At this, the fakir's brow shot up into perceptible frown as within his heart, he always wished for Ahmed's bad will, but he said nothing to him and dragged the poor Guru to the corner of the Sarai and ordered the pathans to keep a close watch on him so that he doesn't scoot off.
Seeing the old man being captured in such a fashion who looked to be worn out, all the people present there, looked at Mahajan with wondering eyes.
A few of those did bother to raise a query about this arrest. Mahajan replied in chagrin, "This person is but a goon".
They sneered in response but preferred to say nothing. People were engrossed in their merrymaking with drinks and food whilst the horses outside, grazed on the fodder, the environment in and around Sarai was somewhat filled with all d hustle and bustle a scene normally seen in the Sarai, outskirts of the towns.
Amidst all the hullaboo and all the merriment, Guru had nothing to eat he wasn't served with any food or let alone be the water, he instead wrapped up a turban on his head and preferred to lie down since he was under strict vigilant of the pathans.
Considering the fact that he was surrounded by many people around he had no chance to escape but to remain wherever he was otherwise he would pay off with his life at the hands of these callous pathans.
In no time things that were setting in perfectly for the fakir had now turned upside down.
Everyone had their gazes fixed on one another, a few rose to their feet. One of the pathan roared like a wounded tiger, "Mahajan, who are you to abuse me in this manner?"
Mahajan was busy in his own thoughts and having his food, this sudden voice broke his chain of thoughts and even much before he could react, the pathan bolted him with another stroke of words, "Mahajan, just hold your tongue".
Mahajan was left aghast at the sudden turn of events and wearing a perplexed look on his face, he asked, "Eh? What's gone in to your head? What makes you think that I abused you? Look, here I am having my piece of roti".
The pathan snarled in anger, "Stop lying will you? I have heard it with my own ears".
Mahajan felt like a dagger pierced into his heart as he turned he could hear some murmurs in his ears, "Oh! You idiot!" in few seconds this sentence echoed into the atmosphere baffling everybody present there.
Ahmed who had been out for a while arrived to the place to check in so as to what could cause such an uproar.
If this couldn't get enough there was another feat that caused further more ruckus, in a flash all could hear was hollering of a tiger.
"Tiger! Tiger!" all cried out and ran recklessly with fear for their lives. The atmosphere filled with the screeching and screaming of the people, as against this backdrop, there was one who looked calm and normal totally unaffected by the ongoing chaos.
This commotion made the pathans and Mahajan completely forget about Guru Charan, who could have easily taken the advantage of this nuisance and left the place but he chose to remain at the same place.
Ahmed ordered for the torch to be lighted, with the torch and a few chosen brave men he went into the direction of the sound, but alas! There was no animal to be found in and around the vicinity.
This led him to come back totally distressed. He ordered his men to be cautious as the tiger could have been nearby and might appear again, further adding on; he told them to inform him once they get a clue about its presence.
Ruffling through his hair one of Ahmed's men blurted out, "Huzoor, it isn't safe for us to spend our night in this Sarai".
"Why? Do you fear for ghosts?" Ahmed asked, his gaze piercing and brow furrowing.
His piercing gaze sent shudders down his spine, yet in a low voice, he said, "Huzoor, you never know it is only in such places that we get to see the ghosts and goblins most active".
Their hearts lurched wildly and faces turned cold, whilst the blood drained off from their faces and their entire body began to tremble in horror.
At this juncture, Ahmed ordered the horses to be readied and added further to leave at once since he opined that it wasn't safe to stay here anymore.
The moment he ordered to leave all his men hastened on their toes and jumped upon their horses. Amongst them were the pathans and Mahajan who chose to leave this Sarai.
Virtually, all of the mughals were ready to leave when a loud lamentation filled the air, thousands of ladies lamenting. Mahajan had heard such cries before too.
Their throats parched dry and looked utterly flummoxed, they could feel their vision blackening out.
Only few moments had passed on, when Guru unwrapped himself and got up and thought, "These fellows wanted to capture me and that fakir had pushed me and now he had to run away to save his life".
