The doctors had put up medicine on her back and face. Her face was also hurt as Adham had slapped her.
The doctors left the room.
Jalal came near her and sat beside her. He saw his Mallika. He was raging with high anger seeing her condition.
He determined : That Adham will be punished in such a way that everyone will fear to their core seeing his condition.
He caressed Jodha's hair and one tear rolled down his eyes. It fell on Jodha's face.
She suddenly started muttering in her sleep: Nahin.. Chod dijiye humein Adham Khan.. Nahin..Nahin.. And she wakes up with a loud cry.
She sees Jalal and Hugs him tight. She cries bitterly and hides her head in his chest. Jalal feels relieved that atleast she woke up.
He hugs her back tightly and covers her back fully with both his hands.
Jodha : Humein bacha lijiye Shahenshah.. Wo adham...wo usne.. She is unable to say anything and cries.
Jalal : Shh Jodha!! Humare hotey hue aapko koi chot nahi pahucha sakta Jodha!! Hum hain Yahan.. Aap bilkul surakshit hain.
Humein muaff kar dijiye Jodha.. Ye sab humare karan hua hai.. Humein aapko akela nahi chodna chaiye tha.. He also cries. HE pats her back to calm her down.
Jodha is little calmed by now. She breaks the hug and wipes her tears. She looks at Jalal and for the first time,,touches him willingly and wipes his tears.
Jodha : Nahin Shahenshah!! Isme aapki koi galti nahin hai.
Jalal hugs her back again. Jodha does not resist.
Jalal : Hum behad dar gaye the Jodha apki yeh halat dekh kar. Pehle humne aapko itna dukh diya,, Phir us adham ne..His voice roared now,,Uski himmat
kaise hui ye gunaah karne ki. Hum kal use aisi Saza denge ki Maut bhi Khauf khayegi.
Jodha was still in trance.
Jodha (in angry tone) : Lekin Maham Anga ko kya Jawaab denge Shahenshah? Adham Khan unke bete hain.
Jalal : Jodha!! Humare liye aapse zyada badhkar koi nahi hai.. Aur jo gunaah Adham ne kiya hai,,uske liye Khuda bhi humein Saza dene se nahi rok sakta...
Badi Ammi to phir kya hain?? (He remembers MAham insulting Jodha in Diwaan-e-khaas and today Adham trying to kill Jodha)
Jo bhi hua,,use bhul jaiye Jodha..HUm behad sharminda hain ke humari Begum hote hue bhi aapko itna kuch sehna pada.. Aap bahut nazuk halat mein hain..Aap aaram kariye..
HUm yahin hain..Aap chain se so jaiye.. (smiling)
Jodha smiled and she remembered the moment when He had confessed his love for her. But she still was thinking about her feelings for him.
Jodha(soft and smilingly) : Shahenshah! Aap bhi so jaiye. Humein aap par poora Vishwas hai. Aap humein kuch nahi hone denge. Aur baar baar maafi mangkar humein sharminda mat kijiye...
Jo bhi aapne humare saath kiya tha, uske liye aapne pehle hi bahut bar mafi mang li hai,, apne humein Vishwas bhi dilaya ki Aap sach keh rahe hain.. Hum apko maaf kar chuke hain SHahenshah!
Humein aapse koi shikwa nahi hai...She said proudly..
Jalal could not believe his ears.. He shaked Jodha and said - Ek bar phir se kahiye aapne kya kaha?
Jodha : Humein apse koi shikwa nahi hai Shahenshah lekin ab bhi ...wo...hum .. Jalal stopped her in between.
Jalal : Hum samajh gaye Jodha.. Aapko kuch kehne ki zarurat nahi hai!! Aapne humen muaaff kar diya hai..Ye humare kaano mein amrit ke jaise lag raha hai,..
Shukriya Mallika-e-hindustan!! Jahan tak bat rahi ki aap humare baare mein kya sochti hain,, hum uske liye aapko pura waqt dena chahte hain..
Humein aapki Mohabbat ka Besabri se Intzaar hai..
Both Jodha and Jalal smiled and Blushed.
