Part 2 (B)
Thanking her stars that bindu slept the whole of afternoon today, giving her enough time to work on her presentation, Nandini made a hasty entrance to the conference room,only to find it empty with no one present,except him. She knew that he spent most of his working hours there, but she was hoping that by the time she will reach Aacharya and the minister would already have joined him. But alas! No luck, how could she forget that the luck which works for her is not her luck. Attempting to fight with the eerie silence which has now became the signature of their relationship, she was pretending of being engrossed in the papers she was carrying, when she heard him speak
"kaisi ho nandini" surprised she looked up to find him staring at her. [How are you Nandini]
He had tried to come up with something decent to say, to break the silence, and that too quickly before others joined them, depriving him from having a conversation with her. And in his desperation he had come up with something as foolish like this. Smacking himself mentally, he had no other option but to stand by his goofy question with a nonchalant face.
She couldn't help but chuckle "kaisi hoon?? Aap toh aise pooch rahe hain jaise hum varshon ke baad mil rahe ho" [how am I? You are asking as if we are meeting after ages]
"Kahan mila hoon", laughing dryly he replied. "varshon se nahin mila hoon. Na tumse na aapne aap se" [ when have I met? It's indeed been ages I met, you or myself]
This is the prime reason she avoided being alone with this man, because in these moments, looking into his eyes, as vulnerable as Bindu's, her heart yearned to forget all the bitterness of the past, much to the displeasure of her mind.
Aacharya Chanakya's arrival broke the reverie ...Nandini sighed a breathe of relief. Being with Aacharya has always been tough for her, she felt so belittled under the accusing gaze of this man. Though after the revelation of Durdhara's murder, things were changing for good, she could feel the genuine tenderness for her, in his eyes, still at some level being at ease with him was difficult for her. But today for a change she was grateful of his presence, anything for getting away from thinking about her husband.
Soon minister Veerbhadra followed and Nandini spread the plan in front of them and began with her presentation. She had managed to bring down the cost to 400 bucks a day from the earlier 800 bucks required for the implementation of the various schemes. The proposal was to launch the project in a pilot phase, in the nearest village from Magadh. If the model worked there, then only the schemes would be launched on a mass level, all over the Magadh. After half an hour when she ended, she could see that Aacharya was clearly impressed, she was damn sure of his vote. If Aacharya sided her, she doubted that she would have to convince the assembly the next day, as far as she knew Chandra, Aacharya's vote was the last words, having no other option but to oblige.
"Main aapke prastaav se poornatah sehmat hoon, Mukhya maharani" [I completely agree with your proposal maharani nandini]
Smiling victoriously she turned to look at him, expecting to see his crest fallen face, only to be left astonished. He looked at her proudly, the same way as he used to do at Baalgraam during the Takshsheela exam. Grinning broadly he was staring her like an idiot, making her embarrass in front of Aacharya and not to mention the minister.
"Dhanyawaad Aacharya ji " said she hoping that her voice will bring him back from his staring session. As Chandra, gaining back his composure, agreed to pass the bill, she was the first one to leave, her exit hastier than her entrance.
***************************************************************
It was late night, the queen waited impatiently for the visitor in the meeting chamber situated at the entrance of the antahpur, which was used by the royal ladies when hosting an outsider man.
It was in the night, when after hours of coaxing, Bindusaar finally had decided to sleep, that Bela, the maid had came to meet her. Nandini has been looking for her since morning. She had decided that she would go and talk to her husband, trying to drill some sense into him, so what if Chandra won't help, she would manage it by herself, but surprisingly she got to know that Bela had went on a leave with Raajmata's permission. Fearing she might commit something foolish she had asked the servants to go and look for her. But they returned empty handed, with only the information of her house being locked, leaving no option for Nandini other than to pray for her well being and wait for her to come back. But she was pleasantly surprised when she came to meet her. Dressed in a red bridal outfit, her face was glowing with content and happiness. Excitedly she had told her, that her husband not only called off his second wedding but also married her once again in the same mandap that was meant for his second marriage, promising that he would never ever leave her.
As much as Nandini was happy for Bela, she was finding it hard to believe that somebody can change so drastically over night , this time literally over night. Not wanting to ruin the girl's happiness, she had congratulated her, wishing her a happy married life.