In order to be sure off that none were hiding in the Sarai, Guru began to do a meticulous search in and outside but again to his amusement the Sarai looked empty and void.
Guru murmured, "I know Badri could have followed me, and in a soft voice he asked, "Dear! Badri, where are you?"
On hearing these words, Badri instantly appeared before Guru.
Badri with a proud smile on his lips said, "See brother, haven't I learnt the art of ventriloquism perfectly and performed it efficiently just like professionals?"
"Excellent, my brother, I could sense that it was you who were carrying out those howling noises, well there is none who could keep us in confinement".
"Well, whats next?" questioned Badri.
"I think I will call upon His Majesty at Delhi" answered Guru.
"But for what?" asked Badri.
"We are not totally safe from the dangers especially when we know Mahajan like hooligan is freely moving around, he shall not sit idle but will do anything to cause harm to our Shehzaade so that he gets the rewarded for his work".
"W,..hat?? attack on Shehzaade?"
"Surely, he would why not? No matter how cautious Shehzaade will be this devil will surely pounce upon a chance to assassinate the Shehzaade, and everything will be in his power. All the efforts care and struggle will go in vain".
"What is your plan then?"
"My purpose of visiting Delhi deals with the same concern".
"What if he targets you?"
"That wont affect anyone in anyways".
Guru could sense those worried lines deepening, in an assuring tone he said, "Do not worry for me, nobody can harm me, I am the son of a milkmaid.
Smiling slowly, Badri asked, "Well, in that case I shall go on to say that I too would like to join you as it would be much safer in both of us being together".
Guru held him by his shoulders and said, "I would have taken you along with me, but then I do not want to bring more trouble upon us, also jodha and mother both are very anxiously waiting for any news.
Now you leave for Palampur and meet jodha since she will heave a sigh of relief after knowing about us".
"Any message for her?"
"Tell her each and everything not to forget about me going to Delhi to put an end to Mahajan, have you got any money with you?"
"Sufficient enough".
"In that case, you wont be running short of money I can hope for that?"
"Certainly, I wont face that problem".
"Okay, now let us seek for the food from the village as the night is yet to advance".
Both had arrived at a grocer's shop and after buying all the necessary ingredients like pulses, flour and other necessary cooking materials, both returned back to Sarai.
Having a bit of knowledge in cooking, Badri began arranging all the wood and finally lit the fire to prepare food for both.
Once they were done with their dinner both spent their night in the Sarai.
...
The sun rose bright and fair and the morning seemed to be clear enough without a cloud. Guru sent Badri to the city of Palampur.
Ahmed and his men did not tarry far long. They got dispersed themselves in different directions not knowing where their path was leading them to.
Mahajan had unknowingly followed the wrong course that lead him opposite to his destination which he realized as of late.
But the morning sunrays had made their paths cleared, bumping all of them in to their trails, one could easily make out how much their heads were hung in despair.
Whilst the path they had embarked upon, were going to lead them to their destination, Guru was a way ahead of all of them.
In an attempt to escape from the brewing menace from Mahajan, Guru had made his horse run as fast as he could and so the poor animal had been almost half dead owing to the continuous tedious journey, his legs giving away to move further. So he paced slowly yet panting and puffing for the breath.
After having covered certain distance, both Mahajan and Guru once again had come face to face with each other. Mahajan scanned his eyes on to the person who was in a monk's attire. He stared at his face in mute silence.
Somehow, the previous night's interlude was afresh as morning dew as he was still reeling under its effects, he came out of his trance but couldn't recognize who this man was in the garb of a monk. After a while, he asked, who are you?"
Guru dint react but chose to reply calmly, "I am a poor fellow with none of my own under the sun.
There were a couple of monks that were passing by my village and so I chose to join them so as to devote my life in the name of almighty".
"Oh..hh! I will take it as a truth of what you said, so where are you going to?"
"I have lost my way and got separated from the group and so now you are the only savior, I shall go along with you only".
"Why me? You can take a different route and beg if you don't have any".
