Epilogue: RTM

“Rishta Tera Mera”

“What are you reading?” The husband frowned as his wife remained hooked to the novel at hand, dismissing his presence.

“This book is so inspiring.” She placed it down on the table as she spoke. “A woman wrote it under a pseudonym.”

The man picked up the book and read the title “Barrister Babu?” He frowned “What is it about?”

“How a man encouraged a woman who dared to dream against society’s norms to follow her dreams and become a barrister alongside him.” The wife smiled.

The man shook his head, “All the fiction is eating up your head. Those stories are not true.”

“She claims it is. The writer claims she has witnessed this closely and knows these people.” She frowned. The man shrugged.

“She might have said so to sell her book.”

“True or not, some stories are worth telling because they inspire generations to come.” The woman shrugged. The man nodded silently.

“So you want to be a barrister?” he asked as she shook her head.

“No, after my matriculation, I want to study English. The author here says she was in Europe a good number of years before she came back to independent India.” The woman spoke dreamily, “Imagine if we ever go…” The man shook his head again.

“You and your novels. Why even read fiction?” He walked away.

True or not, some characters are worth believing in and getting inspired by. And with that hope, this author leaves you with a story very close to her heart, very special on its own and indeed worth sharing, over and over again.

The End

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Begum Sahib: Forbidden Love

2nd June 1634, Burhanpur. " My heart is an endowment of my beloved, the devotee and lover of his sacred shrine, a soul that enchants mine." The Raja of Bundi had arrived at Burhanpur after a win in the war of Paranda. He had met the crown prince Dara and was honoured with a sword and elephant before he came to pay his respect to the Padishah Begum as per the norms of the court. Jahanara was writing in her room. Her maid came with the news, “Begum Sahib, the Raja of Bundi has arrived at court; he is at the Bagh to pay you his respect.” “Tell him to sit in the courtyard of my bagh, I will be there.” She had risen from her place, covered her face in the veil of her dupatta and walked to the place where he waited. “ Begum Sahib," he had acknowledged her presence with a salutation. She returned the bow with a nod. She was sitting inside the arch while he was on the other side of the Purdah, the sun shining over his head as he took his seat on the velvet carpet th...

His Wife

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

The Wounds of Love

The procession had stopped at a clearing. The women and children needed to rest for the day. The maids and guards who had followed them into this life of difficulty and sacrifice quickly laid the tents for rest. The young crown princess, still a child, was not used to the extreme conditions of the open air and the desert sun. She was slightly feverish. In the tent, her mother put her hand on his warm forehead, worried. There were sounds of footsteps, and she grew alarmed. The tent curtains parted. Ajabdeh Punwar entered the tent she shared with Pur Bai Solankini, a little worried. She managed a smile at Pur Bai as she checked the princess's fever. She checked the medicines kept by the bed and, after a reassuring nod at Pur Bai, stepped outside the tent where an eager Amar waited for her. "Keep vigil on your sisters." She ordered the eight-year-old as a pang of pain hit her. She did not want to take away his childhood and innocence with the weight of responsibilities so so...

Begum Sahib: An Introduction and chronology

Note to the readers: Women behind men in history fascinate me. I had been reading about the mothers and wives who changed men’s fortunes. But what about daughters and sisters? A few months back, I was looking for books on Mughal Ladies, mainly Noor Jahan and her work. In the bibliography credits, I had chanced upon “The Life of A Mogul Princess” By Jahanara Begum, the daughter of Shah Jahan. I had no idea about the book and thought it was another autobiography. Previously, I had read only about how she was imprisoned along with her father at Agra, and her involvement with Dara Shikoh, her younger brother, in connecting the two realms of Hinduism and Islamism and the establishment of Sufism. All of these and the chronological events of history can be found in various books. As I read each page of her diary, cross-checking each point with Jagunath Sircar’s “History of Aurangzib” and R.C. Majumder’s “Mughal Empire” as well as numerous other sources on the Mughal Harem, I discovered ...

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 ...

