Re-cap : The evil plan of Sudarshan and Munshiji gets spoilt. Rani writes a letter to her family and sends them money. Her education starts. Several months pass. Rani realizes she is in love with the King. King's engagement is arranges with Princess Yukta Gaekwad.
PART - 9 : AND THEY MEET.......
Rani is very broken hearted! That evening, when she attends the evening aarati in the temple at the palace, she prays to God to give her the strength and to show her the right direction!! The next day evening when Rani goeds to meet Namrata, Namrata notices that Rani is unusually low and quiet. Namrata asks
Namrata : Rani, teri tabiyat toh theek hai na? Teri aankhen kyun itni sooji hai?
Rani : Kuch nahi Yuvraani ji. Bas raat ko acche se so nahi saki.
And then she looks at Namrata for a second and hesitantly asks her
Rani (keeping her tone as casual as she can) : Woh... woh kal yahaan sab Raaja saahab ki mangni ki baat kar rahe the...kya yeh sach hai?
Namrata (excitedly) : Oh my God Rani, mei toh tujhe bataana hi bhool gayi!! Haan, bhaiyya ke liye ek Raajkumaari mil gayi hai. 😃
Rani flinches and closes her eyes but she tries her best to maintain her composure while Namrata continues
Namrata : Tumne sahi sunaa....lekin jo mangni ek mahine baad hone waali thi, woh ab thodi jaldi hogi. Do hafte mei Raja saahab ki sagaai ha! Aur pataa hai mere bhabhi ka naam kya hai??
Rani shakes her head in the negative.
Namrata (announces) : Raajkumaari Yukta! Oh, I am so excited!!!!
Rani : Aap milli hai unse?
Namrata : Nahi. Actually Rani, mujhe isi baat ka thoda darr hai. Kyonki bhaiyya ke jo shaadi ke baare mei vichaar hai, woh ekdum alag hai. Mujhe bas yahi thodi chinta ho rahi hai ke na jaane woh kaisi hogi! Kya woh bhaiyya ko samajh sakegi? Unkaa saath de paayegi yaa nahi? You know, unkaa Raajkumaari honaa hi kaafi nahi hai. Yeh bahut zaroori hai ke Raajkumaari ke vichaar, unki dhristikon, unki bhavnaaye bhaiyya se mile, nahi toh woh aur bhaiyya, kabhi sukhi nahi reh sakenge!
Namrata is lost in thoughts about her brother and then she says...
Namrata : Rani, sagaai ke din tujhe meri madad karni hogi. Mei jaanti hun kapdon mei tumhaari taste bahut acchi hai! Aur tu toh jaanti hai mei yeh traditional dresses kabhi nahi pehenti!! Lekin uss din toh pehenanaa hogaa. Bol, madad karegi?
Rani shakes her head in the affirmative, hiding her pain.
Meanwhile, Yudi and Pramod are playing racquet ball at the club but he can hardly concentrate! Yudi has just come to know that his engagement has been preponed by 2 weeks, he is feeling very flustered! Pramod notices this and finally Yudi shares his misery.
Pramod (shocked) : Kya??? Teri sagaai pakki ho gayi aur tune abhi tak mujhe bataaya nahi?
Yudi : Sorry yaar, mujhe khudh do din pehle pataa chala. Yeh sab ekdum achaanak ho gayaa!!
Pramod (seeing him restless) : Kya problem hai, Yudi?
Yudi is livid : Dammit Pramod 😡 ....I don't even know her!!! Forget knowing....meine toh usse dekha bhi nahi! Aur naa ussne mujhe!!! 😡 How will this work out? Agar woh waisi nahi hai, jaisi mei chahta hun.....phir toh I am stuck for life!!! Mujhe tumhaare jitnaa freedom nahi hai ke I can get out of a marriage!!! Isiliye mei yeh kadam soch samajhkar uthana chahta hun! Lekin yeh baat mere pitaaji ko kabhi samajh mei nahi aayegi....unkaa hamesha se yahi opinion rahaa hai ke, royal blood matters!!! In all honesty Pramod, there is no more royalty!!! Lekin phir bhi hamaare parivaar yeh puraane soch-vichaar, achhar-vyavhaar mei jakde hue hai!!! Aur inn sab ke beech mei, meri bali chadh rahi hai!!!! 😡
Pramod is very concerned! He had always seen Yudi as a very patient, calm and strong man. Very rarely had he seen Yudi angry. Seeing Yudi's anger today, Pramod realizes how important this matter is from him. He says
Pramod : Please Yudi, itnaa negative kyun soch rahaa hai? Maybe she will be all you want and more!! But to be sure about this....tu ek kaam kar. Try to meet her before the engagement. Ab Rajparivaar kaa yeh ek niyyam tujhe todhna hi hoga!! Uss se milkar thoda time spend karne ki koshish kar. Atleast, tujhe thoda toh idea aayega ke woh kaun hai, kaisi hai.
