RAABTA

  Jivanta glanced over to the hospital bench opposite hers, where Pratap sat, his eyes fixed on the corridor where they had wheeled Roshni to the ICU. She couldn’t understand anything. She had asked Roshni, and she had repeated there was no… what irked Jivanta was how she was genuinely concerned about a man she barely knew, who caused her so much humiliation. She didn’t give herself credit for being so kind or weak. She found a woman around her age approach, Pratap, as he got up at her sight, and hugged her tight.  “It will be fine.” The woman whispered as Pratap let out what Jivanta thought was a sob. Did he love Roshni that much? Jivanta sighed, trying to look away from them as Pratap brought the woman over to her. “This is my mother.” He spoke, his voice still hoarse. Jivanta looked up at the woman, who smiled faintly. “Roshni is a strong child; she will be fine.” Hansa sat down beside Jivanta as Pratap went to get them some tea, while they talked. “Did you… meet her?” Jiva...

Pratap was outside the gates of Meera Girls College in Udaipur by the next afternoon, unsure of whether to go in and ask for her. He spotted a few girls walking out, and one of them kept staring at him suspiciously before approaching him. He stood in his spot, still awkward as she asked, “Aren’t you that ASI guy that Roshni met?” “I… what?” Pratap narrowed his eyes “I am sorry, I don’t remember you.” “I am Mahek.” The girl waved her hand and smiled, “I was with her at Chawand.” “Oh, I see.” Pratap sighed. “I found some information that might help her …err… project.” He stopped at Mahek’s suspicious frown. “So I thought…” “You came all the way here to give her some information about her project?” Pratap cursed himself inwardly. Indeed, that sounded lame when she repeated it. “Why didn’t you call her?” “I…” He cleared his throat “I lost her number, so… I was hoping that she would be interested in an on-field internship…” “Oh, wait, I will give you her number. But she isn’t here, and I do...

For two days, Roshni watched her mother happily humming a tune, going about her chores and telling every person who called or met that she had agreed to meet a groom. The more she saw her mother’s happiness, the more Roshni was sure of her decision. But when she called Vamshika, she immediately showed her concerns.  “A marriage proposal?” Her gasp was quite evident over the phone, “You went there to get married?” Mahek snatched the phone and spoke, “But what about your degree?” “I will finish college first.” Roshni wanted to sound convincing “Besides, it is just the first meeting. I am halfway through my project. I will be back next week or so.” “Don’t bother,” Mahek replied. “The Fest has been announced, and the next week’s classes are off for us to work on that.” She sounded disappointed.  “Oh, okay, I will be back when the classes resume, then. Are you upset with me?” Before Roshni could even finish her sentence, the phone was disconnected. She sighed. Even if this went thr...

Roshni came home a little sceptical of her mother’s reaction. Usually, Jivanta would see right through her and coming home in the middle of the college session was very unusual for her daughter. Roshni knew sooner or later her mother would ask questions about her plans. She spent most of the morning helping her mother with chores, and when she left for work, Roshni would sit with books and start working on her project. She had decided to start with the family tree Hansa was kind enough to give her, of the Maharani of Mewar’s lineage and then draw an outline of her character from the folklore she had heard. Midway through the character sketch, she tore the page into a ball and threw it away. It didn’t seem right. She tried again. By the time Jivanta returned home, for the third day in a row, she was welcomed by a cold lunch that was untouched way into the evening, heaps of discarded paper and books and pens lying around the floor of the bigger of the two rooms. Frustrated, she kept her ...

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...

  “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 ...