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DISCLAIMER : No characters belong to me. History owns them all, I am just borrowing them to play around a little.
Jodha Bai, hailing from the land of the illustrious Rajputs, born in a revered family of monarchs to Raja Bharmal and Rani Mainavati, married into the august Mughal dynasty of the vast Indian subcontinent to Shahenshah Jalaluddin Mohammed, a wise and intelligent woman who could bravely stare down death, a woman whose wisdom was widely celebrated and compassion eulogized, was truly, really baffled. And, the source of her bewilderment stood in front of her, waving two ruddy fingers at her face. Jodha couldn't quite put a name to the face, not that she could distinguish the finer details. But, the alien face was peering at her with unconcealed curiosity, and, was that concern? She must have hit her head because, everything appeared blurry to her.
"Jodha! Jodha!", a familiar voice called out.
Gradually, her eyes began to acclimatize to the strange surroundings, and the hazy details became clearer with each passing moment.
A man..the stranger hovering above her had a pleasant, but unknown face, with cheeks flushed with worry. Who was he? And, where was she?
Jodha opened her mouth and attempted to speak, but no words would escape her scorched throat. But, the man, misconstruing the gesture as a plea for water, slowly poured water into her thirsty mouth. Jodha didn't know who this man was, but, she thanked him profusely in her mind, all the while, drinking the water in large gulps. The water cooled her burning body like the first touch of rain brings respite to the perched earth.
"Thank you, I will forever remain in your debt, stranger.", she began, "You have quenched the thirst of a raving woman, and, I really cannot thank you enough."
The man looked perturbed, and with concern lacing his tone, he said, "Are you feeling okay, Jodha? Have you hit your head? How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Why would not I feel 'okay'?"
"Because, something is off with your talk."
"How dare you make presumptions about a queen's speech, commoner?"
"Holy hell! God, you're messing with me, aren't you?"
"I certainly am not. And, thou shalt not blaspheme. I am very taken aback by the dire lack of manners in you, peasant."
"Jodha. Enough of that, I might have been born at night, but I wasn't born last night. I know you're pulling my leg. Please tell me this is an elaborate prank you cooked up?"
"I certainly have not concocted any intricate schemes, and I am offended that you, mister, would have the galls to say that to Shahenshah's Chief wife."
"I am leaving your ass behind on our trip to Goa if you do not drop the act, right this moment, Jodha Agarwal."
"How dare you speak of my behind? I shall have you punished for your impudence."
"Fuu..udge!"
"No, I am not craving sweets."
"No, I meant, who are you, madame?"
"I knew you were not irredeemable. If you have to know, I am Jodha Bai, one of the Chief queens of Shahenshah."
"Which Shahenshah?"
"Of course, the Shahenshah of India. My upbringing and traditions do not allow me to enunciate my husband's name."
The stranger started muttering inaudible words to himself. Of them, Jodha heard a few intermittently - 'Jodha', 'Kill', 'torture', 'fudge'.
"I understand you are in a dilemma, but, let me warn you beforehand. No good would come of killing me, unless you want to hide the remainder of your life away from the omniscience of my husband."
"I don't wanna kill you. I wanna kill my girlfriend, who just looks a lot like you."
"I am certain that undeserved acts of violence towards your wife will not go unpunished. I will assure that you suffer the repercussions of your action, if you choose to indulge in such heinous acts."
"God, you take everything so literally. No, I meant, ah, Fudge it!"
"I do not understand."
"Let me try to make you understand then, lady. You're in the twenty-fudging-first century, almost half a millennium from the time that you lived in. I've read about you in history books. Akbar and your love story is chronicled in volumes. You have traveled through time. You understand, Queen?"
"I..I am at a loss for words. How do I believe you're speaking God's honest truth?"
"That isn't difficult."
The man whipped out a sleek, black brick and casually hit the smooth surface, It lit up like lamps and strange encryption made itself visible. The man triumphantly explained, "This, my lady, is a mobile phone. A device that is used to communicate over long distances, for example, with a friend living in America."
"What sort of sorcery is this?" And, America?"
"Technology, my lady. It is very complex."
"What is America?"