Jalal made Jodha lay down on her bed comfortably..He went on the couch and laid there, gazing intently at her Mallika!!
It was morning time. Jodha woke up smilingly remembering last night's moments. But she was still weak.
She looked around to see Jalal but he was nowhere to be seen.
She tried to get up when Suddenly Moti came : Arrey Jodha! Aap uth gayin.. Ab kaisi hain aap?
Jodha : Moti hum bilkul thik hain. Vaise...Shahenshah kahan gaye?(curiously) Aur bahar koi dikhai kyun nahi de raha hai?
Baaki sab auratein kahan hain?
Moti(caring tone) : Jodha! Aap aaram kariye. Chinta mat kijiye.
Jodha : HUmein batao Moti ki Shahenshah aur Baki sab kahan hain?(worriedly and sternly)
Moti : Vo ..Jodha!!Shahenshah to subah jaldi uth gaye the. Unhone Humein aur EK Hakim Saiba ko aapke paas rukne ko kaha.
Bahar suraksha bhi kaafi hai. Unhone sabhi logon ko jaise Praja, Begums,mantri..Sabko Mahal ke peeche wale Maidan me hazir hone ka hukm diya hai.
Aaj vo Adham Khan ko khud Saza denge. Isiliye unhone Sabko bulaya hai taki sabke saamne ek misal kayam kar sake ki aise Mujrim ko kaisi saza milti hai.
Jodha : Lekin moti humein kyon nahi bulaya??
Moti : Jodha aapki tabiyat theek nahi hai aur aap so rahi thi..Isiliye unhone aapko nahi Jagaya!!
Jodha got up from bed and moved towards the back balcony of her chamber. From above, She could see the big crowd in the ground.
Adham was beaten badly yesterday.
Shahenshah was roaring with anger. His anger had no limits at that moment.
She could witness everything from up there.
**On ground **
Maham Anga came and fell on Jalal's feet.
Maham(crying bitterly) : Shahenshah!! Humare bete ko muaff kar dijiye,,Hum..hum,,hum unki taraf se aapse muaffi mangte hain.
Hum vada karte hain ki hum unhe kadi se kadi saza denge,,,bas unhe Saza-e-Maut mat dijiye..Jo sangeen apradh unhone kiya hai,,Uske liye hum mein se koi
unhe Muaff nahi karega.. Hum Vada karte hain ki Unhe aajivan Karavas dand denge,,,Shahenshah,,Unhe chod dijiye,, (crying hard)
Jalal ordered the maids to take Badi Ammi inside. His anger knew no bounds. No one could stop him that day.
Everyone including Hamida, Rukaiya, other Begums, Ministers and public watched Adham with disgust and anger.
The guards held Adham.
Jalal : Aaj is gustakh ko aisi Saza milegi ki aage se koi aisa Gunah karne se pehle hazaar baar sochega!!(Roaring)
He took out his Shamsheer and cut both the hands of Adham within a second. Adham cried aloud. He was moaning with intense pain.
Then, jalal waited for 5 minutes so that everyone can see Adham's condition. Then He again raised his Shamsheer and beheaded Adham.
Adham died then and there. EVeryone present there clapped happily. They were happy to see the criminal being punished severely.
Jalal ordered the guards to Burn his body immediately. He felt an inner relief by killing Adham.
Jodha was watching everything from her Balcony. She cried with happiness.
Jodha thought : Today what Shahenshah has done means alot to me. Adham khan had not only tried to molest Moti the other day
but also tried kill Jodha the day before. Today Jalal has given her Justice. She was very happy.
But still, she was a bit sad for Maham ANga.
Jalal dismissed everyone and went into his Chamber.
**Maham Anga's Chamber **
Maham cried inconsolably. SHe knew Adham had done the severe crime, but after all, he was her son. She cried her heart out.
Resham also cried with her. Maham had lost her son. She was in a trance.
After half an hour or so, She wiped her tears and looked at Resham.
Resham tried to console her. Maham Anga started laughing hysterically and then laughed loudly, tears also rolled down her eyes.
