CHAPTER 3: Or Not
He came. He kissed. He conquered.
"Shehenshah! Shehenshah! Huzoor hum munadi kare? (Shehenshah! Shehenshah! My Lord should we announce you?)
Or...he did not.
As Jalal's fantasy broke he realised that the guard at Jodha's chamber had repeated his question. How he wished for his fantasy to be true. He removed his shoes and entered his wife's chamber, without the announcement and this time for real. He didn't see Jodha sitting on the bed, contemplating her life. He saw her rummaging through the numerous chests she had brought with her from Amer, looking for the most simplest clothes she owned and packing them. He was perplexed.
"Jodha Begum aap ye kya kar rahi hai? ("What are you doing Jodha Begum?) His voice didn't only convey his confusion but also his fear. He didn't want to acknowledge it, but he feared that he knew what was on her mind. He feared that maybe he knew what she was doing.
Unlike he had imagined, she didn't deny to meet his eyes. She denied acknowledging his presence altogether. Jodha had seen him enter but continued to pack her clothes. But because he had asked her a question she answered him, "Hum aapke diye hue aadesh ka palan kar rahe hai Shehenshah. Mehal chhod kar jaane ki taiyaari kar rahe hai hum. ("I am following your orders Shehenshah. I am preparing to leave the palace.) she replied in a voice so cold that even the clothes in her hand would have shivered. He had expected her to explode and shout at him. But here she was giving him the cold treatment. Jalal could have handled her anger and her emotions easily as he had done numerous times but he didn't know how to deal with this cold form of his wife that he was witnessing for the first time. He realised how much he had hurt her for her to not even show her anger to him as if she found him unworthy of receiving the most negative of her emotions.
"Jodha Begum aapko kahin jaane ki zaroorat nahi hai. Hum aapse maufi mangne aaye hai. Hum maufi chahate hai ki humne aap par bharosa nahi kiya aur aap par ilzaam lagaye. Hum mauf... ("Jodha Begum you don't have to go anywhere. I am sorry that I didn't trust you and accused you. I am sorry...) He couldn't complete his sentence because of Jodha's hand. No, it wasn't covering his mouth, it was raised in a manner to silence him.
"Bus! Hum kuch nahi sunna chahate hai Shehenshah. Aap kadachit bhool gaye hai ki aapne hume vivah ke samay ye vachan diya tha ki aap sada hum par vishwas karenge. Parantu hume aapne vachan yaad hai. Humne vachan liya tha ki hum aapke har aadesh ka palan karenge. Aur ab hum vahi kar rahe he Shehenshah. ("Enough! I don't want to hear anything Shehenshah. You seem to have forgotten your marriage vows of always having faith in me. But I haven't forgotten mine. I vowed to follow all your orders. And now I am doing just that Shehenshah.) She said each and every word while looking straight into his eyes but not with love or even with anger because Jalal saw that the extremely expressive eyes of his wife were devoid of any emotions. Her sarcasm was hitting the bull's eye.
"Jodha Begum lekin aapko jaane ki koi zaroorat hai hi nahi. ("But there is no need for you to leave Jodha Begum) Jalal replied. Now he was panicking. The great Shehenshah-e-Hind was panicking because his wife was leaving him.
"Aap apne aapko kya samjhte hai Shehenshah? Jab chaha hume mehal chhod ke jaane ka aadesh de diya aur jab chaha hume rukne ke liye keh diya! Ab hum vohi karenge jo hum chahate hai aur hum kuch samay ke liye aapse door rehna chahate hai. ("What do you think of yourself Shehenshah? When you wished, you told me to leave the palace and when you wished you told me to stay back.! Now I will do what I want and I want to stay away from you for a while.) even if her words were a tell tale of her anger she had successfully kept her voice cold and eyes emotionless. Jalal knew that it was no use trying to convince her to stay. Observing that she was collecting her simplest clothes he doubted that she was not going back to her maternal home. Also as far as he has come to know her he has understood that Jodha has a very high self esteem and as her mother, the queen of Amer, Rani Mainavati, had prevented her from going back with her his doubt turned into solid fact. If she goes back to her maternal home he would at least not be worried of her safety but she planned of leaving the palace and roaming around in commoners clothes and he couldn't risk that.