"Oh! Lord! These days people hardly give any alms to the poor people". Guru cried frantically.
After a fleeting pause, Mahajan asked, "Where are you going in this direction?"
"Wherever you will take me I shall go with you My Lord".
Mahajan was about to free him by placing a coin on his hand but then a thought ushered him. "What if he was one of the fellow supporters of the Shehzaade? It would sound foolish if I let him go his way, I cannot leave him under any circumstances".
With this thought in mind, Mahajan said, "You can come with me and there should be no fear or doubt in your mind regarding me".
"May Almighty bless you" exclaimed Guru.
Guru and Mahajan were now travelling together as for the Mughal forces, they had already joined General Ahmed.
About an hour's time they found themselves entering into the countryside, Guru already was up with a serious plan, he grabbed the reins of the horse bringing it to a halt.
Meanwhile, Mahajan observed the monk halting on his track and went on to ask him, but he was returned with a tight blow on his face oozing few drops of his blood from the corner of his lips.
Guru had avenged his slap that he was tormented to by this brother in law of his. It took some time for Mahajan to come back to his senses.
He was trying to perceive what just had transpired before him. His hand quickly went on to his bruised cheeks and saw d tinge of blood on his finger.
He was trailed back from his reverie when Guru snapped his fingers in front of his eyes. He breathed, anger showing clearly on his face, "Get off you nitwit, how dare you slap me?"
Guru glared at him, "Dint you recognize me? I just avenged for the torture and the slap I had been offered by you and your men.
Do I still need to give my identity or...anyways I do not have much time to discuss about all this, but let me warn you I shall be going to meet His Majesty in Delhi and would reveal all your evil deeds.
Don't you dare try to cause any harm to the Shehzaade, you should know that I am his companion and even if you dare to think of doing anything to him you shall have it from my hands. Be careful".
Having warned Mahajan, Guru quickly dashed through the air. Once he was out of sight, Mahajan kept pondering, his feelings mixed with angst and fear, he felt his entire frame being thrashed and quivered in terror.
He moved on but then he chose not to take the same route but went off on to another track, since then nobody knew what had become of him, he had disappeared into oblivion.
...
Guru had finally arrived in the Imperial capital of the Mughal Empire, Delhi; his efforts had bore fruits and somehow he had managed to reach this place.
On getting entry into the fort, he saw that the emperor was in his Deewan e Aam and the crowd was gaining pace to place their grievances before the emperor.
The magnificent Deewan e Aaam had always looked enthralling to Guru. It was a large and capacious structure, the ceiling adorned with jewels which was supported greatly with columns of purely white marble, beautified with precious and semi precious gems and jewels and meticulously carved with all the possible scenes from the nature in their natural way.
Such a court only could be but an illusion for the eyes, an optical illusion to be precise, the doors and the windows and the other openings of that extensive hall showed the work of excellence of those who did such a sensational workmanships, such that both air and light may not freely pass through them, nonetheless, the sunrays and the moonlight would fall upon those pure white columns and get reflected thereon.The embellished marble floor was spread with a soft Persian carpet of mellowed shades, appealing to the eyes.
The velvety cushioned seats were placed upon this spacious carpet for the ministers of the court, the seats were made of silk and embroidered with gold and gems that had been placed according to their rank and positions of the ministers which gave a look of that of a gold embroidered or bejeweled chessboard.
The sitting place of the emperor was kind of a raised platform, where the precious Masnad (bolster) was placed and the emperor remained seated in his royal robes adorned with the most priceless jewels.
At a distance were the nobles and the high rank ministers and the generals, the macebearers stood with gold maces on all the sides, two persons were carrying out their duties of fanning the emperor with the gold tailed fans holding in their hands, the Mughals and the Rajput generals were dressed in their royal outfit and were seated according to their posts and ranks, the resplendence and the glory of the place was such that it could be beyond only one's capacities and imaginations.
Precipitously, the emperor looked behind with a startled expression, he questioned, "Who was the person who just spoke up now?"
