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

Sacrifices

The guests were arriving at the gateways of the main entrance of the Kumbha palace. The nagada announced each arrival as the 16 chieftains of Mewar arrived with their families to be personally welcomed and greeted by Udai Singh, Jaivanta bai and Dheer bai in toe as Rawatji introduced them to a preoccupied Kunwar Pratap. He hadn’t slept all night; he had stayed awake trying to put himself in the position of his newly married abandoned bride who had trusted him with her life. He had tried to figure out the right words of apology in vain. He knew his Ajabdeh. He knew how much it had hurt her. The morning arrived with the palace welcoming eminent guests from all over Mewar and beyond for the wedding celebrations. Udai Singh along with Dheerbai and the other queens were joined at the Kumbha Palace gates by a reluctant Kunwar Pratap and Jaivanta Bai folding hands before the guests. “Aur kaun kaun aana baaki reh gaya Rawatji?” “Saare samath aa chuke… bas kelwa ke Samanth padha...

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...

Dreams and Wishes

At dawn, the Bhil women took the girls to the Kalika Mata Temple and the Jal Kund. Dressed in white a nervous Heer followed everything Ajabde knew and did, trying to explain the significance of the rituals to her. They prayed to Lord Ganesh. Kunwar Shakti and Kunwar Pratap were staying at Punja Ji's place as they were not supposed to see the brides before the wedding. Ajabde was dressed in her mother's lehenga, a mang tika Jaivanta Bai gave her as a family heirloom and the simple nosering Pratap had gifted. They made their hair into a simple bun with wildflowers before putting on her dupatta. Heer was dressed in traditional Bhil jewellery of silver and beads that the women had gifted her. They made her wear a red and white saree draped as a lehenga and a red chunri with it. She looked like a pretty colourful Bhil bride. Kunwar Shakti was a nervous groom dressed in a traditional bhil dhoti, kurta and cap. The bhil shawl hung from a side, making the white attire colourful. K...

Tiny Steps

" Akhiyan Hari Darshan Ko Pyasi. Akhiyaan Hari Darshan ko Pyaasi. Dekhio Chahat Komal Nayan Ko, Nisdina rehta udaasi. " Pratap's eyebrows narrowed before he slowly opened his eyes. He seemed to have fallen asleep lost in his thoughts. When; he couldn't tell. Today, for the first time he had missed the first rays of the sun. He sat up as the light of the morning sun fell into the room from the eastern window a little to the left of the bed. " Kesar tilak motin ki Maala, vrindavan ke vaasi." Pratap had heard this song too many times from Ranima. But the voice was not Ranima's. He immediately looked to his left at the empty place separated by the pillows as realisation dawned. He quickly removed the pillows from in between and placed them back before making his way towards the song. " Neh lagaye tyag gayen trin sam dhal gaye gal faasi. " He stopped to spot the figure at the far end of the room. Her back was to him, she was still in the simple je...

Queen of the Heart

Kunwar Pratap was in the Dangal Sthal practising his moves. Ajabde decided it was fair to know his strength before the big competition. Sword in hand, in a white female warrior attire with only her face visible she hid behind one of the large watchtowers of the Dangal watching him move. She heard Rawatji say, " Your left hand is still weaker than the right one with the moves. Both should be perfect." A smile curved her lips. Knowing an opponent's weakness always helps, which is one rule of the war she always remembered. Kunwar Pratap swung his sword with his left hand and turned around. He could sense someone watching, his sixth sense was never wrong. He looked around and hatched a plan. Ajabde again peeped at the grounds to see it was empty. He had left. She walked towards the empty ground, sword in hand. Suddenly, the cold blade of a sword was felt on her neck. She stopped still. " So someone was spying on me." His voice had a hint of taunt. " No, I was...

Unpredictable

" Ohho Dadabhai! I can not walk anymore!" Shakti was panting. Clad in a commoner's attire they had hired a cart for some distance and were now walking to Bijolia. " You have to! We have to go back tomorrow morning otherwise they will be sure we were not at the Kelwara region but elsewhere." He said in an indifferent tone. The stone on the path indicated they had reached Bijolia. " There! Look Dadabhai a mandir!" He smiled. " Thik hai ." Kunwar Pratap shook his head a little displeased. " You can rest a little before going into the main township." " Paani!" Shakti was panting as he sat on a solitary part of the Radha Krishna temple as Kunwar Pratap walked in to seek blessings. At Shakti's cry for water, he started looking around and found a pond visible in the distance. " Stay here!" He ordered his brother even though he knew very well Shakti won't move from his place. He was at the bank looking at the c...

Unsaid

" Keep the Lehenga in this one, that jewellery in the box." Jaivanta Bai was ordering around. Kunwar Shakti entered with an equally stunned Kunwar Pratap at the scene as the hall turned into a mini market thanks to their mothers. " Kunwar Pratap is here." Dheerbai smiled at the duo as she walked up to them. " Choti ma what are all these?" He asked. " Shagun!"Sajjabai answered excitedly."For Kuwaranisa. She will be blessed with these for the Sagaai. " " What Sagaai ?" "Your engagement , aree , no one told him?" Sajja was surprised. " The four of us are choosing separate gifts of our own choice for your bride, Kunwarsa come and see." Veer Bai urged. " The sagaai is in three days, followed by the wedding on the seventh, Rajpurohitji had said," Dheerbai spoke up as Pratap stared right at his mother. She seemed happy. " What happened, Kunwar Pratap? Do you have doubts?" Dheerbai smiled sw...

The One

Pratap checked his watch for the umpteenth time and cursed himself. He had insisted on taking this one-day trip to Chennai for a business meeting instead of his father and back and now a sudden spell of rain and storm had delayed their flight back home. He sat in the first class waiting for the lounge with Shakti who had just ordered himself some dinner. It was already 7PM and there was no way the flights would resume in anything less than a matter of three to four hours. Shakti took a bite of his sandwich and eyed his restless brother. “Do you want dinner?” He asked, offering him his own plate. Pratap shook his head. “I… am not hungry.” “Don’t lie to me.” Shakti chuckled in between bites savouring the cheese melting in his mouth. “I know you are fasting for Teej.” Pratap looked up at his younger sibling a little annoyed. “So what if I am?” He snapped. “I promised her. She would be waiting. It was my decision to take this damn trip. Now Teej will be over and god knows when we can reach...

Changing Thoughts

" Ajabde." Jaivanta Bai hugged her as Kunwar Pratap unknowingly smiled at the duo. He didn't realise he was not feeling jealous of Ranima's affection for her anymore. " It's so good that you are back." Sajja smiled. " Now you will help us with the Teej preparations." Ajabde smiled nodding as Kunwar Pratap said " I will go to the arena, I will be there after... I mean....at Lunch." He left in haste as Jaivanta Bai stared at Ajabde who had a little pink blush on her cheeks. Jaivanta Bai smiled as she was not sure if Pratap said that to her or his wife. All through the day, Ajabde helped by going through the smallest details of the Teej Preparations until lunchtime. All the Ranis were impressed by how she knew everything so easily. She walked into her room post lunch and gasped at the scene. The maps, the books, and his things were all scattered where they were not meant to be. The Daasis were apparently too scared to touch his import...

RAABTA

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