"Ah, I forgot you predate America. It is a country, actually a continent. It's across the ocean."
"I believe you."
In the excitement and the adrenaline rush, Jodha had not glanced at her surrounding. Now, she looked around her and discovered that she was sitting on a comfortable, red satin settee in a big room painted with alternating bright and dark colors. There was a plush carpet beneath her bare feet. A large portion of the wall was occupied by strange looking black decoration. There were all sorts of things around her that perplexed her. The man was hunching over her lounging figure. He had expressive, nice eyes that seemed to relay the goodness of his heart. Jodha could always tell the personality of a man from his eyes. He also had a sharp, attractive face and a healthy build. But, his attire made Jodha ever more taken aback, if that was possible. Instead of the ornate and familiar churidaar and waist slash, the man had on some sort of a blouse and broad pants.
"I can hear you thinking, almost. I'll explain all these to you in a moment. But, now, let me start from the beginning. You see, my girlfriend, the Jodha whose body you're inhabiting is really interested in collecting all sorts of data about historical love stories and then swooning over them. I never hear the end of it, because, apparently, I haven't a romantic bone in my body. Anyway, she came upon this really weird, old artifact in a garage sale that exchanged souls or something. I'm a little fuzzy on the details. And, like the whimsical, crazy woman she is, she started researching about it. I thought it would be in vain, till the day she actually got some legit information about what to fuel the charm with. And, ignoring my advice to not waste her time in such silly stuff, she did the hoodoo or whatever, even roped me in. I guess, it is included in my boyfriend duties. Last thing she says is that the spell will be reverted in a week. I didn't actually think it would work, but, I am seeing it."
The man let out a heaving sigh after that long soliloquy.
"I imagine you love your wife very much. You may attempt to sound otherwise, but, I can read between the lines."
"I do love her. But, damn, she's crazy. But, I love her more than anything in the world. And, she's not my wife. We live together."
"I do not understand."
"Add that to the list of things I'll be explaining to you."
"But, something concerns me. I do pray that my husband does not have her, me, executed for being possessed or something similar. It is definitely a possibility. Who would believe this seemingly quixotic tale of travelling through time!"
"Well, shit."
To be continued...
Jodha Bai, hailing from the land of the illustrious Rajputs, born in a revered family of monarchs to Raja Bharmal and Rani Mainavati, married into the august Mughal dynasty of the vast Indian subcontinent to Shahenshah Jalaluddin Mohammed, a wise and intelligent woman who could bravely stare down death, a woman whose wisdom was widely celebrated and compassion eulogized, was truly, really baffled. And, the source of her bewilderment stood in front of her, waving two ruddy fingers at her face. Jodha couldn't quite put a name to the face, not that she could distinguish the finer details. But, the alien face was peering at her with unconcealed curiosity, and, was that concern? She must have hit her head because, everything appeared blurry to her.
"Jodha! Jodha!", a familiar voice called out.
Gradually, her eyes began to acclimatize to the strange surroundings, and the hazy details became clearer with each passing moment.
A man..the stranger hovering above her had a pleasant, but unknown face, with cheeks flushed with worry. Who was he? And, where was she?
Jodha opened her mouth and attempted to speak, but no words would escape her scorched throat. But, the man, misconstruing the gesture as a plea for water, slowly poured water into her thirsty mouth. Jodha didn't know who this man was, but, she thanked him profusely in her mind, all the while, drinking the water in large gulps. The water cooled her burning body like the first touch of rain brings respite to the perched earth.
"Thank you, I will forever remain in your debt, stranger.", she began, "You have quenched the thirst of a raving woman, and, I really cannot thank you enough."
The man looked perturbed, and with concern lacing his tone, he said, "Are you feeling okay, Jodha? Have you hit your head? How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Why would not I feel 'okay'?"
"Because, something is off with your talk."
"How dare you make presumptions about a queen's speech, commoner?"
"Holy hell! God, you're messing with me, aren't you?"
"I certainly am not. And, thou shalt not blaspheme. I am very taken aback by the dire lack of manners in you, peasant."
"Jodha. Enough of that, I might have been born at night, but I wasn't born last night. I know you're pulling my leg. Please tell me this is an elaborate prank you cooked up?"
