The Plan

Jaivanta sat in her master bedroom, wiping her moist eyes. On the side table beside her was a wedding album. Her son's. She sniffed. Udai paced the room noiselessly, with a grim frown upon his face and sighed once in a while.

"He agreed?" Udai asked at last. His voice spoke of disbelief. Jaivanta nodded. "It seemed so. He didn't say no."
"This is all your fault, Jaivanta." Her husband's tone of rebuke was the first time she had heard in her entire married life. She looked up, a little taken aback.
"Udai?"
"You heard me. It's all your fault. You wanted their marriage to be like every other. I warned you to leave them alone. You never understood that they are different. And it's okay."

"It's all my fault, is it?" Jaivanta defended, "It's not my fault that I grew up with certain orthodox ideas that proved quite alright to me. I never…"
"Did Ajabdeh even want a family?" Udai interrupted. "You put this idea in her head in the first place."
"But she could deny it."
"C'mon. She was trying to please you by being the kind of daughter-in-law you wanted. You made her feel that her entire existence in this family depended on an heir."

"That's what my mother-in-law taught me." Jaivanta retorted. "I didn't force her. I suggested."
"Then both you and my mother are extremely wrong." Udai shook his head.
"What do I do?" Jaivanta looked perplexed.
"First, tell Pratap the truth." Udai sat down across from his wife. "The entire truth."
"The truth about what?" Jaivanta's brows shot up.
"Everything. From you sending Ajabdeh for those tests. He needs to know why she feels the way she feels to heal her." Jaivanta looked up at his words.

Pratap stared at his mother in disgust. A sense of guilt hit him. The guilt of being in the middle of all that was happening and being clueless about it all. Had he been more vigilant, neither Ajabdeh nor his mother could have lied to him the way they did. He needed to set things right. He needed to make Ajabdeh see the fact that their relationship was not based on the facts she thought were most important. But how?
"Leave me alone." He tried to check his voice in vain. Jaivanta looked up.
"I am sorry, son."
"I said, leave me alone. Let me handle it now. And please stop interfering anymore." Jaivanta left the room silently. He sat down on the edge of the bed, his hands on his head. A few rooms away, Heer was trying to study Ajabdeh. She was packing the rest of her things.

"Jija?" She spoke at last. "What have you decided?"
"I will shift to the apartment." She said.
"Oh, but you can't." Heer reminded her, "The apartment is under renovation. It will take at least a month."
"I am going to Bijoliya for a few days then." Heer looked up at her words with hope as she added, "alone." Heer face turned pale. "I will work remotely. Then, when I feel better and the house is ready, I will go back to our apartment. Talk to my attorney. And send him the separation papers."
"Jija?" Heer stopped her by putting her hands on Ajabdeh's cold ones. "Are you sure?'
"I am Heer. I have to do this."
"Why?" Heer almost choked.
"Because I can't deprive someone of happiness just because I am incapable of providing it." She said nonchalantly. "He deserves to be happy."
"He wants to be happy with you." Heer reasoned.
Ajabdeh shook her head. "He pities my condition. He always pitied me. Now that pity is suffocating me. I can't breathe here. I need to be free."
"You cannot stay alone there." Heer sounded alarmed. "You are unwell."
"I am fine. I have always taken care of myself. I will now." Ajabdeh forced a smile. "I will drop you off at the airport on the way. Pack your bags."

Shakti's knock on the door made the sisters look up as he entered the room with a grim face.
"You are leaving?" He asked. His voice trembled a little.
"First thing tomorrow morning." Ajabdeh sounded normal. He sat down by her on the floor and looked teary-eyed.
"Ajabdeh." He said, almost sounding helpless. "Don't leave." His words made Heer teary as she looked away. Ajabdeh smiled a little at him. "I know perhaps we were not the type of people you wanted as a family, and we failed to make you happy."
"No. No. No Shakti." Ajabdeh ruffled his hair. "It's nothing like that."
"Then why are you leaving?" He asked.
"Because relationships are about to give and take, Shakti. And I have nothing else to offer. I feel tired. Suffocated. And I can make nobody happy if I am not happy."
"Then take a break. Take a vacation." Shakti reasoned. Ajabdeh shook her head.
"A vacation won't undo certain things, Shakti. Don't blame anyone. It's me. It is all about me. I may sound selfish here, but I am doing this for myself. Please forgive me." Shakti hugged her tightly. Ajabdeh needed that hug. She knew she did. But she just expected it from different people. Expectations were, as she gathered, the root cause of pain.

