Thread 3: Destined Love... (Chapter 61 updated) - Page 86

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Chapter - 61

It was early morning. Veera was just about to fire the hearth and prepare for cooking when someone knocked at the almost broken door of her hut. Wiping out the drop of sweat from her head, Veera opened the door and got almost dumbstruck. It was Tulsi who gave the knock, the daughter of Pandit Ji. But behind her was standing...

Veera could not believe her eyes so had to blink twice before processing the whole scenario. Yes, she was not wrong. It was indeed her. The queen of the Mughals, that Hindu Begam who has come to visit the temple, whom they have stopped from corrupting the spiritual air, the Begam who is the center of all discussions of the village was now standing in front of her door.

Well, Veera had seen her before. She had a frontal argument with the royal lady at the door of the temple, and although the lady was very soft-spoken and warming, she had seen the flare of royal dignity in her eyes. Veera was fierce that day, she was determined not to let that woman keep a foot on the temple ground... but today she does not have that fire in her at this right moment, she could not bring herself to shout and let the dignified lady go away from her doorstep.

“T...tulsi?” She stuttered in astonishment as her eyes did not move from the queen.

“Jiji... Father asked me to guide the queen here...” Tulsi murmured in a very hesitant voice. “She... she wanted to talk to... talk to all of you...”

“All of us in the sense?” Veera still could not fathom what is happening.

“All of the women who lost someone in that... in that...” Tulsi stammered.

And those stammering words poured oil in the buried rage inside Veera’s heart. “Please request her to leave...” She took a long breath and about to shut the door in front of them, but suddenly a firm grip of a soft hand refrained her from doing so.

“Give me a chance, Jiji. Give me a chance to ask for forgiveness.” Two beautiful eyes pleaded.

Veera gazed at the lady standing in front of her holding her hand. The Hindu Begam of Mughal Empire. Yesterday she was decked up and covered in veil, her face was hardly seen. Today she has worn minimal ornaments, her veil not covering her forehead; her eyes full of kindness, her smile spreading gentle warmth of care. As Veera stared at her face, this woman looked less and less like a Mughal queen... Her parting full of vermilion and the precious maangtika glowing on it, the red bindi on her forehead, the chooras dangling in her hand, the golden nose-ring which increased the beauty of her pretty face- everything associated with this woman is so familiar, so close to their own culture that Veera could hardly think her as an outsider.

“Jiji... I have come to see you, I have no other agenda. Look, I don’t even have a single armed guard with me, I have come alone because I have trust on you all- I know that you cannot harm me. All I want from you is to trust me back, I am your own. I have come here because I want to talk to you, want to share all of yours pain. I want to understand you.” Jodha pleaded earnestly. “I am not a queen today. I stand here as your sister. Will you drive me away from your doorstep, Jiji?”

There was something in her voice, a magical warmth that sooths the heart- something Veera has not felt in decades... Veera had taken a primary role to stop this queen from entering inside the temple, but she could not stop this girl from stepping in her hut anymore. She took a side lowering her head. “Please come in...” She whispered.

Jodha entered inside the hut. A string in her heart torn as she looked around. The whole air of this place is enveloped by an aura of agony and grief, the pain of a childless mother is marked in every corner. The small hut was content once, but today an emptiness has swallowed every ounce of colour and bliss. Veera stood beside her meanwhile. “Sorry if I have been rude to you, Your Highness... But you have nothing to do with my pain. What do you want from me?”

Jodha looked at Veera and held her hand. “I heard about your...”

“My son? Yes. He is dead.” The straight faced widow uttered without flinching a little bit. “The Mughal soldiers crashed him under the cannonball because he dared to raise his voice against the blasphemy that was done in the temple. My sixteen years old son, whom I raised alone while fighting against the world since my husband died, is gone because some Mughals went to ridicule our faith, our religion in mere fun. Tell me what can you possibly say to console me.”

Jodha felt goosebumps in her whole body as her eyes met those burning eyes of the elderly woman. Unknowingly she clenched her hand, the fire of her eyes spread through her vein. “I am not here to console you, Jiji...” She said firmly. “But I promise you today, whoever is responsible for this thing will pay. I will get you the deserved payback. I take a vow in the name of my Rajput honour today.”

The passion in Jodha’s voice had awakened the strangulated air of the hut. Veera stared at her face wordlessly. It was hard for her not to trust this girl anymore.

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After Veera’s hut there was Gouri’s house, the widow of farmer Bhanu Singh who was the first one to face the cannonball. Then Yamuna, then Kaali... As the sweetness of morning sun turned into scorching heat, Jodha wiped the sweat from her forehead to head towards the southern part of the village. “My Lady, this place is not sacred. The lower caste people lives here; this is the home for the cobblers, the sweepers, the daily wedgers. We don’t drink their water.” Tulsi said in a timid voice. “That is not a place where the queen should go...”

Jodha smiled hopelessly hearing this. “Did not they shed a drop of blood in your fight, Tulsi? Did not they share your tears? Where the colour of blood and shade of tear is same, how do you differentiate between human being, Tulsi?”

Tulsi sighed and lowered her head.

