NOVEL~*Hiding behind a Stranger*~THREAD 29~CHAPTER 34

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Posted: 8 years ago
#1
Prologue

Three Great Emperors had toiled hard to build the vast and flourishing legacy of the 'Mughal Empire', keeping relative peace by unifying its Mughals and Hindus. However; by mid 1600s, cracks began to appear in its solid foundations. Insecurities crept in through the gaps, widening the gulfs between the two religions once again.

With the old Emperor becoming too feeble to take charge and his jealous successors remaining preoccupied with expansion and power, the damage was never repaired. Not surprising then that new rebellions arose every day. Violence escalated, claiming many innocent lives.

Yet; in the midst of such turmoil and peril, there bloomed a beautiful story - much like a lone flower blossoming upon the steepest edges of a cliff - a story of love, of sacrifice and honour!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Forced to flee from her motherland, the one home she knew... forced to leave behind her people, for whom, she was their only hope...forced to grievously abandon the last rites of her loved one while the flames on the pyre were still ablaze...the orphaned heiress of 16 overcame grief and many shortcomings, as she embarked on a long dangerous path... setting out to seek help and support, for her people and her lands...

Till a chance stay with a complete stranger would change the course of those very plans forever!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Being the most shrewd, determined and unforgiving of the lot meant he was formidable... a force to be reckoned with... it also meant he could have owned it all - riches, power, women and fame... but, he fancied none of it...

As a recluse with simple tastes, the rich life held no real appeal... power didn't tempt him... women didn't interest him... his passion was work and his only family were a few loyal friends... he had decided that he wanted little else in life...

Till a chance visit from a complete stranger would change that decision forever!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*





Part 2 Individual links

Part 3 Individual links
Edited by lashy - 8 years ago

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lashy thumbnail
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Posted: 8 years ago
#2


THIS IS A "MEMBERS ONLY" POST
The Author of this post have chosen to restrict the content of this Post to members only.


lashy thumbnail
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Posted: 8 years ago
#3

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Takht-e-Sulaiman - Solomon's seat i.e. Emperor's throne (Urdu/Persian)
Shehzade - prince (Urdu/Persian)
Shehenshah - Emperor (Urdu/Persian)
Wazir-us-Sultanat - Chief minister (Urdu/Persian)
Farmaan - official decree/document (Urdu/Persian)
Maharaj/Maharani - King/Queen
Maharaj - Chef/Cook
Kunwar - Prince (Generally used in Rajputana)
Baisa - Lady/Miss/Mrs/Madam (Marwari)
Banna - Mr/Sir (Marwari)
Sahib - Mr/Master/Sir (Urdu)
Sahiba - Ms/Mrs/Lady (Urdu)
Dams - copper coins
Vaid - Doctor/Healer
Ustad - Teacher/ Master of arts (Urdu)
Caravansarai - Caravan site
Kotwal - Town chief
Kos - old measurement system of distances, used in India
Tahar - battle axe (Urdu/Persian)
Khuda Hafiz - Farewell greeting which translates into 'May God be your protector' (Urdu/Persian)
Adab/Adaab - Words of Salute/respect (Urdu/Persian)
Taslim - A salute (Mughalian)
Hukum - Sir (Used commonly to address Rajput royalty)
Salaam - A form of greeting that translates to 'Hello/Hi' (Urdu/Persian)
Shubh Ratri - Good evening/Good night (Marwari)
Padhar jo Sa - I shall leave now (Marwari)
Zergul - Calendula flower
Chulho - Wood fire stove
Ganjifa - A card game, slightly similar to poker
Ahadi - Elite bodyguard, who've received specialist training
Muqannis - Specialist canal diggers/workers
Masaka - Mosquito. (Masaka fever - Malaria)
Wali - Guardian
Nikah - Islamic wedding ceremony
Valeema - Islamic wedding reception
Saleem Shahis/Shahees - A special kind of shoe/jootis stylised during Jahangir's time

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A laptop, a dictionary, some imagination and loads of dreams... Trying my hand at writing, once again...

Great to be back on this platform... looking forward to regularly catching-up with my lovely old friends ... looking forward to making new ones too!

Thank you all for being here... and for your support... it means a lot... 🤗

If this made for a worthwhile read, please do leave me a comment/like when you can, as it really does helps the writer in me to keep going!

I have a FB page called Lashy Writes - please 'like' it if you are more regular on FB, as I post the teasers/update links there 😊


Edited by lashy - 8 years ago
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Posted: 8 years ago
#4
Teaser for Chapter 35

Pulling the veil in front of her face, all the way below her chin, she began making her way down the sweeping marble steps.

'Your presence is required in the private meeting hall, baisa... Khan Sahib has called for you...'

The message had come out-of-the-blue.
It wasn't customary for a married woman to be summoned in a private hall where men were discussing official matters. And it somehow felt all the more unusual that HE had called for her, now, in the presence of the Shehzaade's businessmen - since she'd assumed he would just announce his decision to her, later, in private.

This HAD to be very important!

Were the deals done and the decisions regarding Parnagarh's fate made? Was she going to receive bad news? Was she going to be put in a tight spot again? This 'meeting' wasn't going to turn out to be a humiliating experience of sorts, was it? She did not have reason to be afraid, did she?



'Ma Bhavani!'

Drawing in a deep breath, Heera stood at the entrance of the private hall for a moment, letting some of those fears settle 'Oh... don't be silly Harka Bai... have you never met merchants before? Haven't you dealt with many such businessmen in the past? Yes... times have changed, but you are still the same lady, are you not?' She drew in another deep breath since it seemed to be working 'Besides, by now, you've had enough experience receiving and dealing with bad news... and you've definitely endured far more in your life than ANY of those businessmen inside would've ever endured... so good news or bad news - take it like a baisa!'

Realising that her eyelids had remained lowered for longer than they must, she held her face up and looked ahead, before stepping in.



'Frigid' was the first word that came to mind as soon as she had a taste of the ambience she'd walked into.

She only had a fleeting glance of the visitors - four parties of businessmen comfortably settled in plush armchairs across the airy hall - Mughal men who'd possibly come from different corners of the Empire upon the instructions of the Shehzaade.

But, a fleeting glance was enough to tell her that her presence here was not welcome.


Till her sights fell upon the one occupying the most prominent position in the chamber.
Seated at the centre, with both arms resting upon the armrest, the young man was looking straight at her.

As though he'd been waiting for her.

And as though he knew her feet had taken a brief pause just outside the hall.
Edited by lashy - 8 years ago
Sandhya.A thumbnail
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Posted: 8 years ago
#5
First to report on duty ma'am.😊
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Posted: 8 years ago
#6
Congrats for the new thread author sahiba...
& plz no udaasi on ur face...😡
old_charm thumbnail
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Posted: 8 years ago
#7
oh that swine is here...😈
selvi1275 thumbnail
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Posted: 8 years ago
#8
Lashy...here i came with so much enthus to read about AMK...but here is devil...🤢
Itz ok ...i'll get back to reading...
lashy thumbnail
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Posted: 8 years ago
#9

Originally posted by: --cute.manasi--

Congrats for the new thread author sahiba...

& plz no udaasi on ur face...😡


Ok let me put my standard emoticon then


Sandy first 😲

Shivu, Mitu, Lana, Pallu, Payaliya and any other night owls I might've missed🤗

Periyamma so so so sowwie for delaying your train express 🤗
lashy thumbnail
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Posted: 8 years ago
#10

Originally posted by: --cute.manasi--

oh that swine is here...😈


Sandy was missing him 😔
Edited by lashy - 8 years ago

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