"Aap mehal chhod kar jaana chahati hai toh hum aapko nahi rok sakte par humari ek shart hai. ("If you want to leave I can't stop you but I have a condition.) Jodha opened her mouth to object but he continued. "Jitna hum samajh rahe hai aap aam kapdon mein mehal se jaane ke baare mein soch rahi hai lekin hum aapko aisa karne nahi de sakte. Jodha Begum humare bahut saare dushman hai jo hume apne saamne jhukane ke liye kuch bhi kar sakte hai. Aap sirf humari biwi nahi hai. Mughal Sultanate ki Khaas Begumon mein se ek bhi hai. Agar humare dushmanon ko pata chala ki aap iss tarah akele, bina kisi pehre ke bhatak rahi hai toh aapki jaan ko khatra ho sakta hai. Isliye hum chahate hai ki aap ek kaarvaan ke saath Amer jaaye. Hum aapke hifazat ki baat kar rahe hai Jodha Begum isliye humari baat maan jaiye. ("As far as I can see you are planning to leave the palace in plain clothes and I can't allow you to do that. Jodha Begum I have a lot of enemies who will resort to anything to make me bow down to them. You are not just my wife but also one of the Khaas Begum of the Mughal Sultanate. If my enemies come to know that you are wandering around alone and unprotected there can be a threat to your life. That is why I want you to go with a caravan to Amer. I am thinking about your safety here Jodha Begum so please listen to me.)
She had asked him for some time away from him and he felt that he owed her at least that. He was guilty of the crime he had committed and was ready for the consequences. Even if she would have asked for his life right now he would have happily died at her hands. He knew that it would be very difficult for him to live without her but maybe this had to be his punishment for hurting her, for breaking her heart. He would live without her but it would be impossible for him to live without knowing where she was, whether she was safe, whether she was healthy. If she went to Amer he can be assured that she was safe and healthy. Roaming around was simply reckless and he cannot allow her to put her life at stake.
"Shehenshah aap kadachit bhool rahe hai ki humari Maasa... ("Shehenshah i think you are forgetting what my mother..) he interrupted her before she could complete her sentence. "Jodha Begum hum achhe se jaante hai ki aapki Ammijaan ne kya kaha tha isliye hum aapke saath unke liye ek khat bhi bhej denge. Vahan pahunchane par unhein de dijiyega. ("Jodha Begum I know very well what your mother told you hence I will send a message with you. Give it to them once you reach there.)
"Theek hai parantu hum abhi bhi suryodaya se pehle nikalna chahenge. ("Okay but I still want to depart before sunrise.) Jalal replied with a nod and left to reluctantly prepare for her departure.
Jodha took a deep breath when Jalal left. To say that Jodha was shocked would be an understatement. She was stunned. She had not expected that he would cave into her demands so easily but she wasn't complaining. She needed a long break from all that was going on and he had agreed, indeed with his own conditions but she just wanted to leave so it didn't matter where she went. She went back to the chests and took only some clothes which would be required during the travel. She still had a lot of clothes back in Amer so she wouldn't need anything much.
Meanwhile Jalal met Adgah Sahab and told him to prepare for Jodha's departure. He also mentioned that no one else from the family was to be disturbed as he would handle them tomorrow. After giving the instructions Jalal took one of his scribes and dictated to him the letter that had to be sent along with Jodha. Now all that was left was talking to one person whom also he had misunderstood.
Jalal entered the palace prison and ordered one of the prison guards to take him to SujamaI. SujamaI was kept in a dark cell with the only light coming from a small window. The cell was small, about eight feet in length and breadth providing very little movement. He was tied to one of the walls by heavy metal chains that went around his neck, wrists and ankles. He was still in the kwajaserah's dress but even in a situation where most men would feel ashamed and would be scared of their fate, he stood with his head held high.
