Of Faith and Fate

Series Announcement!

Historical Fictions are special, so here is one, short but special tale close to my heart after a really long time!

This story is a special one because it is completely historical fiction with very little connection to the fan fiction I have written previously. However, I have maintained the sequence of events, reading history books on the context.
This is not a story of a man and a woman, their love and trust. This one is about the tests time often puts people through, forcing them to change.

My protagonists in this one are hence, two princesses of the same age.

Ajabdeh Punwar or Ajbante Kanwar Baisa, as she is locally called is the princess of a very significant district of Bijolia in Mewar. Bijolia lies in the seat of political events, at the border of Bundi and Mewar. Having her lineage from the mighty Chauhans, her forefathers once ruled Mewar. Her father is an officer in the army of Mewar under Rana Udai Singh and she is a lady of principles, mature for her age, eager to learn and serve her people. A marriage full of promises of a bright future as the Maharani to the crown prince is set to change her life completely, in ways she had never imagined.

This is not the first time I will be telling you the tales of these people. Kunwar Pratap of Mewar, his journey from being Rana to Maharana, Maharanisa Ajabdeh Punwar, her faith and support. Their valour, sacrifices and battles. But this is the first time, I decided to omit the drama, and concentrate on who they were and what they stood for. Not much is known about this lady, except that she was the Queen and Mother to the heir. But from Folklores and local stories, Ajabdeh comes alive, as his pillar of strength. In my imagination, she is the perfect reflection of his soul and his mother’s character. Otherwise, he would have never ‘chosen’ to be with her. This is her story.

There are two sides to each story, everyone says. And I agree. We may believe or support one, and discard another. While Rana Pratap’s determination and love for his motherland remains on one, the other side of this coin is the Mighty Timurid Dynasty that struggled to rise to the power of Hind. There is a young thirteen-year-old Prince who suddenly becomes an emperor. Jalaluddin Mohammad becomes Akbar for his people. And amidst the most influential characters in his Haram, is his first wife, Shehzaadi Rukaiya Sultana Begum. Not much has been written about her because she fails to give him an heir. But she remains his chief consort throughout her life. This is her story too.

Rukaiya Sultana Begum, the Princess of the Timurid dynasty has her lineage from Ghengis Khan and Timur the Lame. Babur’s granddaughter from his son Hindal Mirza is all set to become the empress of Hindusthan. She is married to her first cousin. But her innocence is at stake in this dream and power struggle. She is yet to learn how to be politically influential and diplomatic. In her quest for existence, she fears losing herself, or worse, her loved ones. Will she be successful in becoming what her family expected of her or will she be just another forgotten name in the largest harem of Hindustan?

Let's take a short journey through the lives of these two women while their Men made History!

Ps. I will keep adding footnotes of historical references and information throughout the story to keep you updated with the historical events I have used. At the end of the story, I plan to post a chronological table of the chapters as well. Hope that you all will love this tale as much as I do.

Bibliography

The following Books had been consulted while writing this Historical series.

Mewar and The Mughal Emperors by G.N. Sharma
War Strategies of Maharana Pratap by L.P. Mathur
Mughal Empire by R.C. Majumder
Akbar the Great Mogul by Vincent Smith
Daughters of the Sun by Ira Mukhoty
Episodes from the Life of Akbar by Shireen Moosvi
Private Life of the Mughals of India by R. Nath
Maharana Pratap by B.N. Rana
Tuzk E Jahangir translated by Oxford University Press
Shahjahan Nama translated.
Annals and Antiquities of Mewar by Col. James Todd

Index page. Of Faith and Fate

Comments

His Wife

" Where is the Kesar, Rama? And the Kalash?" Ajabde looked visibly displeased at the daasi who ran. " They are at the fort gates and nothing is ready yet!" She exclaimed. She was clad in a red Jora and the jewellery she had inherited as the first Kunwarani of the crown prince. Little Amar ran down the hallway towards his mother. " Maa sa Maa sa... 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. " Ajabde." 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!" Amar exclaimed