Maham ANga(with full anger) : Resham!! Ye sab us Jodha Begum ka kiya dhara hai. Usne aaj humare bete ko humse chinkar humse jeevan bhar ki dushmani mod li hai.
Usne agar hum par rang na dala hota to Adham ne kabhi yeh Kadam na uthaya hota. Hum Aaj aur abhi se kasam khate hain Resham.. ki Us Jodha ko til til karke marenge.
Naa hi sirf Jalal ko vapas apne vishwas mein lenge balki us Jodha ko Jalal ke haathon saza bhi dilwayenge.
Un dono ke beech itni dooriyan paida kar denge ki Vo dono ek dusre se be-intehaan Nafrat karenge.
Aur jis din us Jodha ko Saza-e-maut milegi, Us din Humein aur Adham ki rooh ko shanti milegi.
She again wiped her tears and laughed wickedly.
Jalal was in his room, taking a bath. He was trying to relax himself from excessive anger.
He was contented to have given Justice to Jodha, his Love. A smile came on his face remembering Jodha and their hug last night.
He completed his bathing and got ready to go Jodha's Room.
Maham had already started planning. As soon as she saw Jalal going towards Jodha's room, She herself started to walk towards Jodha's room, So as to reach to Jodha before Jalal could.
Maham entered Jodha's room and started her drama (when she confirmed that Jalal had almost reached and would hear their convo) :
Jodha Begum!! Humein Muaff kar dijiye. Hum itne sharminda hain ke hum aapse nazarein bhi nahi mila sakte.
Pehle humne aapko itna dukh diya aur ab Adham ne yeh apradh kiya. Humein Muaff kardein Mallika!
Hum kuch der ke liye putra-viyog mein behak gaye the lekin ab humein Shahenshah ka faisla bilkul sahi lag raha hai...
Jodha listened everything without any expression.
As Maham expected, Jalal had heard everything. Tears rolled down his eyes. He came inside and hugged Maham ANga.
Jalal : Humein muaff kar dijiye Badi Ammi! Aaj humne apke bete ko nahi, ek sangeen apradhi ka katl kiya hai.
Humein behad khushi hai ke aapko apni galti ka ehsaas hai aur Adham ke katl ka dukh bhi nahi hai.
Hum behad khush hain. Humari Purani Badi Ammi vapas aa gayin hain.
Maham Anga hugged him back and laughed wickedly. Her first step was succesful.
She broke the hug and asked Jodha for forgiveness. Jodha smiled faintly and said:
Maham ANga Ji, iski koi aavshyakta nahi hai! Humein koi shikva nahi hai.
Maham smiled, said Thank you and left their room.
Jalal and Jodha were alone in Jodha's room. Jodha smiled seeing him.
Jalal just watched his mesmerising Mallika! She looked so eternal..The most beautiful woman..
Jodha ran towards Jalal and hugged him.
Jodha : Aaj aapne humare liye jo kiya hai Shahenshah,,usse hum behad prasann hai. Aaj aapne humein insaaf diya hai.
Hum aapko dil se dhanyavaad dete hain.
Jalal loved her hugging. Her touch made him feel divine and serene. Whenever she was near to him, He felt out of world.
Jalal : Dhanyavaad to humein aapse kehna chahiye Jodha..ki aapne humari Badi Ammi ko muaff kar diya..Vo dil ki buri nahin hain.
Jodha again smiled faintly.
Jalal (now in stern tone and breaking the hug) : Acha Jodha Begum! To hum yeh kehne ke liye yahan aaye the, ki aap apna sara samaan bandh li jiye.
Aap abhi aur isi waqt humare kaksh mein chalengi aur humesha ke liye vahin rahengi.
Jodha was shocked to core. It had never happened in history, that SHahenshah had asked any Begum to officially stay in his room.
He respected all his Begums and had made separate rooms for all of them. Even his favourite Begum till now, Ruqaiya was not given this chance.
She thought that Staying with Shahenshah was the most prestigious and honorable thing that could happen to a woman. But why me?
Jodha : Kya?? Kya kaha aapne? Hum aur aapke kaksh mein? Ye nahi ho sakta.. Hum yahin rahenge aur kahin nahi jayenge..
