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 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 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...

His Wife

" Where is the Kesar, Rama? And the Kalash?" Ajabdeh looked visibly displeased at the ladies who ran around. " They are at the fort gates, and nothing is ready yet!" She exclaimed. She was clad in a red lehenga and the jewellery she had inherited as the first Kunwarani of the crown prince. Little Amar ran down the hallway towards his mother. " Maasa Maasa... who is coming with Daajiraj?" His innocent question made her heart sink. " Bhanwar Ji." Sajja Bai called out to him. " Come here, I will tell you." Amar rushed to his Majhli Dadisa., " Ajabdeh." She turned at Jaivanta Bai's call. "They are here." " M... My Aarti thali..." Ajabde looked lost like never before. Jaivanta Bai held her stone-cold hands, making her stop. She patted her head and gave her a hug. The hug gave her the comfort she was looking for as her racing heart calmed down. Jaivanta Bai left her alone with her thaal. " Maa sa!" ...

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 ...

RAABTA

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