruddha and Batuk sleeping on his bed, hugging each other like children. She removed the curtains, and the room was flooded in daylight. “Urgh.” Batuk stirred as Aniruddha sat up. “What is wrong with you?” Batuk threw the pillow Bondita caught before it hit the floor. Her wet hair shone in the sunlight, with droplets of water lingering on its tips as she adjusted her well-pleated orange saree with a blue border and opened the window. A gust of cold breeze blew in from the Ganges, prompting Batuk to pull his blanket over his face. “Let me sleep, Daini !” He murmured. “Is it not enough that you all gave away my room to guests?” Aniruddha was stretching and yawning as Bondita chuckled, amused, pulling her wet hair to the side of her shoulder. “Why are you dressed up?” Aniruddha asked, suppressing a yawn. “Oh, you should be, too. Jyatha Moshai said We are going to Kalighat.” She raised her brows, amused. “Oh shit,” Aniruddha murmured, hitting...

RAABTA

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