Chapter One: Masquerades

“Reginald Dyer is yet to apologise for the incident which was criticised worldwide. Punjab is on high alert.” The transistor in the living room broke with the morning news. “On other news the League of Nations…” Meera wiped the already clean surface of the showcase for the second time while listening to it. One of the servants came around and switched the channel to a station where a Raga played. Meera tip-toed up to the transistor and looked around before lowering the volume. She was standing outside the door of the Magistrate’s home office, clad in a saree borrowed from Nimai’s mother, who worked at her Pishima’s house. “I need it for my maid back where I work.” Meera lied with a straight face. Nimai’s mother did not care; she was getting Didimoni’s beautiful blue Jamdani instead of her tattered clothes; she would not think twice about this unharming exchange. Meera tried to listen. The gardener sang outside, tending to the flowerbeds as his scissors snipped the bushes back to shape

Protibimbo: Characters

Before Indian Independence Movement gained its prominence and momentum in the year 1930 across Bengal with the weaponry loot by Surya Sen, attacks across the offices of British Raj in Bengal by Bengal Volunteers, Jugantar Dol and other prominent anarchists, and Binoy-Badal-Dinesh stormed into Writers' Building, the 1920s were a built up to the movement when several large and small scale anarchist groups worked underground to strike the system of British Governance. It was a time when Indians realised that conferences did not bring independence to colonies, they had to pick up arms against the British Imperialists. This story is fictional. But in its core, every character represents several hundred unnamed heroes and sheroes of our freedom struggle whose names do not appear in the pages of history. " Protibimbo " meaning reflection is a story that reflects on relationships, freedom, sacrifice and battles fought within the society of that time. Characters: Abhaya: 15-year-o

Chapter Two: Catastrophe

Abhaya was suffocating as she could now taste the soot and ash in her mouth. She could see the smoke engulf her. The boxes around her turned into shadows in the blurred vision. She opened her mouth to breathe but the choking air wanted to make her cough. She ran, stumbling upon some boxes and utensils towards the window on the other side. It was shut firmly and her weak hands could do little to move it an inch. She placed the end of her saree over her face and coughed, hoping not to be heard from the outside. The sound of chaos and footsteps outside was increasing. She heard a scream. Was it her mother? Her sister? Or one of the sisters-in-law? Were they escaping? Should she try too? She tried to find something to break the window with, but instead, she froze at the sight of flames entering through the cracks of the door she had shut behind her. Abhaya said a soft prayer. This is how it ends. This was not the country her father served. This was not the country her mother read stories o

To Protect You

Kunwar Pratap was in court with Rana Udai Singh. The Mughals were conquering a huge part of the north courtesy of Bairam Khan and Mewar on their routes to the ports of Gujarat. " Dajiraj we need to secure the roads leading to Agra and also towards the west. The attack-prone areas should always be under surveillance." " Yes Ranaji. Baojiraj is right." Rawatji agreed. In the Rani Mahal, everyone was preparing for a grand lunch. Ajabde was making a sweet dish for the princes and princesses and in a hurry, she forgot to add the Kesar and Badam on top. As she served the smaller princes including Kunwar Jagmal, Dheerbai came to inspect her eldest son's food. " What is this? Who made this? Kokoiaji?" She stormed to the kitchen with a bowl of sweet dishes. " Kunwaranisa did." Came a scary answer, from Veer Bai. " Ajabde Baisa." Her words let out a silent gasp from the lesser queens who stood witness. Calm and composed, Ajabde walked up

My Everything

Kunwar Pratap stormed into the Mahal at Gogunda. Happy faces of the chieftains and soldiers welcomed him as Rao Ramrakh and Rawatji stopped the ongoing Raj tilak. A visibly scared Kunwar Jagmal looked clueless at a visibly angry Kunwar Pratap. Rani Dheerbai Bhattiyani hadn't expected this son of Mewar to show up that too twenty-one days after his father's death. He was not informed as per Dheerbai's instructions. She looked at Rawat Ji. He must have gone to Raoji at Bijolia. 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 came. She could stoop down so low? " We were about to inform you..." She spoke up in her defence. " When Dheerbai ji?" Maharani Jaivanta Bai, clad in white entered the hall as people bowed before her. " After your son's coronation?" " I did nothing Badima I swear!" A low voice came from Jagmal. " Maha

Love?