Aur aisa pehle kabhi nahi hua hai!! Aur hum hi kyun?
Jalal(smirking) : Lagta hai Jodha,,ke aapko phir se us din ki tarah apne kaksh mein le jakar uttar dena padega.. Jodha Blushed a little..
He continued : Jaisa aap soch rahin hain, vaisa kuch nahi hai,,,HUm aapko apke izazat ke bagair chooenge bhi nahin..Bas hum aur kuch nahin suna chahte..Aap abhi isi waqt humare saath chalengi.
Jodha agreed but asked : But why? I have no problem here. I am happy here.
Jalal : No Jodha!! I will not leave you anywhere now. You will always stay with me. I dont want you to stay away from my eyes.
Jodha was very happy with his words and his talks touched his heart.
Her bags were packed and she moved onto Jalal's room. Hamida Begum was very happy with jalal's decision.
She did some ritual on both of them and Jodha officially shifted to Jalal's room.
Jodha sat on the big Royal Bed. Jalal closed the door.
Jodha was scared a bit but pretended to be not effected by it.
Jalal smiled seeing her and she also smiled. He mischieviuosly started coming near to her.
Jodha's expressions were changing with his each step. She blabbered: Shahenshah! Ye aap kya kar rahe hain?
Hum..Hum abhi apne Kaksh mein vapas jaa rahen hain.
Jalal laughed loudly. Jalal : Hum to mazak kar rahe the Mallika! Humari itni zurrat ki Hum apko chuein..Hahaha,,Hum mazak kar rahe the.
Jodha also blushed and looked in another direction. She had seen Jalal laughing for first time. He looked so innocent.
Jalal : Acha Jodha! Ab aap aaram kijiye..Aaj Diwaan-e-khaas mein bahut Kaam hai. Kafi masle hal karne hain. Aap aaram kijiye aur
kisi bhi cheez ki zarurat ho to Moti ko bula lijiyega.
Jodha smiled and Nodded a Yes. She said : Lekin SHahenshah! Dopahar ho chuki hai. Aap pehle Bhojan kar lijiye. Phir, Aap Diwaan-e-Khaas mein chale jaiyega.
Jalal smiled. He ordered the servant to bring 1 plate of food . Jodha was puzzled.
Servant came with food. Jalal took it and dismissed him.
Jalal came and sat near Jodha and kept the plate in between them.
Before Jalal could say anything, Jodha : Acha hua aapne ek hi thali mangwai, aap bhojan kar lijiye.Humein bilkul bhukh nahi hai.(a bit sad tone)
Jalal knew that she was lying. Jalal (smirking) : Acha thik hai. Humne to suna tha ke agar do log ek hi thali mein bhojan karte hain to
unke beech ki mohabbat aur badh jaati hai. Lekin aapko to bhukh nahi hai,,isiliye hum hi kha lete hai.
Jodha was shocked to listen what he said. She could not control her blush.
Jalal was continuously looking at Jodha.
Jalal took one bite of food and was about to put it in his mouth. Jodha was looking in another direction.
Jalal moved the bite towards Jodha : Lijiye Jodha! Hum jaante hain ki aapko bhi bhukh lagi hai. (smilingly)
Jodha opened her mouth slowly and took the bite. She was very happy.
Jalal : Ab apki bari Jodha? (teasingly)
Jodha was surprised but she could not control herself. She slowly took a bite from plate, moved it towards Jalal's Mouth but she looked away from him(blushing all the while).
Jalal took the bite. He was stunned at that moment. His happiness knew no bounds. Food had never tasted so tasty before. Eating with Jodha's hands
took him into heaven. He has never experienced such heavenly moments before. Tear rolled down his eyes.
Jodha noticed this and asked(worriedly) : Kya hua Shahenshah? Aapki aakhon mein aasoo?
Jalal : Nahi Jodha! Ye to khushi hai jo humne pehle kabhi mehsoos nahi ki. Aapke haathon se bhojan khakar humne aaj pehli baar itni shanti mehsoos ki hai.
Shukriya Begum Jodha!