"I certainly have not concocted any intricate schemes, and I am offended that you, mister, would have the galls to say that to Shahenshah's Chief wife."
"I am leaving your ass behind on our trip to Goa if you do not drop the act, right this moment, Jodha Agarwal."
"How dare you speak of my behind? I shall have you punished for your impudence."
"Fuu..udge!"
"No, I am not craving sweets."
"No, I meant, who are you, madame?"
"I knew you were not irredeemable. If you have to know, I am Jodha Bai, one of the Chief queens of Shahenshah."
"Which Shahenshah?"
"Of course, the Shahenshah of India. My upbringing and traditions do not allow me to enunciate my husband's name."
The stranger started muttering inaudible words to himself. Of them, Jodha heard a few intermittently - 'Jodha', 'Kill', 'torture', 'fudge'.
"I understand you are in a dilemma, but, let me warn you beforehand. No good would come of killing me, unless you want to hide the remainder of your life away from the omniscience of my husband."
"I don't wanna kill you. I wanna kill my girlfriend, who just looks a lot like you."
"I am certain that undeserved acts of violence towards your wife will not go unpunished. I will assure that you suffer the repercussions of your action, if you choose to indulge in such heinous acts."
"God, you take everything so literally. No, I meant, ah, Fudge it!"
"I do not understand."
"Let me try to make you understand then, lady. You're in the twenty-fudging-first century, almost half a millennium from the time that you lived in. I've read about you in history books. Akbar and your love story is chronicled in volumes. You have traveled through time. You understand, Queen?"
"I..I am at a loss for words. How do I believe you're speaking God's honest truth?"
"That isn't difficult."
The man whipped out a sleek, black brick and casually hit the smooth surface, It lit up like lamps and strange encryption made itself visible. The man triumphantly explained, "This, my lady, is a mobile phone. A device that is used to communicate over long distances, for example, with a friend living in America."
"What sort of sorcery is this?" And, America?"
"Technology, my lady. It is very complex."
"What is America?"
"Ah, I forgot you predate America. It is a country, actually a continent. It's across the ocean."
"I believe you."
In the excitement and the adrenaline rush, Jodha had not glanced at her surrounding. Now, she looked around her and discovered that she was sitting on a comfortable, red satin settee in a big room painted with alternating bright and dark colors. There was a plush carpet beneath her bare feet. A large portion of the wall was occupied by strange looking black decoration. There were all sorts of things around her that perplexed her. The man was hunching over her lounging figure. He had expressive, nice eyes that seemed to relay the goodness of his heart. Jodha could always tell the personality of a man from his eyes. He also had a sharp, attractive face and a healthy build. But, his attire made Jodha ever more taken aback, if that was possible. Instead of the ornate and familiar churidaar and waist slash, the man had on some sort of a blouse and broad pants.
"I can hear you thinking, almost. I'll explain all these to you in a moment. But, now, let me start from the beginning. You see, my girlfriend, the Jodha whose body you're inhabiting is really interested in collecting all sorts of data about historical love stories and then swooning over them. I never hear the end of it, because, apparently, I haven't a romantic bone in my body. Anyway, she came upon this really weird, old artifact in a garage sale that exchanged souls or something. I'm a little fuzzy on the details. And, like the whimsical, crazy woman she is, she started researching about it. I thought it would be in vain, till the day she actually got some legit information about what to fuel the charm with. And, ignoring my advice to not waste her time in such silly stuff, she did the hoodoo or whatever, even roped me in. I guess, it is included in my boyfriend duties. Last thing she says is that the spell will be reverted in a week. I didn't actually think it would work, but, I am seeing it."
The man let out a heaving sigh after that long soliloquy.
"I imagine you love your wife very much. You may attempt to sound otherwise, but, I can read between the lines."
"I do love her. But, damn, she's crazy. But, I love her more than anything in the world. And, she's not my wife. We live together."
"I do not understand."
"Add that to the list of things I'll be explaining to you."
"But, something concerns me. I do pray that my husband does not have her, me, executed for being possessed or something similar. It is definitely a possibility. Who would believe this seemingly quixotic tale of travelling through time!"
"Well, shit."
To be continued...
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