Yudi likes this idea and decides to implement it. They talk for some more time and Pramod helps to lift Yudi's spirits up! Yudi tries to get to meet Princess Yukta but somehow or the other it does not happen and soon the day of the engagement arrives!!! Family and friends are invited and all the arrangements are made. These 15 days are hell for Rani and the King too, albeit for different reasons! The Gaekwad royal family arrive at the palace a day before the ceremony. The King and his family get to meet everyone in the Gaekwad family except Princess Yukta. Finally Yudi has had enough and he decides to seek Namrata's help in meeting with Princess Yukta. He plans that he will get Namrata to invite Princess Yukta to her quarters and arrange a meeting with him.
Meanwhile in the servant quarters, Rani has just showered and shampoed. There is a special pooja in the temple today in honor of the guests and its her duty to accompany Rani maa. She is drying her wet hair when she hears a knock on her door.She opens the door. It is Princess Namrata's personal servant. She gives her the message that Princess Namrata had asked her to be present before her immediately. Seeing the urgency, Rani gets a little tensed. She quickly grabs her dupatta and loosely tying her hair quickly starts towards the palace. She reaches Namrata's room and seeks permission to enter. Namrata calls her in and asks her personal servant to leave. Then she turns to Rani and says
Namrata : Tujhe apnaa vaada yaad nahi? Tune kahaa tha na, ke tu meri madad karegi, tayaar hone mei?
Rani (smiles) : Yuvraani ji, Lekin sagaai toh kal hai.
Namrata : Haan, lekin mujhse yeh pallu, ghaghra... yeh sab sambhaltaa nahi. Toh accha hoga agar ekdin pehle se hi mei thoda practice karlu!! Accha, chal mere saath!
She takes Rani to a huge closet which seems more like an interior room and opens the door. Rani is dumbfounded!! 😲 😲 The room is full of closets filled with rows and rows of clothes of all kinds and all colors! Rani had never seen so many clothes at one place!! And its not just clothes, its accessories of evey kind...shoes, bags, bangles....just about everything!!! Namrata sees her looking so shocked and shaking her says
Namrata : Kya hua??
Rani (swallows hard) : Jee, kuch nahi.... Meine itne saare kapde ek saath kabhi nahi dekhe!
Namrata : I know.....mujhe bhi kabhi kabhi bahut ascharya hota hai, ke mere paas itne kapde kahaan se aa gaye!
Rani : Yuvraani ji, itne sundar kapde hone ke baad bhi aap hamesha woh pant-shirts kyun pehenthi hai?
Namrata : Mujhe yeh kapde bahut boring aur difficult lagte hai, Rani. Aur phir mujhe lagtaa hai ke, yeh sab dark colors mujhko suit nahi karenge.
Rani : Nahi...nahi, yeh aap kya keh rahi hai? Aap peh toh sab kuch suit karega, choti yuvraani ji!
Namrata (with a sly look) : Sab kuch kyun suit karegaa? Mei raajkumaari hun isliye?? Mei uss soch koh bilkul nahi maanti! Apne skin-color ke hisaab seh kapde pehanane chahiye. For eg: Tum mujhse gori ho, isliye tumpe yeh Rani Pink dress bahut suit karega, lekin apne liye mei yeh Sky-blue waala choose karoongi.
Saying this, Namrata picks up a beautiful ghaghra-choli set of a dark pink (also called Rani pink) color heavily embroidered with beautiful zariwork and places it against Rani's skin. Rani quickly moves away saying
Rani : Kshamaa keejiye choti Yuvraani, aapke kapde mei kaise choo sakti hun!
Namrata (surprised) : Arre, kapde choone seh kya ho jaata hai?? (A little irritated) Tu bhi na, Rani.....kabhi kabhi bahut bakwass baatein karti hai. 😡 Mei kitni bhi tumhe paas laane ki koshish karu, tu hamesha door rehne ki koshish karti hai!!
Rani (repenting her words) : Kshamaa chahti hun, choti Yuvraani ji. Mei toh bas mehel ke niyyam kaa paalan kar rahi thi...
Namrat (cuts her) : Bhaad mei jaaye yeh niyyam !!! 😡
Rani tries to cajole her...