Jodha again smiled and blushed.
Then, both fed each other with their hands and completed their lunch. Jalal thanks Jodha and takes her leave.
Now Jodha is all alone in the most Royal room of whole Mughal Sultanate, the room of Shahenshah!!
She closely observes each and everything there. She is somewhere happy inside to spend time with Jalal.
Jodha (self-thought) : Ye humein kya ho raha hai? Aaj subah humne unhe aise kaise gale laga liya tha?
Kyun hum unke saath unke kaksh mein aa gaye? Aur, humein unhe apne haathon ke bhojan khilakar itni prasannta kyon ho rahi hai?
Ye kaisa ehsaas hai Jodha? Kya hum,,hum unse,,nahi ye nahi ho sakta..Abhi humein kuch aur waqt chahiye,,kisi bhi faisle par pahuchne se pehle...and she runs away from her thoughts.
~~~~~~~~~~~****************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Its already night by now. Jalal is still busy in Diwaan-e-khaas due to very important matters.
Jodha is in the room. She sees that there is only one bed in the room, there is not even a couch.
She is tensed.
She thinks : Agar hum palang par let jaayenge to Shahenshah kahan letenge?
Then she has an idea. She takes out a mat and spreads it on the ground. She sleeps on mat so that, whenever Shahenshah comes, he can sleep on Bed comfortably.
Jalal finally dismisses the Diwaan-e-khaas and makes his way to "their" room.
He enters the room and is surprised to see his eternal beautiful Mallika sleeping on ground.
He understands everything within a second and says : Humein takleef na ho, isi liye Jodha khud zameen par so gayin aur humare liye
palang chor diya. He smiles with her concern for him.
He moves towards Jodha, who is totally unaware of his presence, lifts her up in his arms,gazes at her beauty and makes her lie on the bed comfortably.
He places her dupatta properly over her and then himself goes to sleep on mat.
He thinks : He would arrange another bed tomorrow, and not now otherwise Jodha would get disturbed!!
Thinking so, he sleeps soundly.
**Midnight **
Suddenly Jodha wakes up remembering Adham's attack on her, but she doesnt make any noise. She is highly sweating.
She is surprised to see herself on bed. THen she looks down and sees Jalal lying on floor.
One tear rolls down her eyes. Jalal's concern touches her heart.
She thinks : Humare pati neeche so rahe hain..keval humare karan.
She gets up, takes out another mat from cupboard, spreads it beside where Jalal is sleeping and herself lies down.
And looks at Jalal smilingly.
She thinks : Agar aap neechen soenge to hum upar aaram se kaise so sakte hain.
And then she also sleeps soundly. She feels some unseen happiness and calmness beside him.
{Isha hai Vo EHsaas, Ishq hai vo Juzbaat,,,,playing in BG}
Somewhere in the middle of night, Jodha again gets dreams of Adham trying to kill her. She started murmuring in her sleep.
Jodha : Nahin Adham Khan...Door rahiye humse..Nahin.. (sweating)
Jalal hears her murmurs. He gets up and sees Jodha lying beside him.
He is surprised. He understands why Jodha has come down.
Then, he again hears her murmurs and tries to console her. He pats her back and caresses her forhead.
Jodha slowly stops murmuring and sleeps peacefully. Jalal is angry.
He thinks : Kambaqt Adham! Is duniya se ruqsati ke baad bhi humari Mallika ko pareshan kar rakha hai. Humein Jodha ka achi tarah se khayal rakhna padega.
Hum unhe itni khushi denge ke vo apne saare dukh bhul jayengi.
He realises that Jodha came down because she could not see him sleeping on ground. He lies down again gazing at her Begum.
Sleeping beside her made him feel eternal. He slipped into a peaceful sleep.
**Morning**
Both Jodha and Jalal were asleep. Jodha's hand was on Jalal's chest and Jalal's hand was on Jodha's bare waist.
They were quite close.
Suddenly, someone knocked on door.
Both Jalal and Jodha woke up. They were shocked to see their position. Jodha felt awkward whereas Jalal gave a mischievious smile.
Jodha took her hand away from his chest and tried to get up, But she could not.
