Chapter-1: Phool's confession

Rao Mamrath entered the room as quietly as possible. His daughter, Ajabdeh was sleeping. He sat beside her and gently caressed her face. “Ajabdeh… Humari pyaari putri” He said softly, wiping his tears.

The mask which Rao Mamrath put on his face in the presence of daughter, was often removed while she was sleeping. Normally, he would wait till night and come to her room to pour his affection to her but that day was different. In fact it was so different that he could no longer control his overwhelming feelings and came to her room during the mid-day. That day Kunwar Pratap held a function specially for his daughter. She was praised for her bravery and wisdom in front of all the people. She was respected and she was showered with blessings. He was happy but alas, he could never show it in front of others.

Rao Mamrath Singh was a Samant of Rana Uday Sing II of Mewar. He was the Samant of Bijolia. He was proud to be a Samant and his loyalty towards Mewar never wavered. Chittor never neglected its duty towards Bijolia but that does not mean that his world was free of problems. He was after all a simple Samant and just like all the Samants he had his share of worries, the major of which concerned the sweet little girl sleeping beside him.

It was the rule, that the Samant have to send his full army to support the main state if the sate declares a war on another state. But what people don’t know is that then the Samant’s own state becomes vulnerable. They get attacked and many civilians die. Property, cattle and crops get destroyed. Most of the samants helplessly watch the destruction of their land. To escape from this disaster, a tactic was formed. The daughters of the Samants were wedded of to the kings of other states. By doing so, the kings assure that the state would be safe if a war does break out. This practice was and is still being followed forcing the Samants to sell their daughters along with their freedom and happiness for the well-being of their states

With the tensions between Mewar and Marwar rising each day, many samants have married of their daughters to other states. Rao Maldev Rathore of Marwar would directly propose the marriage himself and the Samant would have no choice to listen to him or risk his state to demolition.

When Ajabdeh was born, he was not entirely happy. Not because she was a girl but because he was a Samant.

He knew that one day he would have to cut off her wings, burn her happiness ,crush her self-esteem and throw her into hell-hole of unhappiness as one of many uppatnis of some lustful king. There were many stories of young Samant-putris dying on their first night itself or many of them turning mad at a very young age. Instead of falling from her eyes when he have to shamelessly sell her off, he purposefully distanced himself from her. It would be better for her, he had thought, to feel unloved than to feel betrayed by him.

Even though he tried to hate her, it turned out to be impossible. So he acted. He acted cold towards her, acted not only cruel but also inhumane. Even his wife, Hansa, didn’t know about that. He hoped that Ajabdeh would feel resentful towards him and maybe she would gradually hate him. But his daughter, was no ordinary girl. Even after all these he could still see love for him in her eyes. She was mostly scared but she never stopped respecting him nor did she ever stopped trying her best to make him happy. He hoped that by forcefully labelling her as unlucky, she would be spared by that villainous eyes of Marwar. But even then, God have left him helpless. Due to her friendship with the princess of Marwar and her frequent visits to Marwar, it became clear to Rana Maldev Singh Rathore that Ajabdeh was not what she was marked.

As Ajabdeh approached marriageable age his worries seemed increasing. Even when she was simply dressed, there was a certain charm to her that made many attracted towards her. Her kindness, her wisdom, her calm and sensible demeanor around others and many other qualities of hers started showing up gradually. There was no one till now who wasn’t mesmerized by her voice when she sings with pure devotion. He knew that if she was to dress up royally, she would look more than just beautiful, it would be impossible to take eyes off her. And he was afraid of just that. What if one day, Rana Maldev proposes for a marriage? He had no hope left inside him until that day.

Kunwar Pratap and Phool Kanwar lighted the lamp of hope within him once again. He saw their interactions that day during the festivities. After seeing their closeness he got himself an idea. “What if the prince of Mewar and princess of Marwar were to bridge the enmity between two kingdoms?”

He looked at his daughter. She looked so peaceful while sleeping. He wanted toprotect this inner peace

The more he thought about the plan, the more he felt confident. If this alliance worked, then there was no need of unnecessary sacrifices by many Samants. And with the sword of invasion by Mughals hanging over their heads, it was necessary for Marwar and Mewar to unite as one against a common enemy. He was feeling excited more and more as he thought of the benefits of this alliance. He decided to send messages to many Samants and Rawats across Mewar to discuss about their opinions on his idea and then move forward accordingly. He had notime to waste. Before he go, he kissed Ajabdeh’s forehead and whispered.