Rani : Theek hai, aage se nahi kahungi. Promise!
Namrata suddenly gets an idea! She says
Namrata : Agar meraa ghussa kam honaa hai toh tum yeh dress pehenana hoga!
Rani looks at her horrified 😲 😲
Namrata : Phir shuru mat ho jao! Abhi abhi tune kahaa hai ke tu, aage se aisi baatein nahi karegi!
Rani : Lekin....lekin....yeh kapde!
Namrata : Haan, YEH KAPDE!!!
Rani (strongly protesting) : Nahi Yuvraani ji! Yeh sab mujhse nahi hoga!!
Namrata : Arre Rani, itni ghabraati kyun ho? Kisi ko pataa nahi chalega. Koi tumhe nahi dekhega.
Rani : Nahi, nahi!!! Yeh galat hai. Mei aapke kapde kaise pehen sakti hun?? Mei aisa apradh kabhi nahi kar sakti!
Namrata : Arre, meine yeh kapde kabhi pehne hi nahi, toh yeh mere kaise honge? Theek hai, agar tumhe yeh baat khaaye jaa rahi hai ke tum mere kapde nahi pehen sakti, toh yeh lo, mei yeh kapde tumhe deti hun. Aaj se yeh tumhaare.
Rani (refusing to take) : Yek kya kar rahi hai app!!!! Nahi nahi, mujhe nahi chahiye!!!
Namrata : Oh come one Rani!!! Apni saheli ki itni si baat bhi nahi maan sakti, tum??
Rani : Aap meri saheli ke saath saath yuvrani bhi hai. Yeh baat mei kabhi nahi bhool sakti!
Namrata : Theek hai phir, yeh tumhaari Yuvrani ki angya hai ke tum yeh kapde lo!
Rani stares at her surprised.
Namrata : Kya dekh rahi ho? Tum, Yuvrani ki angya maanogi ki nahi?
Rani shakes her head in the affirmative.
Namrata : Toh phir meri yeh angya hai ke yeh kapde tumhaare hai aur tum abhi mujhe yeh pehenkar dikhao!
Rani : Yuvraani ji......
Namrata (puts a finger on her mouth and says) : Shhhhhhh! Ab koi baat nahi hogi!! Tum badal kar aa jao, mei baaki tayyari karti hun.
Namrata walks into her bedroom and closes the door of the closet.
Rani changes into the dress reluctantly. The dress is beautiful!!!! The soft silk rests beautifully on Rani's body! And the golden embroidery is reflecting on her skin and making it shine. It is a perfect fit for Rani!!! The pink color against Rani's skin will give a special glow to her skin!! She slowly walks out into Namrata's bedroom feeling very concsious. Namrata is waiting for Rani. As soon as she sees Rani she squeals and runs to her
Namrata : RANI!!!!!! WOW! Pataa hai tumhe yeh dress aur yeh color kitna suit kar rahaa hai??? 😳
Rani is not sure of it and just looks at Namrata unconvinced. Namrata brings her to the mirror. Rani looks at herself and is surprised! She is looking quite good and different. Then Namrata says.
Namrata : Ab next, apne baal khol do.
Rani undoes her hair.
Namrata : Yahin baithi raho, mei abhi aati hun.
She walks back to the safe in her closet. She unlocks it and takes out several boxes of jewellery. She brings them all into the bedroom and places them in front of Rani. And then one by one opens the boxes to reveal the contents. Rani is amazed!!!! The boxes will have beautiful necklaces and chokers and long heavy chains and matching earrings and bangles and so much more jewellery!!!!! Rani has never seen anything like that before. She shrinks with fear and tries to get up!!!! But Namrata holds her shoulders and makes her sit back.
Namrata : hey, hey, hey....kahaan jaa rahi ho? Meri daadi hamesha kehti hai ke gehnon ke bagaair, shringar kabhi poora nahi hota. In sab mei se batao, tumhe kya pasand aaya?
Rani (looking very scared) : Nahi....nahi Yuvraani ji. Mei yeh gehne nahi pehen sakti. Yeh mujhse nahi hoga!!!
Namrata : Rani, kyun itni darr rahi ho? Bas thodi der ki hi toh baat hai?? I promise, tumhe koi nahi dekhega inn gehnon mei. Please......bas aaj ek din meri baat maano.
Rani still refuses to choose any jewellery and so Namrata says
Namrata : Theek hai. Toh mei hi chunti hun tumhaare liye!!
She picks up a beautiful necklace and is about to put it around Rani's neck when she notices that Rani is wearing some kind of a beads chain.
Namrata asks : Yeh kya hai?