SHe felt the heavy hand of Jalal on her waist. She felt more awkward. Jalal smiled and took his hand back.
Jalal : Jodha Begum aap dekh lijiye darwaze par kaun hai..Humein to bahut neend aa rahi hai amd pretends to sleep.
Jodha felt extremely embarassed. She got up to open door,unaware of her dupatta which was beneath Jalal.
Jodha opened the door and saw Ruqaiya. It was Ruqaiya's habit to daily come to jalal's room in morning, to spend some time with him.
But she forgot that Jodha and jalal were together.
Both Jodha and Ruqaiya were hell-shocked.
Ruqaiya sees Jodha without her dupatta and sees it lying beneath Jalal, who is sleeping on ground.
Jodha notices that she is without dupatta and turns back to see it beneath Jalal. She is embarassed.
Ruqaiya is very angry but doesn't show on her face. She feels very sad also. Jodha understands this.
Jalal notices Ruqaiya on gate, gets up, looks at dupatta beneath him, takes it and goes to Jodha and cover her. Jodha goes inside.
Jalal(smiling) : Arrey Ruqaiya tum!! Kaise aana hua??
Ruqaiya was damn hurt to listen this. She thought : How can he ask this??As if he doesn't know that we always spend time together..
She is really upset and highly angry on Jodha.
Ruqaiya : Vo..Vo Jalal...Hum kisi kaam se aye the,,par bhool gaye,,Hum chalte hain.
Jalal : Thik hai Ruqaiya! Koi baat nahi and he closes the door again.
As always, Maham Anga was watching all this from a distance. She smiles wickedly. She thought : Ruqaiya is a good pawn to be used.
Ruqaiya fumes and goes back to her chamber : How can he do this? Did they spend the night togetheR?? No..this cannot happen.
Jodha does not like him. She will never approve him.
She convinces herself again.
**AkDha's Room **
Jodha is sitting on bad and lost in thoughts. She looks sad. Jalal comes near her.
Jalal : Jodha Begum! Kya hua?? Aap itni udaas kyon lag ragi hain? Aur humein ye bataiye ke,, Kal raat neeche kyon so gayin thi?
Aur Jab humne aapko upar sula diya tha, to aap vapas neeche kyon aa gayin?? (in a little miscievious tone).
Jodha smiled at this.
Jodha : Aapne dekha nahi Shahenshah,,Ke Ruqaiya Begum humein aapke saath dekh kar kitni udaas ho gayi thi.
Humein abhi bhi yahi lagta hai..ki aapke kaksh mein hum nahi..Ruqaiya Begum honi chahiye..Vo aapse Behad mohabbat karti hain..
Jalal puts his finger on her lips and says (sternly) : Lekin Hum aapse Mohabbat karte hain jodha!! Aur aaj ke baad aisi baatein dobara mat kijiyega.
Humare kaksh aur humare dil par sirf aur sirf aapka haq hai. Ruqaiya humari sabse achi dost hai. Hum unse baat kar chuke hain. Unhe apse koi shikva nahi hai.
Jodha was a bit happy now. She blushed again. His words were winning over heart day by day. She started losing her heart to him.
Jalal notices the smile of Jodha and says : Lekin abhi tak aapne jawab nahi diya ke aap vapas neeche kyon aayin thi?
Jodha stammers (blushes) : Vo,,,vo,,kyonki Humein upar neend nahi aa rahi thi and she runs away in bathroom.
Jalal smiles his heart out. He was very happy to finally have given Jodha some happiness.
Jalal lies on Bed and takes a nap.
Jodha completes her bathing and gets ready for her morning prayers.
After completing her prayers, she sees a peacefully sleeping Jalal. She smiles and leave the room so as to meet Moti and her other friends.
After sometime, Jalal wakes up, refreshes and gets ready for Diwaan-e-khaas Discussions. But before that he goes and looks around for Jodha.
** Royal garden**
Jodha is playing with Rahim, Moti and other maids. They are laughing, giggling and playing.
All of a sudden Maham Anga comes there and dismisses everyone so as to talk to Jodha.
54