lashy thumbnail
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Posted: 7 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
Link to Chapter 37 https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/jodha-akbar/4865965/novel-hiding-behind-a-stranger-thread-32-chapter-37-upd-jun-28th
Link to Chapter 39 https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/jodha-akbar/4897456/novel-hiding-behind-a-stranger-thread-34-chapter-39-2-parts-sep-17th
Edited by lashy - 7 years ago

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lashy thumbnail
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Posted: 7 years ago
#2
Teaser for Chapter 40

'Ai Khuda... give me patience!'

With his eyes still fixated upon the document that his fingers were continuing to write, he muttered a quick piece of advice 'Ask the men to let out the remaining horses... let them graze till we leave... the lost horse will identify the sounds of its own herd... and return to us by then!'


'As you say...'


'And...' he called the man back 'I stationed you both out there, because I don't want to be disturbed... which means, ANY news can wait... unless of course, the sky is going to come crashing down!' Even in a pitch so muted, his grim warning could not be missed!


'Yes Sahib...' the young chap made his swift way out with a sheepish nod.




'Once again... sorry about that' Akbar frowned apologetically at his guest, carrying on from where he'd left off 'One... Turkoman... cross- breed... at... the... rate... of...'


'Khan Sahib!'


'What now?' Akbar exhaled to let out some of the mounting irritation 'Sayyid...' he had to grit his teeth to keep his tone low 'I think I specifically mentioned to the guards outside that...'


'That ANY news can wait... unless, the sky is going to come crashing down, Khan Sahib?'

Having quietly repeated his Sahib's instructions word-for-word, Sayyid waited - allowing the idea to settle-in that the matter at hand was indeed urgent 'It's about Harka Sahiba...'


Akbar put the quill down, for the first time since he'd started writing the document.

'What is it?' he looked up at his mate. Shades of annoyance were still evident on his features, but they were beginning to be eclipsed by a shadow of worry. 'Is she alright?'


Sayyid approached his Sahib. This news was not 'delicate' or 'awkward'. It was downright 'unpleasant'.

'I'm afraid... she's gone missing...'


Edited by lashy - 7 years ago
lashy thumbnail
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Posted: 7 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 😊

Bond_7 thumbnail
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Posted: 7 years ago
#4
What do you mean by missing? 😲
Is the missing horse and related to our missing Sahiba?And the teaser pic had AMK and Heera together on a horse..
Edited by Bindu. - 7 years ago
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Posted: 7 years ago
#5
Forgot this after reading the teaser.. 😳😆


Congratulations for our new home, B&Bs!🤗
binduprasad41 thumbnail
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Posted: 7 years ago
#6
Many many congrats lashy di for new thread
And thank you so much for teaser also 🤗

Teaser is confusing 🤔
What's going on. ?
Khan Sahib is too busy but everyone keep disturbing him.
He is quite irritated.
Unpleasant news about heera
I hope everything is fine 🤔
lashy thumbnail
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Posted: 7 years ago
#7
Hola girls... thank you so much... 😳
Awww let me put the link up in the old thread first!
Edited by lashy - 7 years ago
lashy thumbnail
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Posted: 7 years ago
#8

Originally posted by: Bindu.

What do you mean by missing? 😲

Is the missing horse and related to our missing Sahiba?And the teaser pic had AMK and Heera together on a horse..


Oooh Bond on a mission already!
lashy thumbnail
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Posted: 7 years ago
#9

Originally posted by: binduprasad41


Teaser is confusing 🤔
What's going on. ?
Khan Sahib is too busy but everyone keep disturbing him.
He is quite irritated.
Unpleasant news about heera
I hope everything is fine 🤔



I'm also going to join you both ---> 🤔
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Posted: 7 years ago
#10

Originally posted by: lashy


Oooh Bond on a mission already!


Yes.. 😎

🤣

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