“Ajabdeh…Humne aapko akaaran bohut dukh diya… Par hum aapko vachan dete hai..agar humara yeh sankalp sabhal hua toh hum aapko woh saara prem aapko khushi khushi dengejo humne aapko dene se itne varshon se apne aapko rokh rahe the. Hum aapko woh saare kushiyan denge jinke aap hakdaar ho aur use bhi adhik.”

********

Sometime after Mamrath left the room a maid entered the room.

“Baisa…Baisa…” She called out gently trying to wake her up.

As she opened her eyes, Ajabdeh touched her forehead. She had a beautiful dream. In her dream, everyone were celebrating… she could not remember what they were celebrating but she knew that everyone were there. Her mother, her father, her brother, Phool, Saubhagyawati, Lakshmi(The cow), Chakrapaani, Bheem , Venidas, and.. and even Kunwar Pratap. The palace was decorated with flowers, lights and colours. It was so beautiful. Everyone were happy and her Daata kissed her lovingly on her forehead telling her that he was proud of her.

“Baisa”

The Daasi’s voice made her come out from her thoughts.

“Ji Boliye” she said, trying to get out of the bed.

“Baisa..woh Kunwar Pratap ne yeh aapko dene ke liye kaha hai” Daasi said holding apiece of paper.

“Kunwar Pratap ne?” She asked confused but still took the paper. “Dhanyawaad.. ab aapja sakti hai”

After the daasi leave Ajabdeh opened the piece of paper.

‘Ajabdeh

Iss samay aapko pareshan karna humara udesh nahi tha parantu kya aap mahal ke poorve disha mein jo mandap hain, wahan humse milne aa sakti hai? Akele aayiyega

Kunwar Pratap’

Ajabdeh felt confused. This was a strange letter. She remembered the last time she got such a letter asking her to come late at night. But this time it really was Kunwar Pratap. She wondered if it was something about her asking him to leave Bijolia. She shook her head and decided to go there as fast as possible. She adjusted her lehenga, checked her chuniri for any wrinkles and left after putting the paper on her bed.

Kunwar Pratap was waiting for Ajabdeh inside the mandap. It was afternoon but the sun was neither too hot nor too bright. The mandap was filled with cool breeze which faintly carried the smell of wild flowers in the nearby forest. The curtains around the mandap beautifully danced along the wind. This was the same mandap where Chakrapani got married. Even without the decorations it looked beautiful. His eyes fell on a pillar. It was in front of that pillar where he grasped Ajabdeh’s hand while trying to take mangalsutra from Amma’s hand. He blushed at the mere thought of it. “Sambhliye apne aapko Kunwar Pratap. Yeh aapko kya ho raha hain aajkal. Kyun aap yeh sab baatein akaaran bar bar yaad kar rahe hai. Sambhavatha yeh kisi ko pata chala toh who aapke maanstik stiti par sandeh karenge” He told himself while simultaneously trying to make his face as normal as possible.

He stiffened slightly at the sound of her anklets. He could identify the sound of her anklets anytime. And it was not exactly the sound of anklets, it was the rhythm. The way she walks, he was sure even if she wears some other type of anklets he would be able identify her by her pace itself. Even her anklet sound had a soothing beat to it, it calms the listener.

“Kunwar Pratap” she called him softly.

He turned to face her. Her hair was as usual, to her left side. He smiled at her. By reading her face itself he could understand that she was both confused as well as curious.

“Aapko humse koi aavashyak baat kehni thi?” She asked. He noticed that she was twisting her hand slightly while saying so.

He nodded and started, “Jee haan. Bohut aavashyak. Itna aavashyak ki humse prateeksha nahi ho paa rahi thi, isiliye humne aapko aapke vishraam ke samay kasht diya..”

As he started talking he found himself more and more nervous. Somehow he didn’t know how to start the topic. He didn’t know how to gift the mala. He knew she liked the mala because he saw her stare at the mala couple of times. Others would have looked at the shiny aabhushan but he felt that it was because Ajabdeh’s simple taste and purity of soul that she like his rudraksh mala. He wanted her to have something from him so that even if one day he have to leave, she would have something to remember him. He did not want her to forget him.

“Nahi Nahi… Hum toh yuhi vishram nahi kar rahe the…” She tried to console him. Technically it was not a lie as she was trying her embroidery but somehow ended up dozing off. So she did not plan to rest then.

“Dekhiye…hum jante hai ki pichle kuch dino se hum aapko kasht pahuncha rahe hai..” He started this way.