But, Bela left her queen with too many doubts, all unanswered. She has been dealing with this quirky feeling since morning. Things were too perfect to be true. Too pretentious. While she was coordinating with different departments for her presentation,each document, each piece of statistic (no matter how complex) , which she required was produced to her within moments, as if they have been waiting to be produced to her. Things never go as per her wishes to this extent, never, until he intervenes.
Not to mention, Veerbhadra continued peeving her the whole afternoon with his unwit. Despite all his claims of preparing the bill singlehandedly, he was like a school kid, who rote learns without grasping the actual connotation, all shadow and no substance.
"Maharani ki jai ho!" Entered a maid, "Maharani, mantri veerbhadra aapse milne ki anumati chahte hain" [Maharani, minister Veerbhadra wants to meet you]
"Unhe bheetar bhejo" [Send him in]
Once the minister was in, Nandini was quick to come to the point, after the formal salutations.
"Veerbhadra ji , kya woh prastaav aapne tyaar kiya hai" [Veerbhadra ji, has the women empowerment bill prepared by you?]
"Jee Maharani woh..."
"Haan ya naa"? [Yes or No]
"Jee haan maharani" [yes maharani, I have prepared it]
Nandini smiled coldly, "Main jaanti hoon Veerbhadra ji ki Mukhya maharani hone ke naate mere paas koi prashashnik athwa vaydhanik adhikaar nahin hain, parantu Maharaj Chandragupta Maurya ki patni hone ke naate mere paas aise kai adhikar hai jinpe koi neeyam laagu nahin hote...aap samajh rahe hain na mera tatparya? Stressing on the word "patni" , Nandini looked at the minister meanly
[I know minister Veerbhadra, that being the Mukhya Maharani, doesn't provides me any administrative or legal rights, but being the wife of Samrat Chandragupta Maurya does grants me many rights on which no rule applies...I hope you get my point]
Before her conscience can raise a voice, Nandini was quick enough to suppress it. Why should it always he, who gets to play tricks? And it isn't that unfair, isn't she after all, his wife, and anyways, things were never fair to begin with.
The minister fidgeted nervously. He was a young man , who has only joined the royal services one year back, never could he imagine that the ever so agreeable Queen can be so intimidating almost threatening at any point.
"Maharani woh maharaj ne meri sahayata ki thi" [Maharani, the king had helped me] he tried covering up, making the queen raise her eyebrow
"Mera arth tha ki maharaj ne hi...woh main..." [I meant that it was the king only, who, umm, I...]
Not intending to embarrass the man any further, she raised her palm to stop him
"Mujhe apne prashan ka uttar mil gaya, kripya prasthan karein" [ I got my answers, kindly leave]
*************************************************************
Much to the guards' surprise, the queen barged in the emperor's room almost storming, not bothering to seek permission this time.
"Tum mere Vishay mein kya sochte ho Chandra?" [what do you think of me Chandra?]
He was preparing to go to sleep, satisfied at the happenings of the day, he was hoping to get few winks of it, when he heard her voice, hard hitting as if throwing pebbles at him.
As for the question, if hadn't been for her offended tone, he would have regretted not being a poet and coming up with all the beautiful verses in her praise. But looking her ferocious self, he knew that this was not the question meant to be answered; it was meant to be dodged.
Before he could decide what to do with the first one, came another attack
"Tumne uttar nahin diya, ya ab mere prashan tumhare liye itne mahatav heen ho chuke hain ki tum unka uttar dena bhi aavyashak nahin samajhte"
[You didn't answered, or may be my questions have become so frivolous to you that you don't even bother to answer them]
"Main kuch samjha nahin Nandini" [I don't get you Nandini] He tried hard figuring out his mistake which enraged her to this extent. oh!exactly which one this time?
"Yahi toh samasya hai tum kuch samajhte kahan ho. Kuch samjah sako itni samwedansheelta hoti tum me toh baat hi kya thi". She said sarcastically.
[That's the prime issue; you don't get anything, if only you could be sensitive enough to get anything]
"Woh prastaav tumne tyaar kiya tha na?",[ you prepared the bill, right?] He tried to come up with something to cover up, but looking at her, immediately dropped the idea, it was futile denying now, she knows the truth.
"Haan nandini, maine hi tayaar kiya tha, aur maine hi veerbhadra se asatya kehne ko kaha tha ".
