The people of Panwarmer, the only village
under the estate of Surajgarh since Independence, still depended on the royal
family of Surajgarh for their livelihood, and their professions included
serving the royals directly or indirectly. Whether it was the villagers who
loved to stay in their age-old traditions, or it was the royals who never let them
get out of their habits, it was hard to tell. But the people barely had any
complaints about their “Rulers.”
Surajgarh hadn’t changed over the two
decades. Not only did the villagers say so, but it was also evident from their roads
and houses. The day Pratap Singh entered his village after twenty years of
staying away, he was greeted by the warm hug and the tears of his Badi Maasa.
Meera was in her late sixties and ailing. Losing her husband early, the
childless Meera had doted on her nephew Pratap, the motherless son of her
husband’s brother, until they left twenty years back. Even when they had
repeatedly offered her to join them at Jodhpur, Meera felt she belonged here,
in this village among these people. She was also the village’s greatest connection
to the Surajgarh palace, being Ranisa’s religious guru. The Ranisa herself came
and paid Meera visits and heard her speak at gatherings and temples. Pratap
often missed Badima’s wise words. He had spent five years of his life living in contrast to his father’s belief that swords and power were the most valued,
and Badi Ma said love conquered all.
Nothing seemed to have changed much here since he
had left. Though he was barely five, he remembered her and missed this place.
His father, whose forefathers had been horsemen of the royals, had his own
school of horse riding in Jodhpur; he had lost his mother at birth. He had graduated with good marks, finished his MBA and was in a steady job, but he
enjoyed helping his father teach the children of Rajputana horse riding every
weekend. As soon as he held the reins in his hand, his eyes sparkled, like he
was destined to hold them. It was Badi Maasa’s health and loneliness and her
sudden urge to see him that had brought them back to the village. No one
could say no to Badimasa.
“Wow! It is beautiful.” She gasped, opening her
eyes as he beamed proudly. The swing was of ply and rope, but very well decorated
with wildflowers and creepers. He had even made a tiara out of flowers that
were kept on the seat that swayed in the breeze. She was quick to run to it and
sit on it, dangling her bare legs and smiling at him. He presented her with the tiara, and she put it on with a grin, asking.
“How
do I look?” She watched him smile.
“Like
a princess.” He bowed.
“What
if I am... a princess?” She asked as he chuckled.
“You
are not.” He shrugged, “I can tell.”
“How?”
She frowned.
“Because
then you won’t play with me. Neither will I.” He said matter-of-factly, “My
father says we can never be friends with the royals; we serve them.”
“Oh.
Come on, give me a push.” She waited as he walked to take a position.
“Okay, soft one?” He asked, facing her back.
“Oh
no, I am not scared, take me to the stars!” She beamed. He chuckled, giving her
a soft push.
“Wee!
Wee!” She stretched out her hands and smiled.
“I
kept my part of the promise; now it is your turn.” He smiled.
“I
remember. That is why I insisted to Maasa that we should see Masi’s wedding
video yesterday.” She smiled.
“Okay, tell me.” He sat down leaning against the tree trunk as she pulled him up.
“Umm...They
hold hands like this.” She held his palm firmly “And go around in circles
around...” She was about to drag him around the tree trunk, and stopped
midway.”No, no!” She shook her head. “The boy leads.”
“Okay.”
He stepped forward and walked around holding her hand. “Then?”
“Then
they say a promise.” She smiled.
“Like?”
He asked, wondering.
“Like
I promised to be your friend forever! Now your turn.” He had gone around in
another circle and beamed, “I promise never to forget you, no matter what.”
“I
promise I will always respect you.” Her words made him frown. “What? I heard
that on the wedding video.”
“But
this is our promise na? Make it up. I promise I will protect you.” He smiled.
“This wedding play is fun!”
“I
told you! I promise I will learn horse riding only from you.” She giggled.
“I
promise I will always be there.”
“I
promise... umm... “ She wondered. “Promise to give me this one?” He had pointed
at her locket. She nodded.
“I
promise I will never part from it.” He smiled. She stopped to take off her
locket and put it in his pocket.
“I...
wait, seven are done!” She clapped her hands.”That is it.”
“What
does it mean now?” He asked.
“Maasa
says it means they will be friends for the next seven lives.”
“So
will we be so too?” He frowned.
“What’s this?” Badimaasa’s words startled
him from his thoughts. She was unpacking his trunk and had held out a chain,
perhaps of gold, with a little butterfly locket in the middle.
“I... don’t know.” Badima had frowned at
his words.
“But it is in your things...” She said.
“I mean... It was with me all this while,
so I gathered it belongs to me, perhaps? Is it Maasa’s?” He looked confused.
“No, dear, it is not. It looks like a
child’s.” She held it out over the palm of her hand.
“I don’t know, then, you can keep it.” His
words made the woman laugh.
“What will I do with this? I can keep it
for your children.” She ruffled his thick curls and stared into his intelligent
brown eyes, “I missed you, my Ladesar.” He hugged her with a smile, “I missed
home too.”
“You want to come with me to the gathering
today?” Meera held his hands “I am telling a story to the children.”
“I am not a child anymore, Badimaasa.” He
smiled.
“You are to me.” Meera patted his head.
“Always.”
They
stopped at a gasp from someone in the clearing. There were two ladies with
their eyes fixed on them.
“Badimaasa!
Look! We were just playing wedding!” He smiled, leaving his firm hold on her
hand and dashing to the lady in saffron.
“She
is my new friend!” He grinned.
“What
did you do, children?” The other lady asked in a state of panic.”Did you make
that swing?” She asked the boy, who suddenly withdrew behind the other lady, a
little scared.
“Yes, he did. And we went round and round that tree, just like the video.” He watched
her speak in a fearful voice, “Will you scold us, Maasa?”
“Hey, Shiva!” The lady seemed restless, “You
do not know what you have done.”
The
lady in saffron smiled, patting her shoulder gently, “But I am sure He knows
why.”
“He?”
She frowned.
“He
who knows everything.” The lady could not understand any of it. “Has everything been written?”
“But
Guruma, you know what this...” The lady was in fear. Of what? He wondered with
a frown.
“Go
home, Ranisa, everything is fine” He held his Badimaasa’s hand tightly, watching
her go, being dragged by her mother. “Everything is destined.” He heard her
say. The girl looked back at him, one last time, her eyes twinkling full of
hope.
“But
I didn’t ask her name yet, Badimaasa!” He looked confused “Can I, the next time
we play?” She had nodded affirmatively. Little did he know he was seeing her for
the last time.
The old peepul tree at the centre of the
village was where the panchayet often held public meetings. Today, the children
of the village were waiting eagerly for Meera to arrive.
“So what is today’s story, Guruma?” One of
the Panchayet men smiled, touching her feet “Anything special because your
nephew is here?”
“Yes. Today I am going to tell the story of
Kalbhoj.” She smiled.
“A warrior?” The man frowned “I thought you
preached love.”
“I do.” She smiled, taking her seat amidst
the children. “Can’t warriors be in love?” The man shook his head and walked
away as Pratap made a place for himself at a fair distance away from the
children, from where he could see the gathering, yet not hear it. Among all the
things he missed from his childhood were the storytelling sessions of Badimaasa,
yet he felt out of place here, among the children.
“...So Kalbhoj was just a small goat herder,
mending his goats when he met the princess at play. She told him to build her a
swing on the banyan tree ...and they took vows around it. The friends of the
princess teased That's how they got married....”
Pratap noticed the children hear her
stories with the same excitement in their eyes as he did when she told him
about heroes of the past.
