RAABTA

Roshni spent the rest of her evening talking with Hansa. First about their family history and how the Punwars once ruled Mewar to become chieftains of the small but significant province. “But you know, my child, sadly women who stayed behind the purdah of the inner palaces, even if they impacted the lives of those we know about, were given very little importance. You will barely find their names or stories if they didn’t give an heir or two.” Roshni agreed with Hansa. She spoke like her own mother. Naari ki balidaano ko sadev bhulta aaya hai itihas. She had heard her mother say that a million times. It wasn’t until she took up the subject that she realised how true it was.   Dinner was early in remote areas because there was no need or means of getting out of the house after dark. After gorging on a sumptuous meal in the evening and thanking Hansa for it, she informed her that she would leave by the first available bus at dawn. Pratap was missing from the dinner and Roshni found it...

  “Why are you going home so suddenly?” Mahek asked suspiciously watching Roshni pack her bags. “We do have a project submission.” “I know and I will be back before it. It's just that I miss Maasa.” She insisted. “You are lying.” Vamshika crossed her arms at her chest and spoke firmly “I know you are lying. What happened? Are you sick? Did you have a fallout with the therapist?” “A therapist? Why does she see a therapist?” Mahek gasped. “What is happening, Roshni?” “Is Aunty sick?” Vamshika frowned. Roshni stopped packing and looked up at her concerned friends. “I reassure you everything is fine. I am having my anxiety medicines and I am just going home for a few days. No, Maasa is not sick and neither am I. I will be back soon.” She reassured them as she hugged them, “I will miss you two!” Mahek helped her with the luggage and dropped her at the bus depot where she boarded the bus “To Bundi” and Mahek watched as the bus departed.  Roshni plugged in her headphones for the thre...

The tourist bus from Udaipur had stopped at the ticket counter of Kumbhalgarh fort when the conductor instructed the passengers “The bus will be here till 5 PM. Get back within that time or we will leave without you.” Roshni straightened her backpack and arched her arms around a little. She had been sitting in the same position for too long. Removing her earphones, letting them dangle near her neck, she looked around and approached the ticket counter. “One.” She said to the man behind the caged counter. “Light and sound?” The man asked, she shook her head. The ticket was printed and handed to her along with the change as she tucked it in the pocket of her jeans, straightened her Kurti and walked inside the fort through the gates. The sight of the palaces and temples around her was breathtaking. A few groups of monkeys were running about near the Hanuman Temple at the entrance and she stood there looking around. Pratap had instructed her to meet him there. Phone signals weren’t strong i...

Pratap’s crew managed to clear some forest area around the palace ruins and found an archway within a week. Assuming that’s where the palace started they headed up the cliff and discovered two rooms with flooring involved. What he didn’t find however is the similarity of the place with that in his dreams. Something told him ever since he had believed in the theory, that it was Chawand he dreamt of. The forestland, huts, and temples he saw in bits and pieces made him believe it was perhaps this place. Well, he was wrong. Frustrated with this realisation, Pratap took a cigarette break and his attention was drawn by the flight of stairs that led up to a viewing point. He dropped his cigarette butt and walked up the flight of stairs, and stopped at the sight of a black statue. He walked up to it as the breeze and his heartbeat and breath were the only sound he could hear in the silence. From the viewpoint amidst the wildflowers and bougainvillaea bushes, he caught sight of their project, t...