"There is no one Your Majesty" came a humble reply from the minister who said it with downcast eyes.
The emperor looked flabbergasted for a moment and again turned behind, but to his dismay this time too he couldn't find anyone but only soft mumbles saying, "I have come".
"Certainly, I have heard the voice with my own ears".
The voice echoed again,
"Your Highness knows this poor person by the name Guru Charan, who was quiet fortunate to exhibit his powers before you while you were in Surajgarh.
These words were enough for the emperor to recall the letter sent by Ganga, relief brought smile on his lips, "There is a man standing in the midst of the crowd by the name Guru Charan, I want him at once".
With the immediate effect, the order was followed and the imperial guards went into the crowd and yelled out loudly Guru's name that resonated in the entire ambiance.
There was too much of disturbance as people began to look in surprise wondering who this fortunate person could be whom the emperor desired to meet.
Guru was nowhere to be seen. After a while or so, he appeared cutting through the crowd dressed as a monk.
The guards and the officers seemed to be speechless after knowing that he was merely a monk whom the emperor chose to meet. He was brought before the emperor in the Deewan e Aam.
The experience was nothing new for Guru as he had been here before too but in the garb of a Moulvi to collect his monthly allowance while he was staying in Surajgarh.
He appeared before the emperor and paid his due obeisance to him. The emperor looked well pleased and was about to say when he saw one of his minister and was nonplussed.
The minister sprang upon his feet; he looked to be awfully petrified and was sweating profusely as if in daze, he exclaimed, "Your Majesty, th...ere... there is a s..ssnake in my dress, I think I will die soon".
Everyone stood astounded and found him to be highly suffocating. At this instance, the emperor found a few cats behind his masnad whining terribly.
Everyone had their hearts in their throats; they were under the spell of Guru's spell.
Unexpectedly, the emperor burst out into a boisterous laughter he said, "Don't worry, relax yourself".
The minister in a trembling, faltering voice said, "Your Majesty, but there is this black snake in my dress, how do I remove it off?"
The emperor passed out a wild laugh, "This would be quiet embarrassing and you would be made a fool out of you if you are found to be naked in public so be seated and do not fear".
Simultaneously, the macebearers were trying to hunt the cats behind the emperor's masnad, but he told them not to do to be restless as there were no cats in the hall.
The hissing sound of the snake and the ululating of the cats vanished once the emperor had addressed Guru Charan,
"You are a man with stupendous powers and I had already experienced it while I was in Surajgarh and I have known everything about you. Can you just repeat the sounds that you exhibited a few minutes ago right in the Court?"
Guru bowed himself and with a downcast eyes he said, "Your wish is my command".
Once again on the emperor's orders or to say request, the atmosphere echoed with the cries of the cats and the grunting of a pig.
The old minister quickly approached towards Guru and patted his back and said, "Bravo, Bravo".
The next moment the Court ambiance filled with the sounds of ladies lamenting as if they were beating their chests in grief, the sounds seemed to be distinct and much clear and loud too.
The people gathered around looked bewildered at the sudden happenings and began to ponder upon as to what went wrong in the Court that lead to such a loud lamentation that too from the bevy of ladies.
The emperor who was away from his seat took to his sitting place on his Masnad (bolster) and in a loud voice said, "One lakh ashrafis is what I gift it to you for your extraordinary powers.
I am extremely delighted with you; you are truly blessed with appalling powers".
The mass present there exclaimed loudly, "Simply amazing, one lakh ashrafis perfect for the showcase of those splendid powers".
Folding his arms across his chest, Guru said, "Your Majesty knows everything so what shall I do with these ashrafis?"
"Okay, so what you want then?"
Guru bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty is aware of what I want.
Since, you are very much delighted with me then Your Majesty would pardon the Shehzaade and the one he is married with, Your Majesty would accept her as the future Empress? As the befitting reward for my merits".
The emperor's heart beamed with happiness and with much kindness, he addressed to the Court, "I hereby declare before the entire mass as well as my loyal ministers present in this Deewan e Aam that my beloved son Shehzaade Jalal shall be the next Emperor after my demise and his wife shall be the Empress and I would like that all of you shall support my decision and shower all the love and support to my son Jalal the way I am been given".
