Untold Secrets!!! Uptd Chap 11 Pg 134 22nd Nov!!! - Page 44

The history of every land has always been intriguing and continued to grab eyeballs, let alone be its conspiracies, the mysteries or for that matter the glamour. For almost ten centuries Delhi has always been the centre of numerous wars, the awful bloodshed, unrivaled to the annals of the world.

It turned out to b a vicious circle, war after war and conspiracy after conspiracy, where there was no ultimate end.

The poor peasant community was no immune to the havocs caused by the famines and plagues and those who were lucky to escape got exploited at the hands of bandits and murderers.

Delhi and Agra had been totally converted into a fantasy world under the patronages of great Mughal Emperors with the constructions of sumptuous palaces and monuments with beautiful gardens.

A plethora of precious gems and jewels cascaded into the empire. The tantalizing aroma of the attar, the best wine of Shiraj, the fragrant roses of Damascus and the beautiful damsels from different parts of the world inundated into the Mughal Capital.

But this glamorous world had its ugly face too, hidden within its bosom the cold murders, fornication and infidelity.

The Mughal Court looked more like a paradise on earth but in real sense was devoid of all the happiness. The great emperor drowned himself in the ocean of pleasures and so many of his nobles were dissatisfied with his attitude.

But only two managed to openly show their displeasure, who were two of the most powerful Mansabdars and wanted to place Shehzaada jalal on the throne.

When the emperor got the wind about the plot, he ordered Raja Amar Singh to take charge of Gwalior making him the Subehdar of Gwalior but he had plans of his own and he being one of the close friend of Shehzaada jalal dint proceed to Gwalior but left Delhi along with his trusted rajput troops and voiced himself against the emperor.

Omar khan, the commander of the emperor's army too joined hands with Amar Singh. The emperor had kept a close vigilance on Shehzaada jalal but one night he had managed to abscond from the palace and since then people had no clue where he was. Also, he wasn't found in Amar Singh or Omar khan's camp.

Shehzaada Nazim was the eldest son of the emperor debauched and totally worthless heir to the throne, perturbed at the mere mention of the war, now was left with no option but to protect his own self.

He was forcefully sent to the battlefield and carried with him the beautiful nautch girls who would entertain him in his weary hours.

Nazim marched with five thousand men with him and camped at the very borders of Rajputana near the camps of Amar Singh and Omar khan. He was joined by the proficient generals of the empire who encamped around him.

The emperor had sent the rajput princes of Ajabgarh and Bilwara to assist the Shehzaada Nazim but they, instead of joining the army had encamped at a distance only to wait and watch how things would unfold.

The camp of the Shehzaada was superlative in its grandeur. The valets in their enchanting attires, the ornately caparisoned horses and the elephants had only added colors to the scene.

The costliest of the Kashmiri shawls enriched the beauty of the camps, along with the hangings of brilliant gold in wrought with jewels and precious stones. The Mughals never failed to carry their grandeur along with them.

The alluring flowers of Turkistan, the dainty Persian maids, the soft charming beauties from Bengal, the enchanting and dazzling damsels from all over the world did form his seraglio while he was on the war.

As against this the rajput camp had a total different story to speak. Luxury was unknown to them. The trees covered the entire hill. The rajput soldiers had taken the shelter under the shade of the trees to which they tied up their horses too.

Delicacies, the alluring damsels, the attars and the wines were oblivious to these rajputs as their only means of staple formed the chana and the half burnt Jowri roti.

There had been some differences in Omar khan's camp. He too was a rajput by birth but had got converted himself into Islam, but that never refrained him from sticking to his own lifestyle. He had utter dislike towards the luxuries and lavish lives led by the Mughals.

The chiefs of Ajabgarh and Bilwara had no idea what to do as they had camped at a distance. Maharaja Jagannath of Ajabgarh was the right hand of the emperor. Omar khan had joined with Shehzaada Jalal but there was no clue about Maharaja Jagannath on whose side he would join in.

There was a great suspense in the air. The combined forces of Amar Singh and Omar khan couldn't account for more than ten thousand men. On the other hand mughals had fifty thousand men to fight on.

If Ajabgarh and Bilwara joined the mughals there would be least chance of Shehzaada jalal winning the war. But the undaunted Amar Singh had no qualms about it, as he was determined to fight till the end even if it meant loosing his life.

A pin drop silence engulfed the pitch dark night with the twinkling of stars in the sky; one could only feel the calmness before the storm. Maharaja Jagannath was lost in thoughts; even the cool breeze couldn't calm his tensed nerves. He could see the future of much anticipated Mughal throne stumbling.

No one had the inkling of what could this war bring in. It could be possible that Shehzaada jalal would be the emperor and the Mughal Empire would prosper under his rule.

But, what if the news was true about Shehzaada jalal being dead in that case victory of rajputs would make Kunwar(Prince) Gopal Singh as next suzerain of Hindustan, all these thoughts were flashing in his mind.

Instantly, a soldier entered and informed him, "Kunwar of Ratangarh".

