JAB WE MET(part 5)
Prithvi was livid. There was a new threat. An invader who was looting and burning as he plundered the border villages and neighboring states.
No one had seen his face and while his soldiers were ferocious, stealthy and ruthless, their leader was reputed as being vicious and ambitious. He was known as the "Sultan".
As Prithvi listened to Pundir's report, he realized he was dealing with a new kind of enemy. One who was smart and seemed interested in games of advance ,plunder and retreat.
Prithvi had already dealt with his soldiers on two previous occasions but that just made the "sultan" more persistent and cruel.
Prithvi looked at his closest friends. They were his pillars. Pundir the stubborn one with the will to equal his own, Chand the quiet one with the heart of a poet, and Arjun the light hearted yet most sensitive one.
One look at his face and they all understood wat he was thinking.
"I'll get the mustaches" Arjun said in his comical tone, then turning towards Pundir, he said "though I think, u really look better without it, with it one, u scare all the girls."
It was a long standing joke btwn them as Pundir had serious aversion to all things female and Arjun made sure to never let an opportunity pass to tease him about it..
Pu: shut up arjun, or do u want me to tell Maya, how worried u get about "girls" not coming close to us..
Ar: are are.. I was just kidding…"
Good-naturedly grumbling, arjun headed out . Chand and Prithvi who had silently watched this familiar exchange with a smile on their faces, gave each other a look.
After Sanjam's death, Chand was the closest to Prithvi and could usually guess his friend's mood by the look in his eyes.
Ch: what r u thinking Prithvi?
P: this sultan.. he's very crafty. Instead of openly challenging me in battle, he seems to like this cat and mouse game. I have a feeling he's trying to gauge our strengths and weaknesses. He baits us to retaliate and then retreats without a trace into the shadows giving us no chance to chase him down finish the threat once and for all..
Ch: I know wat u mean. But don't worry. We will deal with him soon enough. The last time his soldiers were spotted near our eastern borders.
P: and that's where we start our search from.
# ; # &nbs p; # &nb sp; &nb sp; # &n bsp; &n bsp; # ; ; # &nbs p; # ; #.
It was the first day of the yatra and Sanyogita had arrived at the mandir from where the journey was to begin.
She had gotten a wistful look on her face as she stood at the bottom of the stairs leading up into the mandir. So many memories . So much lost and so much gained.
She stooped down and touched the bottom step before moving up. Every step she took, the anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach grew. It was like some sort of anticipation. Like something was about to change forever.
At the top stair she bowed again and touched the floor of the temple. No sooner had her fingers grazed the floor, she felt her heart beating faster, her senses heightened and aware. "Prithvi" she whispered in the wind, before straightening and walking in.
# ; ; # &nbs p; &nbs p; &nbs p; # ; ; # ; ; #.
Prithvi was gazing at the mandir.
It was here that he had started the journey which had changed his life forever.
He had never come back and shouldn't have been here now but on their way to ratanpur, he had been informed that some of 'sultan's men had been seen in this area.
So they had changed their plans and fate had brought him to this place again.
He shouldn't have been surprised.
Sanyogita was his strength. And this is where their paths had first crossed. Now he was about to start the same journey , but this time with a big difference.. this time, he wouldn't have his "wild cat" with him.
Only her memories.
He derived strength from that decided to go in and take blessings, for the journey he was about to take and for the unfinished journey his heart had started all those years ago.
As he walked thru the crowd , a familiar sense of peace surrounded him. As his fingers grazed the bottom step, his heart suddenly piked up pace. A breeze touched his face and for a few seconds , he could have sworn Sanyogita was there.. he almost felt like she had touched his cheek and called out his name.
He strode up the stairs and took his place in front of the idols. Closing his eyes and clasping his hands, he prayed.
He prayed for success, for peace of heart and mind. Then he prayed for her happiness.
She stood there, her eyes closed, hands clasped. She prayed for courage, for strength.
Then she prayed for his happiness..
As she made to move away, her head jerked bac. Her dupatta seemed to b stuck.
