Yet Another Beginning

1628, Agra.

The festivities of the coronation ceremony had reached Akbarabad, as Shah Jahan happily reunited with his sons, Dara and Aurangzeb and gifted them new Jagirs and positions as Shehzaade. He sat beside Mumtaj Mahal at the Diwan e Khas as he bestowed upon his daughters Shehzaadi Jahanara and Shehzaadi Roshanara some of their grandmother’s inheritance. Perhez Banu got Salima Begum’s shares. The chiefs who had helped Padshah Shah Jahan rise to the throne were honoured with titles and posts. Rao Raja Ratan Singh, Mahabat Khan, and Asaf Khan gifted the emperor with elephants and horses.

Mumtaj Mahal had already chosen a bride for Dara Shikoh. His strange inclinations toward spirituality, religion and the life of sages and saints often disturbed her. So she decided a wife could do him some good. Nadira Banu, the late Pervez Mirza’s daughter, was a perfect choice. She was almost Dara’s age and well-read too. Mumtaj Mahal arranged for their engagement, paying very little heed to her husband’s opinion on it. The least they could do was to support the families.

Shehzaadi Jahanara Begum had taken up the task of arranging the feasts as the eminent nobles arrived with their families. She and Dara greeted them in the gardens. Aurangzeb and Roshanara took care of the charity in the city, while Murad tailed Shuja and helped with the decorations. Arrangements were made separately for the Rajput royalty and the Persian and Turkish nobles. Jahanara was praised by all for her deftness with such details at such a tender age. Dara engaged in conversations about the culture and spirituality of the land, while Jahanara kept vigil.

Dara suddenly took her by surprise and dragged her by her hand to meet the Rao Raja of Bundi. Ratan Singh was an old man. Jahanara Begum bowed. Rao Raja Ratan Singh bowed back and looked around.

“Here, meet my heir and grandson, Kunwar Chhatrasal.” He introduced. Jahanara and Dara looked at the man about their age, perhaps a little older, with a twirling moustache that reminded Jahanara of Prithviraj Chauhan and a very well-built, tall figure. He bowed, “Shehzaade Dara. Pleased to meet you.” Jahanara couldn’t help but notice that his smile didn’t reach his eyes. It was like he was being forced to be here. Chhatrasal noticed her staring at him because of his warrior instincts and looked up at her in a reflex. Jahanara was quick to look away.

“Janni, we were looking all over for you.” Perhez Banu called out to her as she excused herself and walked away.

Away from the celebrations at Agra, in the city of Lahore, a small corner of the fort was silent and dark.

“Light some lights at least.” Arzani Begum shrugged. “It’s evening already.”

Ladli Begum looked up at her daughter, who was lighting up the room with her candle, and sighed. She looked out again, at the city in celebration, from her windowsill.

“I made dinner.” Mehr Un Nisa walked in and stopped at Arzani Begum’s smile.

“Is it my favourite?” She asked.

“It sure is.” Mehr Un Nisa smiled before she walked up to her daughter.

“Come.” She gave her hand to Ladli Begum, who sighed and took it.

“Let’s have dinner together.” She nodded. The three figures faded away into the dark corridor, as the fairly empty room shone with light.

The End

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...

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