“I swear I can kill that Sakhaveer.” Balwant swung his sword at the Dangal as Ratan and Ajabde looked on. Ajabde hid a smile as Ratan looked amused. “Like you did last time?” Ratan’s chuckle made Ajabde press her hands with a soft no as Balwant stopped his sword and looked angry. “What do you know Ratan?” He roared angrily. “What do girls know anyways about fighting??” “Jija can fight better than you.” Ratan looked angry and defensive. “Ratan! Leave it.” Ajabde insisted. “No!! Jija, I saw you, you are better…” “Then let’s have a duel Jija.” Balwant insisted. “No.” Ajabde looked surprised and shaken. “It’s been such a long time since I have …” “No excuses Jija, teach him! That girls can be…” Ratan insisted as Balwant handed her a sword she took rather reluctantly. She tied the corners of her dupatta together and her braid in a bun. Kunwar Pratap was making his way out at the Dangal when he heard swords clash. He gathered the father-son duo would be at the Dangal

Soul Meet: Anticipated Encounter

This post is a part of the series "Soul Meet" so if you have not read previous posts kindly read it here. Ajabdeh submitted her paper and shut her laptop down for the weekend. Her home desk had pictures on the walls. Pictures he had clicked of her on every trip they took together. Across the country. Sometimes planned, sometimes unplanned. Long distance was tough, but in between the struggle of constantly being active on their phones to keep in touch with calls, texts, emails and video calls there was a sense of individuality, identity and liberty in it that she enjoyed. Now and then they would meet at a spot in between somewhere and go on trips. Hike to mountains, laze at beaches and try adventure sports. Everything she experienced in the past year was ticked off her bucket list. Each memory now sat glued to her desk wall, in pictures he clicked. He was a good photographer and she: his muse. She was surprised when he called the previous day saying he would be coming to se

Towards You

Kunwar Pratap and Ajabde were friends. He didn't feel awkward sharing his plans and thoughts with her anymore. She was more than happy to advise him on everything. She was happy he listened to her advice before taking or discarding them, be it on what to wear to Padmavati's Sagai or how to befriend the revolting Bhils. He loved the way Ajabde always used metaphors from Puranas and Ramayanas to explain the toughest things so easily. She expressed herself so well, so easily that it amazed him. The Afghans were now led by Mehmood Shah. They have made secret territories in the forests and waited to attack. Rawatji and his spies had confirmed the news and Udai Singh had warned Mehmood Shah to withdraw his troops from Mewar in vain. Now, it was time they declared war. Mehmood Shah had limited resources in Mewar. And 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. One of his aides

Struggle of Thoughts

Kunwar Pratap and Ajabde had both by the first week known each other's schedules well and they made sure that their timings didn't clash, be it in the puja Ghar, dressing room or elsewhere. They tried to stay out of each other's way as much as possible, giving each other the space they needed. Ajabde had learned that Kunwar Pratap preferred cold sharbat and desserts over steaming hot food, he liked to wake up with the first bird's call at dawn, he didn't like any disturbances at work or at the Dangal Sthal, and he loved his mother the most. Kunwar Pratap had learned that she was intelligent enough to decipher unsaid words between the lines of any novel, epic or book she read. She was very much into spending most of her time reading or sewing and when outside he always spotted her in the garden tending to flowers with his sisters. What he saw was how similar her lifestyle was to his mother's in a very weird way. She liked things simple, preferred to make her own

RAABTA

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