She turned around to see a tall darkly good looking, strangely familiar man trying desperately to untangle the said garment from his wrist cuff. The harder he tried, the more tangled it got.
The sight made her smile but she refrained from it. Reaching out she gently twisted her dupatta out and walked away.
As she walked down the steps, she smiled. She felt a sense of peace unlike anything she had felt in years. Everything was going to b alrite.
Prithvi stood stock still. The girl had been so beautiful. She seemed to remind him of someone but he couldn't place who.
It wasn't like he hadn't seen pretty women before but something about the way she had bit down on her lip to keep from smiling at his unsuccessful attempts, had just mesmerized him. As she walked away he turned around. He felt a sense of anticipation.
Something was about to happen.
# ; ; # ; ; # ; ; #.
The yatra moved forward pretty uneventfully.
Prithvi and his friends kept an eye out for any signs of the sultan's men but so far nothing had turned up. So much so that as they neared the first break in the journey a week later, Prithvi decided that they would separate from the yatra and look elsewhere.
Pundir and Arjun were getting something to eat from a local fruit seller.
There was just one last bunch of bananas left and as they were Pundir's fav fruit, arjun was intent on buying them. The problem was that some one else was just as adamant on buying the same bunch.
So now arjun was in a tug of war over a bunch of bananas with a slight girl who seemed to match his strength with her temper.
Vaishali scowled at the stout man in front of her. She had gotten there first and even though they had both reached for the bananas at the same tome, by virtue of arrival and manners they were hers.
V: look , y don't u just buy something else..or go to some other fruit seller..
A: but I want these. I piked them up first…
The fruit seller offered half the bunch to each of them, but vaishali wouldn't give in..
A: lady..i don't want to fight… but ur being unreasonable. Just take half of them and let me have the other half…
Pundir had been watching awestruck.
The girl was amazing. Long silky black hair, big eyes, dusky complexion. .And a will of iron. The angrier she got the prettier she became.
Pu: its ok arjun, just forget it. Let the lady have them..
Arjun , who had a death grip on the bunch, let go with shock. Pundir never gave anything up. His stubborn streak was even more strong then Prithvi's. As he looked into his friends face and noticed the awestruck expression, he suddenly realized wat had happened.
Vaishali finally noticed the taller man, standing next to the rude short guy. He had spoken in her favor , and as she quickly paid for her purchase, she aimed a happy smile at him.
V: at least u have some manners.
Pundir nearly swooned and only arjun catching hold of his arm saved him from falling face first in the sand.
Later the same day, vaishali was telling Sanyogita all about the silly fight. Both friends were laughing so hard, they tears in their eyes.
Unknown to them Pundir, Prithvi and arjun were sitting quite close by..
S: vaishali, sometimes u r too much..
V: wat?!! Its not like I started it..the short one was so rude, but the tall guy seemed really nice though I think he was kinda slow on the uptake.. poor him…
S: hmm.. ur not just feeling bad fro him because of the mustache, r u? coz if I remember correctly, u like guys with mustaches..
Vaishali smiled broadly: yes I do.. usually, but at least not these muchars at any rate.. besides the tall guy's mooch was scary..
Both friends burst into laughter again.
Arjun almost burst out laughing as well, as Pundir choked on a sip of water he had taken.
He offered sympathies while pounding his back.
A: its ok Pundir, mooch or no mooch u still scare girls off.. at least now we know her name is vaishali.
Pundir gave him a scathing look.
Prithvi smiled thru this whole exchange.
He wasn't surprised to hear that vaishali was like her friend..
The beautiful girl from the mandir.. beautiful but annoying.. bratty..rude girl.
He had helped her just a day bac and she had told him off instead of thanking him.
He had warned her not to go near the banks of the stream as they were slippery but she had told him to mind his own business and he had shrugged and turned away, intent on doing just that. Not ten seconds later he heard a splash and turned around to find her waist deep in the stream..
Years of inbred chivalry and manners won out over the urge to tell her "I told u so" and he had helped her out, only regretting it five seconds later, when she had thanked him in manner which implied she was doing him a favor.
Pundir was in trouble ..
hope that was long enough, and gud enough.. do comment
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