With this everyone stood up from their seat and vowed in the name of god that they would by all means abide by this order.
The emperor further ordered a farman to be issued very soon declaring the Shehzaade Jalal as the future emperor.
The emperor further asked one of the officers to give the aforesaid reward to Guru and to send him to the Deewan e Khaas so that his begums and his brother Mirza would also get the chance to see his art.
...
Just like the elegance of the Deewan e Aam was an artistic piece of work to the world, so do the Deewan e Khaas, in beauty and grandeur, in pomp and magnificence, in majesty and glory, it surpassed the Deewan e Aam.
It was a complex of superlative craftsmanship, a place of affluence indeed heaven on earth. Amidst this greatness, the emperor sat on his throne, his begum gracing her presence beside him on his throne.
Maqsood Mirza was also present in this Deewan e Khaas. There were few other begums of the emperor who too had graced their presence with their incomparable beauties in this Court not to forget the begum of Mirza too was seated along with the other bevies just behind the glittering curtains.
It was evening and the sun rays gentle and calming, bringing along with it the cold breeze. The emperor donned in orange robe wearing the blue stone that dazzled in the evening sunrays.
Guru Charan expressed his eagerness to meet His Highness and the imperial guard had made his request to the emperor who had granted his permission and after a while or so, Guru entered along with the guards at the entrance making his official announcement.
Guru Charan kissed the ground and after paying due obeisance, he stood with his arms folding across his chest. He was now the centre of attraction for everyone present in the Court.
With a request to Guru asking him to exhibit some of his ventriloquist skills, the emperor opened his mouth, but then his eye fell upon Mirza who looked lost in his own thoughts. The pallidness on his features made the emperor feel uneasy and jittery.
Suddenly the ambiance looked calm before the storm. The emperor with the troubled look on his face asked, "Mirza, is anything wrong?"
Mirza's brooding eyes met his gazes and in a trembling voice Mirza said, "Wh...ere is th...is sound coming fr..rom?"
The voices were subdued whispers and no one could hear it clearly. For that matter even Guru looked pale and restless. None could figure it out so as to what was happening around them.
As for Mirza, yet again he looked panic struck as if someone was trying to converse with him in low burbles, with few more seconds the low voices had turned into loud thunders, chortling sounds that echoed the entire Court.
The emperor looked agape and he turned his gaze upon Guru, instantly his pale countenance returned its radiant glow and the pleasant smile crept on his lips again, he said to Mirza, "Oh! Dear! There is nothing to fear its just a matter of hallucination, compose yourself Mirza".
The Court filled with the loud trumpeting of elephants, very close to the Deewan e Khaas, very near to the marble pillars, instead of getting less audible its intensity only increased so much so that it was now to be heard extremely close to the seat of royalty.
The emperor was jubilant with the stellar performance showcased by Guru and so he raised from his seat and exclaimed, "Bravo, Guru bravo, you did a marvelous job, I will have to confess that your talent is incredible than the jugglers who juggle out, while you not only create an optical illusion but your art strikes the right cord, the core of the heart.
If I had no knowledge of your talent then I too would have fallen prey for these illusions and would have cried out in fear. In a blink of an eye you have changed the entire decorum of the hall; in fact I am so much happy with your talent that I do not know what reward will suit your skills".
Guru in acknowledging to the compliments showered by the emperor, with utmost respect said, "Your Highness, I am more than obliged to show my talent and skills and if that has brought happiness to you and the others who witnessed it, that itself is enough for me as my rewards".
Mirza who was all the while in his deep contemplation, stirred back from his reverie and was awe struck with the way Guru had took control of the Court making the emperor and himself a puppet of his own.
He was left dumbfounded that Guru who seemed to be merely an ordinary person, a fakir was now gaining appreciations from everyone; nevertheless, Mirza himself couldn't stop from praising the extraordinary merits this Guru had.
