IPKKND-ARHI-FF - Gypsy- Chapter 42 - Page 88

Chapter 41

A soft sound interrupted Arnav's uneasy slumber and he woke up slowly, disoriented. The candles in the room had burned out although the moonlight cast soft shadows. He sat up, looking for the source of the sound, finally identifying it coming from the direction of the bed.

"Khushi? He hesitantly walked closer, wondering what was wrong. He was almost next to the bed when he caught on to what was happening. The soft moonlight fell in the room and he saw her clinging to her pillow, her face turned sideways. Her eyes were tightly closed and she was sobbing softly. He leaned in for a closer look and caught in her mumblings.

"No... nahi, I didn't do anything... please leave me... I am innocent... please don't hit me anymore. I swear ... Maayi, save me, please save me ... Maharaja Saheb, save me... I didn't do anything ... Maayi... Maayi... Maayiii"

Beside the bed, Maharaja Arnav Singh Raizada froze, literally. She was having a bad dream! No, not a bad dream, he realized. She was recalling the horrible experience she had gone through and crying. Dear God! For the first time, he was seeing the reality of what she had endured and he stood still, dry-mouthed while she cried softly. He reached a hand to touch her but paused at the last. Should he touch her? Would she welcome his help? His hand hovered in mid-air, undecided when the decision was taken out of his hands.

Khushi turned on her back suddenly and sat up. Her eyes were wide open and she stared straight ahead, her mumblings stopped for the moment.

"Khushi," Arnav called softly. He got no response and tried again. "Khushi?" His hand still hovered, wondering what to do. He looked at her face and realized something. She was staring still ahead unblinking. He moved slightly closer to her and looked down in her face, right in her eyes. They were unblinking, an unseeing look in them. She was still trapped in the vestiges of her dream!

Arnav gently touched her shoulder, murmuring her name. She remained in the same state and all the while debating the wisdom of his action, he gently pushed her back. She toppled over, her head touching her pillow. She blinked once.

"Go to sleep Khushi," he murmured very softly.

"Maayi ..." She called out to her mother in her soft voice, asking for her. His heart practically in his mouth, he touched her hair gently in a stroking motion, hoping against hope that she would quieten down and go back to sleep. He continued stroking her hair and slowly she closed her eyes, murmuring her mother's name. He stayed by her side for some time until he was sure she was asleep before pulling the covers up to her shoulders.

He moved away from the bed, going back to the sofa, sitting on the edge of it. He knew he would get no sleep. Instead he sat on the sofa.

She missed her mother, he realized painfully. He recalled the large, woman dressed in bright colors he had spoken to that night. At that moment he felt like the fiend who rather brutally separated a baby calf from its mother. Khushi was like that delicate, helpless creature, crying and missing its mother but having no way of going there since someone else held the rope around its neck. He was a Kshatriya by birth. To offer a small calf as a sacrifice to the Gods was a ritual they had always followed. As a child he had accepted it but as he grew old enough to understand and witnessed for himself the struggle of the mother cow and her young one when they were separated, something in him rebelled at fulfilling the ancient custom. Surely no God would ever want a sacrifice that required separating a mother and child! Since then he refused to partake in that ritual even in the smallest of ways, going out of his way to be absent on that particular day. Now as the honorary Maharaja of Devgarh and responsible for the mandir as well in that capacity, he refused permission for sacrifices in the Devgarh mandir. Why separate a mother and her young one?

Today he felt as if he was the man who personally took a child from its mother and cast her adrift. The mother, who was surely pining for her child was travelling God knows where while the child battled with her ill - health all on her own here. His own mother was so special to him, so important. The last few months when she had not spoken to him, he felt as if he had lost a limb. That ache was so intense but he had accepted it as penance for his deeds. Khushi's mother was just as special to her, just as important and she had paid the penance for something that was not her fault. He had always been so proud that by refusing permission for sacrifices, he never committed the sin of coming between a mother and its child. But now, today, here, he had committed that very sin. What did that say about the kind of man he was, Arnav thought? In that moment it occurred that the list of his sins was still piling up. He had not even realized some of them that he had unthinkingly committed!

Arnav looked towards the bed where Khushi slept huddled under the covers. She was so very young, he thought. She should have been enjoying her life, not unknowingly becoming the object of his lust, getting dishonoured in the bargain, beaten up, separated from her mother and all that was familiar and then fighting for her life. At the end, not ending up marrying her tormentor! When he had wanted her for his mistress, he had never considered anything about her except for her looks and the effect they had on him. Not even her very young age! Bloody cradle snatcher, he thought savagely.

