She stood there at the window, looking into the endless sky
in shades of black and blue dotted by silver twinkling stars. She very well
knew that she was supposed to sit on the bed, but she didn't like to hurt those
innocent and peace-giving flower petals, that were currently occupying the bed.
She was standing here, at the threshold of a new life, a new married life, with
her loving life partner, a man of principles and care, a man the whole nation knew,
as Kunwar Pratap Singh. And today, both of them had married, and now, she was
the Kunwar's Kunwarani, the Kunwarani of Mewar. Her new life with her soulmate,
who loved her so much, whom she loved so much, it had almost begun, tonight
being their first night together, their first night together after their
marriage, suhagraat, as it was called.
Memories flooded past her eyes, her mind and her heart, showing all those
intimate moments they had shared, how they used to loose themselves in each
other, how, time and again, the more they tried to keep themselves away, the
closer they came to each other. How her sacred mala had flown away from her
neck in the river, only to bring her close to him, in whose neck the mala had
chosen to land. How she used to feel alone and confused, and how he would
always come to lend a shoulder. How, despite of her simple and ordinary
character, he would never fail to praise her. How she had to tell him to leave
Bijolia, and destiny made her call him back. How she had tried to stay away
from him, and how, in the end, their parted ways lead them to each other's
doors, always. How he had confessed his love for her, and how she had convinced
him to sacrifice for his motherland. And how, even after months of separation,
she had found herself face-to-face with him, right in his arms, under the same
dupatta, when she had tried to run away. How he had spent so many sleepless
nights when her life was in danger, just the way she had done when the trouble had
come to him. How, when no hope of their relationship was left, destiny's cards
turned in such a way that their marriage got fixed and it happened with
everyone's approval. But this marriage had not been easy. First she fell for
him, and didn't realize that even he fell for her, and then had to keep away
from him, and give him so much pain, and herself too, and when they both had
confessed their love for each other, the world wasn't ready for it. She herself
had made him struggle so much, given him so much to bear in return for his
selfless love for her, right from his days in Bijolia. But now, she won't let
it happen again, she won't let any pains come his way. A tear trickled down her
cheek as she remembered all those pains and heartbreaks they had suffered, she
had made him suffer, and also the memories of her parents, her old home, her
old life that she had left behind. This day onwards, all his pains, grieves,
pangs and aches were hers. And she knew, he would never let her feel empty, or
let her cry at the thought of that previous chapter of her life...
The doors creaked open, and her head immediately turned in that direction. In
walked Pratap, who closed the door behind him as he entered. The bed in front
of him, littered with sweet-smelling flower petals lay empty and his Ajabdeh
was there at the window, looking back at him. A step at a time, they proceeded
towards her each other, his eyes filled with love and satisfaction, and her
eyes full of happiness, which had let out some tears moments ago.
"Kunwar Pratap, bahut jald hi, ham apna vaivahic jeevan saath-saath aarambh
karne vale hain. Kintu is aarambh se pehle, ham ek baar haath jodkar aapse
kshama maangna chahte hain. Jaane-anjaane me kitna kasht, kitni peedha de chuke
hain aapko. Apne jeevan ke is naye prishth par ham beeti baton ka saya nahi
padne dena chahte. Isliye Kunwar Pratap, hamne aaj tak aapko jitney kasht diye
hain, un sabhi ke liye...hame kshama kar dijiye" she spoke with bent eyes and
joined hands. Pratap smiled. He took both her hands in his own, lovingly
looking at her. Ajabdeh looked up into his eyes.
"Ajabdeh..." he said calmly, "...un beeti baato ko aap abhi tak pakad ke baithi
hain? Ham to unhe bahut pehle bhula chuke hain. Jo bhi hua, ve sab niyati me likha
tha. Ab aage dekhne ka samay hai Ajabdeh. Apne jeevan ke is naye prishth ko
hame saath-saath likhna hai Ajabdeh. Kintu shuruvaat karne se pehle, hame aapse
ek vachan chahiye"
"Adhikaar se maangiye Kunwar Pratap"
"Ajabdeh, pichle samay me, kisi na kisi karanvash, hame ek doosre se door rehna
pada hai. Aapne swayam ko hamse door rakhne ka bahut prayaas kiya hai. Kintu
Ajabdeh, ab hamara vivah ho chukka. Ab, chahe jo ho jaaye, ham chahte hain ki
aap sada hamare saath khadi rahe, har nirnay, har samasya me hamara saath de,
koi bhi karan kyu na ho, aap hamara saath na chode. Vaise ham jaante hain ki
hame ye sab kehne ki aavashyakta nahi hai, kintu phir bhi, aapko swikar hai?"