From this day onwards Guru went on to become the star of the Palace.
Palampur...
It was almost noon when the sun was at its peak shinning brilliantly and the weather was clear, jodha was ready to go along with jalal on hunting, even though she looked pretty much excited but then she wasn't sure whether it was okay with her going on hunting especially when she never had any first hand experience of going on the adventure.
Jalal was happy to take her with him as he felt that she should be always with him in sharing with his raptures and joys. He had boosted the confidence in her to learn saying that it was a kind of art that needed one to be an expertise.
He had shown his desire of hunting to his childhood friend and Maharana, Gopal Singh to which he was pleased to allow him to go but what had grabbed his attention was jodha accompanying jalal for hunting that amused him a lot.
Without any delay he had done all the preparations for the couple to go on hunting, the security was tightened so as to avoid any untoward incident to happen.
Jodha was eager to learn the hunting knack and now when the opportunity was at her door step she dint wanted to let it go, the pair of muskets with ivory inlaid with which jalal had been practicing had raised all her excitement to the umpteen levels.
Jodha ascended on the howdah which was placed on the elephant, it had wide openings although there were thin transparent curtains that would conceal her view and hung from large alloy rings which could be swept off as and when needed.
Jalal wanted to teach her a few of the hunting tactics and so he chose not to ride on a separate conveyance but to go on the same howdah, gladdened her.
He looked at her, a waggish smile crept on his lips whilst his eyes twinkled with mirth, "Jodha, you look extremely thrilled for this escapade", his warm lips brushed her neck. She could feel the warmth invading her cheeks.
"Yes, I am elevated and looking forward for this game" jodha replied slightly blushing.
"I hope we have our lucky day today to put to test our hunting ability".
After about an hour's time, they had almost reached near the hills that had been covered with thick forests.
At first the sandy rocky like terrain looked unfavorable for the hunting but as they progressed on their way they met with the lush green cover.
The elephant was made to halt and jalal had to lean down so as to get what the huntsman wanted to convey.
The huntsman told him about finding of few fresh tracks of the beast and so they were supposed to place a carcass of an animal so that the beast would sense the whiff and approach them.
Jalal spoke in low murmurs, "We will wait here itself".
After few moments, there was a slight breeze that brought about the movement of the trees but then nothing was found to be moving.
He could smell the strong odor of the tiger and playing an evil smirk across his lips, he instantly whispered into her ears, "They are nearing..."
His breath yet again, her heart raced into a frenzied beating. He had kept his muskets and tapers ready.
Wasting no time, he swiftly balanced the steel barrel of the musket placing it on the edge of the howdah so as to gain the support, after which he hunched forward whilst squinted along the barrel.
He could see a tiger with orange and black stripes emerging from behind the bush and prudently heading towards the trap, the carcass of the animal, but it wasn't the right time to hunt and so jalal waited for the perfect time to fire his aim.
Seeing jalal's hunting skills, jodha was left amazed but she could feel the blood throbbing in her ears and the wait seemed to be killing. She decided to ask, "Oh! Lord! How..."
Jalal abruptly shushed her. The tiger had reached the trap and as it began to sink its canines into the flesh, it let its guard on loose, taking this opportunity as now or never, jalal aimed at the broad chest of the tiger.
Within few seconds they could hear the crackling sound and there the beast was fallen on sideway, with the maroonish blood oozing out from his body.
Jodha's heart was pounding hard as she saw that jalal had successfully killed the tiger and her eyes twinkled in glee.
As for jalal, a visceral kick ran though him, he turned towards jodha in excitement, but before he could even utter any word, he sensed another tiger passing through the bushes, immediately he took the position resting it on the howdah and swiftly took the aim.
He was in with the perfect timing, the tiger leaped towards the equerry who was present on the ground. Jalal promptly fired. He saw that the tiger had slouched almost on the body of the equerry, who was trying very hard to free himself from this dead tiger.
thnx to lashy sahiba fr clearing few doubts😉...waiting frnds...😛
Ganesh Kartikeya
Shiv Shakti
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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