Early at dawn, a car pulled into the porch of the mansion and the servants got busy loading the suitcases in. Sajja wiped her tears as Ajabdeh hugged her. "You are sure?" She asked, "You don't want to meet any of them?"
"I can't go if Dad tells me not to, I know he is upset with me. He will understand eventually. I know he will. I have already let Ranima know my decision, well, not directly, but she is aware of it. And said goodbye to Shakti." She sighed. "And tell Pratap…"
"Tell me what?"

Heer turned from the door of the car at his words and smiled hopefully. The first thing Ajabdeh noticed when she looked at him was that he was extremely well dressed for five in the morning, and he clearly hadn't slept the night before.
"I will send you the papers … when they are ready." She looked away. "Sign them."
"Oh, you don't need to do that." He put on his sunglasses as one of the servants brought his suitcases down to the car.
"I am coming to Bijoliya." He said rather monotonously. "Your leaving is, of course, your choice. My following you is mine."
"But…"
"Of course, you can't stop me. We are still legally married." He sounded casual as Ajabdeh's jaws tightened. "If you want, treat this as a business trip. But whatever it is, I do have some work in Bijoliya, and you are stuck with me."
"What is this work, may I ask?" She looked miffed.
"Of course. You can always ask. A man is always answerable to his wife." He made Sajja and Heer stare at each other and smile.
"I need to get my partner back. And I won't let her go unless she gives me a good enough reason for it." He smiled. "If there is anything she taught me, it is not to run away from promises. And I have made my vows to her."
Ajabdeh inhaled. "You can play your little game. It's a matter of a month. Once I go home, you can't follow me around." She snapped, "I will definitely send you the papers then." He removed his glasses, amused.
"Oh, I won't need to follow you around. Because I promise you this, Mrs Ajabdeh Punwar, that once this month is over, you will come back home, here, with me." He looked at her intensely, making her look away.
"Come on, Heer, let's drop you at the airport on the way. Shall we?" Heer nodded.
"Stay away from me," Ajabdeh said almost in a murmur.
"Oh, I will." He turned, amused as she got into the car.

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...

Purnota: Chapter Thirty Seven

“Why will Bondita not come for Holi?” Asha asked as she inspected the colours, Abir, Pichkiri and balloons Somnath had ordered from Baro Bazaar. He shrugged. “She is scared of colours, I think.” Asha smiled, a little amused at her clueless husband. “She is not ten anymore.” He looked up at her words with a sheepish smile, “Well, I never saw her play Holi, perhaps Dadabhai knows the reason.” Asha contemplated her husband’s words. She did not share a relationship with Aniruddha frank enough for him to share things about Bondita. It would be easier for her to ask Bondita instead. “If you wish for her to come,” Som said, like he could almost read her mind, “Perhaps you can invite her. She won’t say no to you.” Asha nodded. “It will be good to have the whole family together. It's not been so since the wedding.” She smiled. Som agreed as he matched the list with the things. “Yes, and Baba will be coming too, he told me not to tell Jethu, but I was surprised by that.” “Maybe because he an...

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 Eight

Trilochon was so overwhelmed that Binoy came for the Pujo and Kirtan on Dol Purnima. Their neighbours, friends and acquaintances had all gathered in the Thakur Dalan, first for the pujo when the idol of Sree Radha and Sree Krishna were worshipped in the Dalan, and Horir Loot of Batasha and Naru were distributed. Unlike in the village, people here, especially children, did not fight over the Horir Loot . Bondita and Batuk took part in the ritual like they used to as kids, counting the number of Batasha each of them had, amusing the elders who reminisced about their childhood and how Batuk snatched Bondita’s share and ran as she chased after him, shouting. The Kirtan followed the pujo, the tales of Sree Krishna’s prowess, his Leela and Radha’s sacrifice were sung with the sounds of Dhol and Khanjani . It followed the devotional songs praising Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his praises to Lord Krishna. Bondita not only liked the stories of Kirtan but also how the crowd joined in the singing and...

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...

The Difficulties

“The best of our characters are often reflected in our children.” Kunwar Shakta had visited the court at Udaipur after a Turk marriage offer was turned down by Rana Udai Singh for the third time for one of his Princesses. The Ranimahal at Chittorgarh buzzed with rumours of him warning his father about the consequences of enemity with the Turks and also about the impending doom of Mewar. He had apparently irked Kunwar Partap by suggesting a peace alliance with the Timurids was beneficial to Mewar. Rana Udai Singh, in his anger, had banished him from his court. Kunwar Shakta had sworn not to be associated with the royal family any further and to join allies with the Turks. Rawat Chundawat was calm enough to pacify the angry prince and offer him to shift to Bassi and give his decision a second thought. However, Kunwar Partap had refused to abandon Chittor, defying his father’s orders for a shift to the newly founded capital with his Ranimahal. He wanted to stay at Chittorgarh, which...

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...

RAABTA

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