One Night

Happy Valentine's Day, readers! Hope you put your self-love and your love for reading right at the top when you celebrate today! The night was eerie; the veil of stars shone in the clear sky, occasional clouds travelling with the wind, playing hide-and-seek with the crescent moon. The leaves rustling in the gentle breeze, and somewhere in the forestland, the call of an animal broke the silence. Owls hooted somewhere, and in the darkness, one could see across the arid land, beyond the water of a lake, a fort wall was lit by the torches of the guards who were awake and alert. The sandstone castle in the middle of the small township was asleep. The corridors of the Mardana Mahal, where noblemen and princes were stationed, were heavily guarded tonight. The prince of Mewar was travelling through this small town, on one of his many campaigns. The square-shaped palace had an inner courtyard for the ladies. Opposite the Mardana Mahal was the Andar Mahal, where the women resided. They shar...

The Maharana and his Prodigy

We do not know exactly when Ajabde Punwar passed, but it was after the capital was shifted to Chawand, and we can assume it occurred between 1583 CE and 1597 CE. During the last few years of his reign, especially after the birth of his first grandson, Karan Singh of Mewar (Born on 1st August, 1583, according to Veer Vinod), to Aarti Bai Chauhan and Amar Singh I, Maharana Pratap decided to leave most of the administrative work to Amar, while he focused solely on rebuilding an army to regain the outpost at Chittorgarh which was under his half brothers rule who had joined the Timurids. The timeline also coincides with the time when a young Prince Salim, in one of his early expeditions, was injured in Mewar, and that prompted Akbar to remove Timurid outposts from Mewar (according to Akbarnama). However, the real reason was the constant attack on these outposts by Mewari Soldiers, and the cost of movement of these soldiers proved to be expensive for the emperor, who, after the Battle o...

The Difficult Times

Rana Pratap rose to prominence as the new hope for Mewar after his coronation on Holi, 1st March, 1572. His subjects and chiefs had a lot of faith in his ability to remove the Timurid influence from Rajputana. In the year 1573, in February, June and November, Raja Man Singh, his father Bhagwan Das and Todal Mal came to persuade the Rana on alliances respectively. Although he received the fellow Rajputs cordially, their purpose remained unsolved. These frequent visits to his court from alliances of Akbar made Gogunda vulnerable as a capital. He decided to move to a small village at Girwa, about 8 miles from Haldighati. Not being able to reach him anymore, Akbar's chieftains were forced to prepare for war against the Rana. Under the leadership of Man Singh, Akbar's army reached Haldighati, the chosen battlefield on the banks of the Banas River. The brave Rajputs, having only half the army's strength, fought bravely, and an injured Rana was taken to safety by his favourite ...

She Left...

The war was over, and so were the hopes of regaining Chittor. The Battle at Haldighati had robbed the Rana of all his wealth, and brave men, and bruised him for life. Trying to match up to Akbar's chief of arms, Raja Man Singh's army, with one-third its strength had cost dearly. He had lost his friend and companion in the loyal steed that had saved his life. He had brushed past death so nearly for the first time in a lifetime of battles. He had almost given up hope when Bhahma Shah came by like a god-sent messenger to help him. It took him a lot of strength to accept that he was helpless and had to ask for financial aid. It took more strength to assemble a troop once again and reach the battlefield of Dewair. It was eerily near Haldighati, and the Timurids seemed to be more prepared with their guerrilla tactics this time. He had to make sure they were introduced to newer techniques to surprise them. The only good thing that this war ensured was that Akbar accepted that he could...

The Final Battle

The Battle of Haldighati was fought in June 1576. However, Akbar had planned an attack on Mewar in February 1576 when Rana Partap Singh refused his peace treaty for the third time in four years. He wanted Rana Partap's defeat in his hands. He was the only one who didn't seem to fear the mighty Timurid domination. He needed to be taught a lesson. Rana Partap was disturbed by the constant visits of Man Singh to Mewar in the last two years, that too with Akbar's peace treaty. Chittorgarh had fallen to the Timurid power, and Mewar had lost its bravest. He wouldn't forget that till his last breath. There was no way he could bow down to the Timurid. 17 Mewari villages were under Timurid dominance. He needed to free them. But his morals of showing no enmity with any Rajput always made him most hospitable towards Man Singh. He was looking for a way to start a war. Man Singh came with a peace treaty in the years 1573 and 1574. It is then that Rana Partap decided that the areas n...

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