RAABTA

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 ...

  “Jija, I want to go to the stables too.” Ajbante was stopped in the corridor of the inner palace by Ratan Kanwar, followed by their half-brother, Akhil, who was three. “We do.” Ratan corrected herself. The dawn had just set on the horizon, and the birds were chirping in the gardens. Ajbante Kanwar had just taken a bath in the private pool and managed to grab her empty flower basket to go to the gardens. Still, before that, she would visit the stables and cowshed, check how Lakshmi was doing with her newborn, and if Bijli was okay with the sudden changes her father had made. Ratan Kanwar’s nagging made her sigh and nod. “Don’t make so much noise so early in the morning.” She scolded them as they followed her, giggling and skipping down the hall behind her. “Don’t touch the newborn Kunwar Akhil, you will scare Lakshmi.” The familiar alarmed voice made Kunwar Partap stop gathering hay as he placed them down, wiped his forehead and glanced over his shoulder at the cowshed. There was ...

An outtake to be read after reading all the chapters of Protibimbo. T he men of the house don’t care for the happiness of the women. Nonibala Debi drew such an inference as she spoke her heart out to Mukhopadhyay Ginni. She gasped a little at her words, taking the Paan Nonibala Debi offered her, subtly eyeing the newly married daughter-in-law who had accompanied her to the Gangopadhyay house. It was winter, and Nonibala Debi’s firstborn was back from college while the others were enjoying the winter vacation. She was pestering her husband for a Choruibhati for the children, where the Mukhopadhyays could also join in the merriment. The boys would cook, letting her relax with the timid, homely wife of Sergeant Animesh Mukhopadhyay, who barely went out of her home and preferred to stay within the boundaries that her husband drew for her. For a change, she looked interested in the prospect, perhaps because of the children. It was painful for them both to manage their pack during the ho...

  This outtake can be read after Chapter Five. Adhir had always looked up to his father. From an early age, he had been home, taking care of his little sister, doing chores around their small Shanti in Barishal’s largest slum area while their father ran a Paan Shop in front of the Police Station. He had always seen his father wake up at dawn before the first ray of the sun, pray to the Lord with his wet clothes still on, and leave for work, dangling a Thali of Ruti and Torkari for his lunch that he had cooked the previous night. Adhir would wake up right after him, help his little sister, make their tiffins and go to school. Benimadhob had enrolled him in his friend Upendra Gangopadhyay’s school for poor children. That was where Adhir met Master Moshai and Bina. Through his teens, Adhir slowly and steadily discovered a new side of his father, along with Mastermoshai. The Paan shop would be shut around 9 PM, but his father did not return home well after 11. The neighbours gossiped t...