Jalal stepped into the cell and stood in front of Sujamal. The moonlight entering from the window was enough to make their faces visible to each other. Sujamal noticed that Jalal didn't look angry any more but looked rather remorseful. "Sujamal hum yahan koi tafteesh karne nahi aaye hai kyunki Jodha Begum ne humare sawaalon ke jawab hume de diye hai. Hum aapse ek darkhwast karne aaye hai. Hum chahate hai ki aap Mughal Sultanat ke mehmaan bankar mehal mein rahe. Aur hum aapse maufi mangana chahate hai ki humne aapko galat samjha jiski wajah se aapko itni takleef uthani padi. ("Sujamal I haven't come here to interrogate you because Jodha Begum has already answered all my questions. I have come here to request you. I request you to stay in the palace as a guest of the Mughal Sultanate. And I want to ask for your forgiveness because I wrongly accused you causing you such inconvenience.) Sujamal began to protest against the idea but Jalal told him all that had happened. About how he thought that Jodha was meeting someone else and what it had led to. Sujamal listened without interrupting him. When Jalal had finished Sujamal nodded his head in understanding. "Shehenshah Jodha ek Rajput stri hai. Hum Rajput praan de sakte hai par diya hua vachan nahi tod sakte. Parantu hum utne hi swabhimaani bhi hai. Aapne uske swabhimaan ko thes pahunchayi hai Shehenshah. Swabhavik hai ki vo apna swabhimaan bachane ka prayatna karegi. Ek baat kehna chahenge aapse. Use kadachit pata nahi ho, parantu humne uski ankhon mein aapke liye prem dekha hai. Ek chotil swabhimaan ke saath vo ek toote hue hriday ko bhi bacha rahi hai. Hum samajh rahe hai ki aapko iss baat ka dukh hai paranutu use thoda samay dijiye. Samay har ghav bhar deta hai. Parantu yaad rakhiyega, kuch ghavon ke liye samay keval peeda kam karta hai. Unhein bharne ke liye prem aur dekhbhal ki avashyakta hoti hai. Umeed hai ki aap samajh gaye honge ki hum kya kehna chahte hai. ("Jodha is a Rajput woman Shehenshah. We Rajputs can give our lives but can't break our word. But along with that we are also very self respecting people. You have hurt her self esteem Shehenshah. It is natural that she will try to salvage her self respect. I would like to tell you something. She might not realize, but I have seen love for you in her eyes. Along with a damaged self esteem she is also trying to save her wounded heart. I understand that you regret doing that, but give her some time. Time heals everything. But remember that for some wounds time only lessens the pain. To heal them, a lot of love and care is required. I hope that you understand what I am saying.) Jalal understood what he meant. Jodha needed time and he would give her that but at the end he has to go and talk to her and sort their problems out. Sujamal was about the same age as Jalal but he had the maturity only one who has faced a tough life can have. Sujamal had lost his parents at a young age. He had lived his life all alone. He was the rightful crown prince, being the eldest sibling and son of the late King from who the throne had been passed down to Bharmal, but that right too was taken away from him. Now he was living the life of a nomad, moving from one place to another searching for support to fight his war. Not only was he being hunted down by the men of his uncle but also he was on Mughal Sultanate's hit list because Amer's princess is married to the Shehenshah. Being the enemy of Amer he also became their enemy. The enemy of the empire whose King was married to his sister. As a brother he had to protect his sister's husband and as an enemy kill him.
"Jahan tak aapke mehal mein rehne ka prashn hai, hum apne shatru ke ghar par nahi rehte parantu apni behen ke sasural mein hum athithi bankar reh sakte hai. Hum samjhte hai ki aap pashchyatap karna chahate hai, isliye hum aapki vinti swikar karte hai. ("As far as staying in your palace is concerned, I don't stay at my enemy's house but I can stay as a guest at my sister's in laws' house. I understand that you want to repent, that is why I accept your request.) Sujamal was them released from the chains. Jalal made sure that he was accommodated as a royal guest and was given all the facilities. Jalal was impressed by Sujamal because he knew how to separate his personal and political life very well. Right now, before Jalal, stood a brother and if ever, god forbid, they meet in the battle field, before him would be a warrior who would fight to win irrespective of his relation with the one standing in front of him.
That night Jodha left the palace. Jalal was present there but she completely ignored him. The only time she paid him heed was when he give her the scroll containing the message. He didn't tell her about his meeting with Sujamal. He couldn't even speak as she left through the palace gates. He stood there and watched her caravan leave till he couldn't see them anymore and then went to his room where he barely had any sleep. He kept on tossing and turning in bed. Even the most comfortable bed wouldn't give him a wink of sleep if Jodha wasn't around. She had grown onto him and now he was so used to her that knowing that she had left caused him to miss her even if it had been just an hour. Jodha on the other hand was guilty that she didn't meet the other family members and didn't even say a goodbye because she didn't want to disturb them in the middle of the night. Silently praying for their prosperity and safety she left with the caravan, going back to her old home and back to her old family, which she had left for this new one. How ironic!
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Hi everyone! (Quickly hides behind one of the pillars in the fort and then slowly peeks out smiling sheepishly)
See if she would have forgiven him, how would I extend the ss? Plus this is a very long chapter so I think I can be spared.
Some things have to happen, right? Right?
Lets all of us wait for the next chapter and see what happens.
How will Jodha and Jalal cope with this separation?
Time can only lessen the pain. The wound needs love and care to heal. So how and when will Jalal go to heal the wound inflicted by him?
How will Jalal react when he comes to know the truth?
These questions will be answered in the following chapters which, I must warn you, are going to be really dramatic and filmy with a lot of drama, some action, some romance, some much needed tunes and a pinch of mystery and thrill. So wait for the next updates. Till then
Aadaab and Pranaam from our dear Akdha.😉
Edited by JodhaAkbarRox - 7 years ago
Real Estate
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