Ajabdeh again interrupted him by saying, “Aisa kuch nahi Kunwar Pratap…”

“Dekhiye hume pehle bolne dijiye…” he said and when she did not speak he tried to start the conversation again.

“Toh…aapko humne jitney bhi kasht diye…”

“Ajabdeh! Ajabdeh!”

This time it was Phool who interrupted him. Pratap was feeling irritated. He was generally not good with these type of conversations and now he was getting interrupted at every sentence. Ajabdeh looked towards the sound. Phool was running towards her.

“Phool? Kya hua?” Ajabdeh asked a panting Phool. Pratap was slightly annoyed. He always felt that she gave more importance to Phool than him. It almost feels that he turns into air when Phool was there. Was there no place where he could talk to Ajabdeh alone? Next time he would call her near Lakshmi, for he knew Lakshmi would not interrupt him.

“Ajabdeh..Humne aapko kaha kaha nahi dhoonda.. Aap chaliye haumare saath…” Saying this Phool started pulling Ajabdeh.

“Phool…rukiye Phool…” Ajabdeh said managing to stop Phool. “Aap chaliye hum sheekr aathe hai.. Woh Kunwar Pratap humse kuch aavashyak baat kehni thi…”

Pratap felt glad that he did not get neglected. But that did not stop Phool.

“Prantu..jo baat hum aapse kehna chahte hai woh Kunwar Pratap ke baat se adhik mehatvapoorn hai”

Even before Ajabdeh could reply, Kunwar Pratap reacted,

“Dekhiye…Bina jane aap yeh kaise keh sakti hai ki humari baat uthnee mehatvapoorn nahi ho sakti.. Aur waise bhi Ajabdeh pehle humare paas aayi thi toh baat karne ka pehla adhikaar humara hai. Aap baad mein aayiyega.”

Phool’s eyes were round like saucers.

“Aise kaise aap pehle baat kar sakte hai? Ajabdeh pehle humari sakhi thi… phir aap ki mitr bani… toh Ajabdeh par sab se pehla adhikaar humara hai.”

This statement miffed Pratap. “Mitrata humesha barabar hoti hai… Ajabdeh aapki sakhi hai toh ve humari bhi mitr hai.. toh hum dono ka tulya adhikaar hai un par…”

Ajabdeh, ever the pacifist, tried to control the situation, “Aap dono iss baat ko lekar vivad na…”

Phool was not the one to leave a fight, and Pratap never knew definition of defeat whether it was war or debate. They both continued the verbal spar for some more time disregarding the attempts of peace-making by Ajabdeh.

“Dekhiye Kunwar Pratap.. Ajabdeh hamari sakhi hai aur toh aur ve humari behan bhi hai..Humari badhan aapke kuch dinon ki mitrata se adhik shaktishali hai..”

Pratap getting all riled up spoke, “Agar aisi baat hai toh.. hum bhi toh yeh keh sakte hai ki Ajabdeh humari mitr bhi hai aur…”He stopped himself abruptly. “Aur?” his mind asked him. The temperature raised in the mandap even though the cool gusts of wind never stopped blowing. He hesitantly looked at Ajabdeh. Her wide doe-like eyes were looking at him puzzled. He suddenly felt nervous looking at those eyes. He felt as though he was breaking a rule. Something which was unsaid was being told in front of everyone.

“Aur?” Phool asked. Pratap panicked and said,“Chaliye aap pehele baat kar lijiye… hum.. woh…hum… chalte hai” and he escaped.

“Ab inhe kya hogaya?” Phool said trying to control her giggle. Ajabdeh was in her own thoughts. “Aur?” Her mind asked her. “Kehna kya chate the Kunwar Pratap?”

“Yeh humne kya kiya?” Phool’s surprised yelp brought Ajabdeh back to earth. “Humne Kunwar Pratap ke saath phir se vivad kiya? Ajabdeh aapne hume roka kyun nahi..”

“Humne toh aap dono ko rokne ka bohut prayaas kiya toh tha… parantu aap dono hai ki humari baat hi nahi sun rahe the..” She said.

“Parantu Ajabdeh.. aap samaj nahi rahi hai.. woh.. hum.. woh..” Phool started hesitating. Ajabdeh understood that it was something serious because Phool never hesitated in front of her.

“Kya baat hai Phool.. batayiye..”

Phool took a deep breathe to compose herself. She closed her eyes and shouted those words at Ajabdeh which shattered her dreams which she didn’t knew harbored.

“Ajabdeh! Hume Kunwar Pratap Ache lagte hai..”