Maharaja Jagannath was surprised at his sudden visit. Getting no response from his king, the soldier stared blankly at him and said again, "Your Highness, Amar Singhji of Ratangarh wants to meet you".

Maharaja Jagannath immediately without thinking much ordered the soldier to bring him in with due respect.

Amar Singh entered the camp, being a haughty young man he dint bothered to formally greet the Maharaja and stood right in front of the grey haired chief of Ajabgarh. Jagannath even though was much elder to Amar Singh and had seen and experienced the world much more than the prince of Ratangarh himself paid him due obeisance by taking the prince's hand in his own and made him sit on the couch. He said, "Kunwar Amar Singh of Ratangarh, I am more than honored to have you here in my camp, what brings Kunwarsa here?"

Amar Singh blankly said, "My only motive to meet you Maharaja Jagannath is to know your opinion on the present war".

Absolute silence prevailed in the air. After sometime, Maharaja Jagannath reacted, "I have promised that I would assist the emperor and being a rajput I cannot break my promise".

Amar Singh spoke firmly, "That means you have decided to support the mughals in this war?"

Maharaja Jagannath said, "Kunwarsa, you might be aware that I haven't still joined the mughals".

"If that's what you are intended to do so, then y not go ahead with your instincts and join the mughals?"

Maharaja remained cool he dint let his irritation come in his way, and calmly said, "I very well see there is a reason to it, had this battle been fought between the emperor and his rivals there would have been no ounce of doubt about deciding my side. But this war was totally different as we all know that its being fought between the two sons of the emperor. So, the hesitation, the confusion is bound to sprout while choosing the sides. Hence, I am still mum on this matter".

Raja Amar Singh's blood was boiling, but he overcome his rage lest he would land up humiliating the Maharaja.

But still with displeased look, he spoke, "What made you come so far and think about the war?

Maharaja remained silent for a moment and spoke, "What Kunwarsa expects me to do?"

There was no compromise on this and so Raja Amar Singh spoke in a firm tone, "Either join the mughals as a slave or..." Saying so, Amar halted for a moment.

"Or, finish it up for what you were trying to speak don't constrain it in your heart, retorted the Maharaja of Ajabgarh".

Amar Singh gritted his teeth and spoke, "Or quit the battlefield at once".

"Kunwarsa, it's against the rajput pride and honor to leave the battlefield which I cannot tarnish it".

"Then fight".

"Certainly, I will fight".

By now Amar Singh's rage had been all over him, his rajput pride refrained him to further continue his discussion on this topic and he rushed out of the camp furiously without having any formal exchange of words.

Maharaja felt insulted and hurt at the rude and harsh attitude towards him by the Kunwar of Ratangarh and so dismantled his camp at that very night and joined the mughals.

The battle was to begin in the morning, while now the rajputs under Maharaja Jagannath and the mughals under the supervision of Azlam Khan attacked the rival rajput encampments.

Kunwar Amar Singh after having confronted Maharaja met Omar Khan to discuss the war strategy and passed the orders to his army to be prepared for the war.

The battle had finally begun. Both the sides fought with great valor and passion, while simultaneously the ongoing gruesome carnages had no end to it, it only seemed to multiply thousand folds.

The cries of the wounded soldiers, the pile of blood smeared dead bodies, the wild yelling of horses and the camels, turned the ambiance into pitch darkness, that never ending darkness which would never bring peace but only destruction and catastrophe to the nation and to its people.

Amidst of all this horrendous events, there was one person who was oblivious about ongoing incidents outside his camp. Shehzaada Nazim was busy drenched in the oceans of pleasures and drinking to the wholesome of wine. The camp had turned into mini carnival with the charming nuatch girls entertaining him swirling their bellies on the sweet music.

Shehzaada had been fully drunk by now and laid on the spacious velvety couch, even the outside chaos couldn't raise him from his stupor. He had been dwelling into his own world of pleasures.

All of a sudden the ambiance of the camp took to chilling stillness; the terrified ladies stared at each other's face with terror. The enemies were nearing while the Shehzaada was dazed with the drink.

Now the noise from the battlefield was clearly being heard, all their animal instincts had been provoked where one could only imagine the terrible scenes of the war. This made all the charming danseuses the beautiful slaves to flee for their lives.

The splendor of the camp made of costliest shawls its upholstery and furniture, its gold hangings and the velvet cushiony couches had lost its golden touch of Midas. All the ladies escaped for their lives to never come back except for one. She was a mere slave but remained rooted there without fear.

This was quiet commonly seen during the wars in the mughal camps where the women fled for their lives.

That was the era when the women hardly ever loved the situation they were in. They were ill treated and none had any say of their own. So it was but obvious that given the chance they would prefer to escape from the fate which they had absolutely no liking for it.

But there was something different about this girl. She had stood there as if she had no effect of the ongoing conditions.

She was burning in rage, her eyes shot red, her lips tightly pressed within and she stared at the lying Shehzaada Nazim before her on the couch. She was a flawless beauty; even in this bandi's attire her beauty was unmatchable.