Rani : Yeh meri gaanv ki saheli, Gita neh mujhe diya tha. Hum donon ne milkar yeh maala banaayi thi. Toh uski yaad mei ussne yeh mujhe diyaa.
Namrata : Thodi der ke liye isse utaar sakti ho kya? Yeh, iss dress pe bilkul suit nahi karega.
Rani hesitates. She does not want to remove it. So Namrata says
Namarata : Aisa karo, thodi der ke liye isse apne haath peh pehenlo. Baad mei phir se gale mei pehen lena.
Rani agrees. She removes the chain and wears it on herleft hand. Then Namrata puts the necklace she chose around Rani's neck. Rani closes her eyes. She is very tensed! Then Namrata picks up a long chain and puts that around Rani. Then she picks up a armlet and slips it up Rani's hand. Next, Namrata adds a maang tikka to Rani's forehead. Then she adds a light touch of makeup on Rani's face (Though Namrata is a tomboy and doees not use any makeup, she is quite aware about how to use it, thanks to her older sister Bhavyata who had taught her all these things) and then she says to Rani
Namrata : Ek baar aankhen kholo Rani.
Rani slowly opens her eyes and is shocked. Her appearance has completely changed!!! She feels she is looking at a different person in the mirror. Rani looks completely transformed!!! She cannot recognize herself!!!
Namrata gives Rani earrings that match her necklace and asks her to wear them. While Rani is wearing them, Namrata goes into her closet and gets pink glass bangles for Rani. She gives Rani the bangles who wears the bangles too.
Then Namrata makes Rani stand up and turn towards her and says admiringly
Namrata : WOW!!!!! Rani, Tum itni sundar dikh rahi ho!!! Mei toh tumhe pehchaan hi nahi sakti ke tum wahi Rani ho. Yeh khule baal, yeh gehne, yeh makeup....tum toh ek raajkumaari lag rahi ho!!! 😲
Rani blushes 😳 and smiles sweetly.
Namrata (says with a frown) : Lekin kuch kami hai! Mujhe lagtaa hai tumhe kuch aur pehnana chahiye.....
And then she suddenly shouts, remembering something!!
Namrata : I KNOW!!!! Mujhe maalum hai what is missing! Tum yahin thehro, mei abhi aati hun.
Rani (scared and tensed) : Nahi nahi!! Kahaan jaa rahi hai aap. Please, mujhe yahaan akele mat chodiye!!
Namrata : Arre, koi nahi aayega yahaan Rani. Mei bas yun gayi aur yun aayi!
And she rushes out. Rani slowly turns to look at herself in the mirror. She is truly amazed at what she sees in the mirror. She had never thought of herself as a beautiful girl but today that description about her seemed very true!! She turns away from the mirror and slowly walks towards one of the corner window's to glance downstairs and see all the arrangements that are being made at the entrance of the palace. Rani is careful so as not to be visible to anyone. She watches servants cleaning the carpets, gardeners arranging flower garlands and bouquets and electricians arranging lights etc. She is lost in thoughts when she hears someone clear their throat right next to her. Rani spins around shocked and finds herself staring into Yudi's eyes!!! 😲😲
The King had walked down to his sister's room to talk to Namrata and get her to arrange a meeting between him and Yukta. He had knocked lightly on her door. When knocking, Yudi notices that the door is slightly open. So he pushes open the door and peeks in cautiously. He notices someone standing near the window. It is not his sister. He is about to turn back when suddenly a thought comes into his mind that maybe she is the princess to whom he is to be engaged! So, he walks towards that person. That person has her back to him and is lost in thoughts. In order to let her know of his prescence, he clears his throat. Immediately that person turns around and looks at him.
Yudi draws in a sharp breath and stares at Rani!!! He had never seen such beautiful eyes filled with so much expression in them!!! Its like the eyes are pouring out every inner thought of her, every secret in her heart............and yes, those eyes were revealing so much to him because Rani is rooted to ground!! She is shocked to see in front of her the one person that she had admired for so long, 😲 the one person that she loved so much, the one person who was always present in her thoughts.....in her heart, the one person who was so close to her but yet so far, the one person that she thought she will never meet!! 😲 Every one of the above feelings were visible in her eyes and it was like he was reading her completely through his eyes!!! He is mesmerized by her eyes.......they are completely lost in each other's eyes so when they are rudely awakened by a loud noise from outside. One of the servants had dropped a ladder!!!!
Hey all.......this part was becoming too big and so I split it up and the rest of the scene is in Part 10.
Edited by pragalbha - 17 years ago