[yes Nandini, I prepared it, it was I who asked Veerbhadra to lie]
"kyun? Kyun kiya aisa chandra, kya socha tumne? Bechaari nandini, kitna bura hua hai uske saath, usey mehal se dhakke de ke bahar likaal diya maine, raani hone ke bavjood isse daasi ka jeevan vyateet karna pada, kadam kadam par isse apmanit kiya maine , chalo uski bharpaayi kar deta hoon, bechari ko sabha mein thoda maan samman dila deta hoon? Hain na? Kya lagta hai tumhe chandra ki mere swabhimaan ka mulya laga sakte ho tum. Nahin Chandra saara rajkosh luta ke bhi tum mere swabhimaan ko mol nahin sakte."
[why? Why did you do this Chandra? What did you thought, poor Nandini, I kicked her out of the palace, even when she came back, she had to be a maid, I've humiliated her like anything, let me compensate, let me get the poor thing, a little respect at the assembly, right? What do you think ?that you can bid my self esteem? No Chandra, not even all the riches of your royal treasury can bid it.]
"Nandini tum mujh par galat aarop laga rahi ho", [Nandini, you are accusing me for wrong reasons], for once he was angry, this woman was fabricating the facts like anything, he clearly hadn't had any such intentions. Hell something like this didn't even crossed his mind
"Galat aarop lagane ki aadat tumhari hai Chandra, meri nahin", to say the least she was fuming with wild rage, the man was compelling her to lose her temper like never before. He, of the people had the audacity to talk about wrong accusations.
Chandragupta lowered his eyes, as a fresh wave of guilt took over, perhaps she was right, she had every right to doubt him. He hadn't provided her any reasons to trust him.
Helplessly trying to calm her down he said "Nandini, main jaanta hoon ki Durdhara ki hatya ka galat aaroop tum par..." [Nandini, I know the wrong accusations of Durdhara's murder on you...]
"Tumhe lagta hai ki bas ek wahi galat aarop lagay hai tumne mujh par, Chandra? Smaran karo, Durdhara ko waisi haalat mein chod kar mere saath aane ka nirnaya tumhara tha, parantu tumne Durdhara ko nazar andaaz karne ke liye pratipal mujhe doshi tehraya, mere prati apne lagaav ko doshi tehraya, ...jabki sachaayi ye hai Chandra ki tum Durdhara ke saath koi rishta kabhi nibha hi nahin paaye na dost ka aur na hi pati ka"
[You think that you have accused me wrongly only for Durdhara's murder? Try remembering Chandra, it was your decision to leave Durdhara in such a fragile condition and come with me, still there has not been a single moment in past when you haven't accused me, your affection for me, as a reason for your ignorance to Durdhara, when the truth is you never stood by in your relationship with Durdhara, neither as a friend nor as husband.]
It was only when words made their way through her mouth, she realized how horribly wrong they have sounded, only when she looked at his blood drained face she had realized, that she had hit where it hits the most. She didn't mean them the way they meant, or did she?
After what it seemed ages of haunting silence, he said, his voice breaking, "sahi kaha nandini, main nahin nibha saka, na Durdhara ke saath apna sambandh, na kisi aur ke saath, kya karoon gurukul mein ye sab nahin sikhate, koi pustak nahin likhi kisi ne iss Vishay mein, anyatha usey rat jata. Tum bahout vidvaan ho, tum hi likho koi pushtak, main vachan deta hoon, main tumhe niraash nahin karoonga iss baar
[you are right nandini, I failed not only in my relationship with Durdhara, but i have failed all my relationships, what to do, they don't teach about relationships in Gurukul, neither anybody has written a book on it, had it been a book, I would have by hearted its contents. you are very learned, write a book on relationships, I promise i won't disappoint you, not this time]
Saying so he left the room, while she stood rooted on the spot, both of them forgetting that its him who should be staying and she taking a leave.
She stared his resigned slumped back as he left, she should be happy. Finally she had equalled the score, she was equally heartlessly stinging and cruel as he used to be. Hurting him should be pleasing to her, contenting to her. As fresh stream of tears made their way on her cheek, she realized that "hurting him will heal her", was a foolish myth. Holding the pillar, to support her shaking legs,Nandini leaned on it, as it sunk into her, that the myth has been broken
to be continued...
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