For a moment she kept glaring at Nazim after which promptly she removed from the folds of her dress a potion which she mixed it in the wine. She cried out, "At last the day of nemesis was here".

After having got the assurance that she was absolutely alone and none was approaching, she did for what she had been here. She headed towards Shehzaada with the goblet of wine mixed with the potion in her hand, whilst with other her hand she managed to hold the thick black locks of the Shehzaada and made him sit though with downright force.

The poor Shehzaada had been somewhat evoked from his stupor with half open lids and hands flung wide, he saw the goblet of wine and said, "It's the cup of bliss do offer me".

The moment the lady held the goblet close to his lips he gulped down the drink in a twinkling of an eye.

Immediately he had bouts of convulsions, his eyes remained fixed and became still whilst, kept looking at the lady with a startled look.

The lady could no more hide her pain and she spoke, "You didn't seem to recognize me, but let me tell you, it's you who have killed my husband, dishonored me, it's because of you my family was defamed but now the time is with me and you had to face the wrath of this very lady who's modesty you had tarnished".

The poisonous potion had already started showing its effects on Shehzaada. He couldn't speak he grew cold all over his body, only he could do is stare at the lady like a vegetable body.

But the lady was in no mood to hide her pain and agony which she had concealed within her bosom and continued to speak, "You were in a big misunderstanding that I am a mere widow and since you are a Shehzaada you can do away with it. But I haven't forgotten anything, the very moment you took away my honor, the seeds of revenge had sown in my heart and now I had avenged it by making you pay for everything I had to undergo".

The Shehzaada couldn't utter any word but only moaned in pain and after few mins there was foam coming out of his closed lips indicating that he was close to his end. The lady went on, "I lived for this very moment and that too as a mere slave in your harem and waited patiently to see your death with my very own hands. God finally had given me this opportunity to avenge for my outraged honor and my dead husband. Now you can no more suppress the weak and the poor under your tyranny".

Saying so, the lady dashed out of the camp. The battle was on; not knowing that for the very Shehzaada they were fighting for was lying dead inside his own camp. His fate had been sealed with his death a new horizon was about to set on the entire Mughal Empire.

Till now the battle on the both sides was equally fought none had an edge over each other. The fight was on even though the sun had entered into meridian. Finally Maharaja Jagannath suggested Azlam Khan that Nazim should appear in front of the army, so that the fate of this war could be decided.

The general had no option but to accept the suggestion and reluctantly proceeded towards the camp of the Shehzaada to check if he was in a position to fight. Since in this case, the presence of Nazim was very much important to decide which side would turn victorious.

The Mughal army was superficially fighting this war, while the rajputs were carrying out the terrible assaults on the enemies.

Only presence of Nazim would bring out much needed morale support to the army to fight on with their valor. Azlam had rushed to the Shehzaada's camp.

After reaching the camp he was left in daze, since the bustling sounds of music and dance lay amiss and it took to deserted form. The attendants and assistants of the prince were missing and so there was none who could carry his message to the Shehzaada Nazim.

The general had no time to follow the protocol as the time demanded the prompt action from the Shehzaada and so without wasting a min he entered the camp.

But what he saw only made him glued at that very place he was standing. His blood turned cold and he seemed to look more dreaded and in horror, his eyes looked startled and remained fixed at the scene.

The furniture, the velvety cushions the palatial beddings looked scattered everywhere. The curtains were torn apart and were fallen on the floor. The flowers and the garlands, musical instruments, the wine goblets lay all in a heap on the floor. The air smelled the odor of wine.

Only the Shehzaada was seen lying on the bed. His face turned blue and his entire frame looked stiff and pale. From his appearance Azlam Khan got convinced that the Shehzaada Nazim was no more in this world.

The general was petrified at the situation the prince was in, since he had never dreamt in the wildest of his dreams to see the Shehzaada facing such a terrible end. His blood congealed within his veins seeing this horrific sight in front of his eyes.

He was too terrified to do anything and so remained still for some more time. Now various thoughts started occupying his mind with this news of Shehzaada there will be havoc amongst all the soldiers making them flee from the field in consternation and fear.

He very much wanted to keep it secret but this horrific news won't remain concealed since soon it will spread like a wild fire everywhere. This made him conclude that the Shehzaada had been murdered. But who could attempt this foul play? How could anyone get entry into the camp that easily when the Shehzaada was surrounded by his guards?

His brain got jammed with the shocking turn of events, but then he couldn't afford to waste time on thinking and take the instant action which this very moment demanded.

The mughal army would be destroyed at the hands of the rajputs and they would soon face the defeat. He could see the mughal throne in peril.

The next moment he could hear the noise outside the camp a lady was yelling, "Shehzaada is dead flee for your lives".

If the general had wasted some more time here the situation would have been out of control and so he dashed out of the camp and immediately rode on his horse and yelled out, "The Shehzaada is coming, fight on men with all your courage".

His men got the much needed moral boosting and attacked the rajputs with passion.

But alas! It was too late as the damage was already done by the slave girl. The death of the Shehzaada had reached all along like breaking news cutting through the land and echoing in the air.

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