With the same calm tone as that of Pratap, Ajabdeh replied, "Kaisi baaten kar
rahe hain aap Kunwar Pratap? Ham aapki ardhaangini hain, pag-pag par aapki
sahayta karna hamara kartavy hai, aapke siddhant, aapke nirnay hamara dharm
hain, bhala ham kaise aur kyu peeche hatenge? Ham aapse bahut prem karte hain
Kunwar Pratap, hamare pran baste hain aap me. Hamne sada apne dharm kartavy ka
palan kiya hai, kintu ab, aapka dharm hi hamara dharm hai. Aapke dharm ke hit
me hamse jo sambhav ho, ham karenge. Hamara vachan raha..."
Their entangled hands seemed to have gained a new warmth of promise and love.
Pratap smiled. But then, as he replayed her words in his head again, something
caught his attention.
"Kya?? Kya kaha aapne? Aap hamse...kya, kya kaha tha aapne?"
Ajabdeh got confused at first at his sudden reaction, but then as she replayed
in her head what she had said, even her eyes widened in embarrassment.
Arre, ye kya keh diya hamne! Kehna kya chahte the, aur keh kya baithe! Murkh!
Murkh! Murkh!' she said to herself, her eyes trying to keep away from his
piercing stare.
"Kya baat hai? Kahan kho gayi aap? Hamne prashn kiya hai aapse. Bataiye hame,
kya keh rahi thi aap?" Pratap asked, bringing her out of her world, so in mood
to hear it again.
"Errr...vvooo...ummm...hamne kya kaha? Hamne to kuch nahi kaha..." stuttered
Ajabdeh, trying to keep him away from the topic.
"Achcha...to aap kehti hain ki aapne kuch nahi kaha. Phir aap...aise hichkicha kyu
rahi hain Ajabdeh?" retaliated Pratapsmart enough to notice the tiniest of
details.
"Errr...vo..." Ajabdeh had no answer. She looked down, and chose to walk back to
the window, to keep herself away from Pratap's stare. But she really couldn't
ignore it, rather, Pratap wouldn't let her ignore it. As soon as she took a
step away from him, she found her hands tightly held by Pratap. Over her shoulder,
she looked back at him. He first looked at their hands which were held together
and then at her with a loving and confident look, saying Ab kya karengi aap?'
through his eyes.
As she looked at him, Ajabdeh stood frozen to the spot. She didn't know what to
say or do. Her face had gone tomato-red.
To Pratap, she was looking really cute in such a frightened expression.
He waited for her to say something. But, when after a few moments, she didn't
do anything, he decided to make the next move.
The lost Ajabdeh was brought out of her stopped world by a sudden jerk that
pulled her towards Pratap. She felt that she would topple beside him under the
momentum of this pull, but the next moment, she found herself standing not even
an inch away from Pratap, his left hand holding her right, her left hand on his
shoulder, and his right hand holding her waist tightly, not letting her fall,
not letting her go.
Her breathing labored.
His hold tightened.
She tried to move.
He brought her even closer.
"Kunwar Pratap..." she uttered, but lost all her words when his intense look
pierced her. She looked up into his eyes, those dark orbs as bright as the sun.
Never had his stare been so intense and deep and digging and determined and
loving at the same time. She lost all her words the moment her eyes met his.
In that mystic moment in which they had given themselves away to each other,
Pratap silently said, "Ham bhi aapse bahut prem karte hain Ajabdeh..."
The sudden speech in the silently vicinity brought them to reality, though they
still couldn't stop looking into each other's eyes. Ajabdeh's face broke into a
smile of utmost happiness. Pratap smiled back at her. Next second, she threw
her arms around him and hugged him tight, tighter, and simply just didn't want
to let him go.
The moment she hugged him, Pratap was awestruck and taken aback for a couple of
seconds. But then, he smiled to himself and placed his other hand on her back,
hugging her back tighter, embracing the moment with her. He took a deep breath
in relief as bliss descended over both of them.
"Ham bhi aapse bahut prem karte hain Kunwar Pratap..."
She said it. She had finally said it. He had been waiting to hear it for so
long. As if in disbelief, he released from the hug, only to see her face again.
Her hopeful and twinkling eyes clearly reflected her love for him, the very
love she had confessed just now. He didn't wait a moment longer and again
pulled her in a tighter embrace than before, his head buried in her neck. It
was as if bliss, happiness, peace, joy, all the good feelings in the world had
come to him in one second ...
Ajabdeh jerked at his sudden action, but didn't take long to realize it. She
encircled her arms around him and hugged him tighter, her head resting on his
shoulder...
As the first night of their married life, the raat of suhaag went on, their love seemed to become more meaningful and
real, their relationship deepened. They loved each other truly from the core,
and it had today come to pass. They were tied today in the sacred bond of
marriage, and now, no power in the world could separate them....
Here is it. Do tell me your views and please tell me how was this...I'll be too happy to accept all ur views and ofcourse, write more... :)
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