First of all a very Happy Valentine's Day to all of u.
Secondly, I know I have been unusually late in posting an update. So I know that I deserve all the dhamkis and gaaliyans. But the principal of this dept knew exactly what was wrong with me and so very kindly, she chose to forgive me. (It means u Mana). Thanks a lot Mana.
And so here goes the fifth part of The Beginning of an End.
PART - 5:
"Aap humari baat samajh kyun nahi rahe? Hum aapke saath nahi aa sakte. Apni kathinaiyon ko aapke sar nahi daal sakti. Aap chale jaiye yahan se."
"Tum pagal ho gayi ho? Mai tumhe yahan se le jaane aaya hun, tumhara pralaap sunne nahi."
"Aap samajhte kyun nahi? Hum badi mushkil se aapse milne aa paaye hain. Shayad aajke baad hum mil hi na paaye..."
He placed his fingers on her lips. He dreaded the very thought of it, how could he bear to hear it. She stared at him for some time and then clutched his hand tightly and started weeping. He cupped her face in his palms and slowly wiped away her tears with his thumb. "Sshhh... aansu pocho aur meri baat dhyan se suno. Hume koi alg nahi kar sakta."
She cut him in between. "Aap nahi samajh rahe. Raka ko hum par shak ho gaya hai. Agar usne kisi ko bata diya toh..."
"Arey, meri sherni Raka se darti hai?" he teased her to lighten her mood. "Raka ko jo karna hai kar lene do. Mai tumhe kuch nahi hone dunga." He promised.
"Aur agar aapko kuch ho gaya toh?" he saw traces of fear in her eyes.
"Tum ho na mere saath... mujhe kuch nahi ho sakta." He replied and then holding her wrist pulled her up from behind the bushes where they were hiding. He had become careless and paid the price for it.
An arrow came flying and hit him on his left shoulder. He bit his lips to stop himself from crying out in pain. Controlling himself he tried to pull it out, but one more arrow hit him in the lower portion of the stomach. He lost his balance and fell down with blood rolling down from his wounds and making his already dusty robe stained with blood. In a second she was by his side. "Aap ko kya hua... aap thik toh hain na." she pulled the arrow from his stomach and then stretched her hand out to pull the other one.
A shadow fell on their faces and before any of them could react, she was pulled up and found herself staring into the thick set, red eyes of......
"RAKA..." she was stunned. So he had been following her.
"Aapko kya laga... aap kuch bhi Karen hume pata nahi chalega? Aap humari amanat hai... aur aapko apni sahi jagah pe hona chahiye. Aur hum aapko wahan tak pahuncha kar rahenge." His voice was rough and threatening.
She left herself free and waited for a time to attack him. But before she could do anything, a sword flashed and her face was splashed in blood...
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The person awoke with a start completely covered in perspiration and terror visible on face. "What was this...???" The night didn't turn out to be peaceful any more.
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Prithvi woke to the soulful renditions of Suprabhatam... a piece composed by Pandit Mukharjee himself. He had always heard it with music, but today it was a female voice which woke him up. The voice was soft and low and before Prithvi got down from the bed, he knew who the singer could be.
Very gently he pulled open the door and went out into the corridor. The voice was coming from the room next to his. He hesitated outside the door, debating with himself whether to open the door or not. However, the voice was too over powering and it pushed aside all his hesitation. He gently pushed the door and looked inside.
She was standing in front of a shelf clad in a sky blue coloured skirt and white sleeveless top. Her waist length hair was wet and was therefore left open. She was waving aarati in front of a small statue of Nataraj ' the dancing Shiva. As he watched in silence... she finished the aarati, bowed her head in front of the idol and turned back.
He smiled at her startled look. "Good Morning Nandini..."
"Good Morning! Did I disturb you? I'm so sorry." She said.
"You call this mellifluous voice as disturbing? I would be gladly disturbed out of my sleep if I get to hear this voice every morning........ uhh I mean this song every morning."
She smiled at his hesitation suddenly feeling shy all of a sudden. And seeing her blush at his compliment, for no reason at all he felt elated. "Would you like to have a look around? It's a beautiful sight early in the morning."
"Sure...!!!" she jumped up at the prospect. She loved early morning strolls.
"Great... Give me 15 minutes... I'll freshen up and join you."
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True to his words... Prithvi met her in the corridor within 15 minutes. Taking care not to disturb the sleeping house as it was just 5:30 in the morning, they went out of the palace and out of the gate.
"So now that you are in Udaipur... how do you propose to spend these holidays?"
"Udaipur is known as the City of the Lakes... isn't it? So you tell me what is there for me to see?"
"Lots of places. Lake Pichola, Fateh Sagar Lake, Jaisamand, Udai Sagar and Swaroop Sagar are some of the most beautiful lakes in the state. Also there are many palaces which have now been converted into luxury palaces. Like the Lake Palace... u see it covers an entire island in the Pichola Lake.. There is Jug Niwas or the Lake palace Hotel, Lake Palace, Jug Mandir, a museum known as Bharatiya Lok Kala Mandal... then there is a memorial of Maharana Pratap atop Moti Magri or Pearl Hill... then there is the Monsoon Palace known as the Sajjan Garh Palace, Sukhadia Circle, Jagdish temple and Bohra Ganesh ji temple. Then there is Saheliyon ki Bari, Udaipur Solar observatory, Gulab bagh and Zoo, dudh talai which is a rocky and fountain garden, Neheru garden, Bagore ki haveli which was built in the 18th century, Ahar Museum, Shilpgram which is a crafts village, Neemach Mata temple and Our Lady of Fatima Cathedral."
"Gosh... you were talking like a tourist guide Prithvi." She said after he finished.
"You seem to have forgotten that I'm a resident of Udaipur." He smiled at her surprised look.
"No, I haven't." she countered " But to keep everything in mind like a tourist guide is certainly surprising."
He laughed at this and asked. "Interested in sight seeing? I'll prove to be a good guide."
"You will make the best guide." She returned mischeviously and both of them started laughing.
"When can we start with the sightseeing?" she asked after a while.
"Whenever you want. How about after breakfast?"
"Sure."
After strolling for half an hour, they retraced their steps towards the palace.
Cricket
Indian Mythology