He didn't sleep for the remainder of the night and as soon as it was light, he put his beddings back on the bed and went to shower and change...

As was her habit, Khushi's eyes opened around dawn. She blinked at the unfamiliar surroundings before recalling that she was in her new home. Her eyes flew to the sofa which was empty. She breathed more easily, sitting up and looking around. She didn't recall her bad dream at all. She slowly slid down from the bed. Just then there was a discreet knock on the door. Almost before she could reply, the door swung open and Charu entered.

"Namaste Maharani Saheba."

"Hmmm..."

"Namaste Maharani Saheba."

For a moment Khushi looked around to see if Maharani Mamta Raizada was around. But Charu's eyes were directly on her. The penny dropped! Blushing over her faux pas, Khushi nodded and replied:

"Namaste Charuji. Kaise hai aap?"

With Charu's entrance, the day took on a frentic pace. With Charu and her attendant's assistance, she bathed and dressed in a crimson silk sari worked in gold. She wore lovely but slightly simpler jewelry. Draping the pallu over her head and arranging her ghoonghat to hide her face, Khushi went downstairs and straight to the mandir. When she entered Mamta and Devyani were the only ones there. She touched their feet for blessings.

They blessed her without lifting the ghoonghat. Within the next few minutes, Anjali, Prithvi and Arnav came in followed by the other house guests. Mamta guided her through getting the pooja thali ready after which Arnav and Khushi led the morning arti. Arnav guided her through it on account of her ghoonghat, his hand gentle on hers. As soon as pooja was over, Anjali took the thali from her and passed it around for the arti. Taking the opportunity, Arnav drew her aside to ask her,

"Di, for how much longer is Khushi supposed to go around with that infernal ghoonghat?"

"Oh Chhote! Only for the next few hours. As soon as the mooh - dikhai rasam is done, we will lift the ghoonghat. After that until the wedding rituals are all completed she will have to cover her head. Once all that is finished, she can relax. No more ghoonghat or even a pallu to cover her head and believe me, Maa and Dadi will not even require that she always wear a sari. She is so young after all!"

"Thanks Di!" Arnav retorted somewhat sarcastically. Anjali's words bringing back his own painful realization of her youth and naivete!

Anjali frowned at his tone, tilting her head to the side questioningly and Arnav was forced to clarify.

"Thanks for the reassurance while at the same time, making me sound like a cradle - robber!"

Anjali's eyes widened for a moment before she giggled. In the next moment, she stifled the sound. Arnav looked positively tormented! She cleared her throat.

"Yes, she is very young Chhote. But what's done is done. It's good that you realize her youth. Now it is your responsibility to make allowances for it when you deal with her and allow her to finish growing up peacefully and happily. To do otherwise would be ..."

"I understand Di. I made mistakes with her once. I won't do that again!!!"

Arnav assured his Di testily. He looked around and saw his mother a short distance away. He placed an arm around Anjali's shoulders and turned towards Mamta.

Mamta Raizada looked up to see her children approaching. She smiled slightly at them. Stopping in front of her, Arnav watched her solemnly. He bent down for his blessings. She touched his hair gently. Arnav rose.

"Good Morning Maa."

"Good Morning Chhote. How are you today beta?"

Her gentle query, after these months, delivered in her soft loving tones was nearly his undoing. He simply wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. Mamta hugged him back. It felt so good to have her son back in her arms, a better human being that he had been before!!!!

Breakfast for Khushi was with her attendants separately while the other family and guests had theirs together. She ate a few bites, too nervous for anything else. Straight after breakfast was the mooh-dikhai ritual. It was in the main hall of the palace with only ladies present. She sat on a chair in the middle of the room with her ghoonghat hiding her face. Each guest raised her ghonghat, looked at her face and gave her a gift. The process took nearly three hours. Each and every guest present there declared that the bride was the most beautiful girl they had ever seen and the Maharaja was indeed a very lucky man. At the end of the ritual, Anjali raised her ghoonghat, putting it back once and for all. Khushi breathed a sigh of relief while Anjali laughingly winked at her.

It was then that Khushi noticed the opulence of the main hall. Discreetly looking around, she saw that the wonderful surroundings were more that matched by the clothes, jewelry and manner of the affluent guests! She shook her head at the large heap of gifts sitting on the table next to her chair, most of it velvet boxes. Grimacing slightly she recalled the tokens she had received during her haldi and mehendi. So much jewelry, she realized. Where would she put it all?

Worried about storage space, it didn't even occur to the poor child that she owned a king's ransom in jewelry!

On the other side, preparations were on for the reception organised for that evening, to be held outdoors in the palace grounds...