The village was awake now, the villagers were already out. People around them were staring at the royal palanquin with skeptical eyes, some having rage buried in those eyes. Thankfully their number is not huge, hence none voiced a word of protest. But their glares were enough to ignite the fire of revolt. A group of old people was sitting under the banyan tree where the palanquin was kept, they stood up alarmingly seeing the royal ladies and an eunuch walking without guards on the muddy path. The people on the road kept on staring with side-eyes. Jodha saw all these, but her heart did not sank today. She folded her hands together with modesty, and proceeded firmly along with Tulsi.

“Begam Sahiba, why don’t you use the palanquin?” Gulal said in a pitiful voice. “The sun is blazing, the people has come out and it’s not looking safe. Also this place... it is not exactly worth of walking...”

“No Gulal...” Jodha looked at him. “Tulsi told me that the poorest of the poor lives in this alley; if I want to reach them, I need to keep my feet on this ground.”

“Why do you even need to go there? Is not it enough? It’s already late, Begam Sahiba!” Gulal said. “See that mucky road, mud and rocks mixed together caking on the dust- cow and goat dungs are spread here are there... this is filthy, Begam Sahiba... A queen is the crown of Mughal Empire, how can she walk into this dirty place on my watch?” His voice almost broke while speaking. He was not used to with this situation where the queen of the Emperor walks on the dusty road under the scorching sun just to meet the commoners. Queens are the most prized possession of the empire... their life must be cocooned with all kind of comfort and security. Their honour is the priceless gems that makes the empire glow in prosperity. And in this village that gem is lolling in a filthy muddy road full of cow dung? How can Gulal tolerate this? Also there was another thing. Keeping all the logic of royal decorum aside, Gulal’s heart was crying for the queen. This woman is a king’s daughter, an emperor’s wife... she is not used to with this hardship, it is just not right for her to not get the comfort she deserves. Each drop of sweat from his Begam Sahiba’s forehead was burning Gulal’s heart like acid.

Jodha smiled at him with most affectionate soft glare, then touched his shoulder. “I know you care for me. But Gulal, how can I become one of you if I don’t walk on the same ground?”

Gulal could not say anything more. He did not understand why the queen needs to be one of them, but his eyes teared up. Moti was walking by his side. “This is who she is, Gulal. Our Rajkunwari Sa loves to blend herself with the soil of the land; she wants to find herself in the laughter and tears of the common people who lives closest to the soil. This is our Jodha. The Jodha who was buried under the rules and protocols... today she has come out, today the pride of Amer is free again!” She told in a content voice. Gulal hardly understood what she meant, but all of a sudden he felt extremely proud for his queen.

As they walked through the alley, Jodha witnessed what real poverty looks like. This place is completely aloof from the rest of the village as per society’s rule. The sky is not as blue, the grasses are barely touched with green; the path is muddy, rocky, full of dirt; there is no complete hut in this place, all the shelters are somehow cobbled together with leaves and branches. There are broken pieces of pots and pans on the mud of the road, silently evidencing the incident of soldier invasion days ago. The place is congested, the air is strangulating- as if the people living here has never known how to take a deep, content breath... The place is evidently emptier than it should be. Some old men and women were sitting or working, some naked children were playing here and there. All of them got alarmed with the sound of footsteps, and got astonished seeing a magnificent royal lady walking through the dirty alley along with her bunch of attendants.

“It’s the queen! It’s the queen! I told you all queen has come!” One little kid started shouting excitedly. Jodha smiled warmly and touched the boy’s cheek with affection. “Where is your mother, Lala?” Tulsi asked the kid.

Before Lala could answer, a dark-skinned, strong-build married woman came out from the nearby shack. “Brahmin Girl? You? In my home?” She uttered in a surprised tone before she ran towards them and kneeled on the ground with bowed head. Then she touched her head on the ground from reasonable distance but with utter respect, to maintain the chastity of the respectable Brahmin woman.

“Champa...” Tulsi said in a mild tone... “This... She is our Queen. She wants to talk to you all...”

Champa stared numbly for a while. Then her eyes watered. “Queen! Our queen! It was true then! The queen has come to our rescue? Lala’s father will come home now?”

Before Jodha could understand anything, Champa fell on her feet. “My queen! My queen! Please release my husband! He has not done anything wrong! Please release him!”

By then a small crowd has already gathered around them, all crying pitifully. Some of them mourning, some of them begging for release of their dears. Even the bunch of kids forgot the momentum glee and started crying. It was not a reaction Jodha was expecting, so she got perplexed. “What happened here? Please tell me... I am here to listen to you all, to help you all!” She raised her voice and declared.

From the tit-bits of the broken descriptions of the mourning crowd, a vague picture came in front. As noted earlier, this portion of the village contains of the lower tier ‘untouchable’ people of caste system. Once upon a time they were larger in number, but now some families are voluntarily converting in Islam to live a better life. The community is getting smaller, weaker day-by-day; but those who are still left here living the same life and holding the same faith, no doubt they have very deep rooted belief in their God and faith. The people of this community work hard every day, and in the evening they all go to the temple to pray from a considerable distance so that their shadow does not corrupt the holiness of the temple ground. The day when the incident took place the male members of the community were working in their daily wedges, unknown to the decision made in the meeting called by the Sardar and other elders of the village. But the son of the village head, ‘chote sardar’ as they call him, came to them for gathering a bigger force to stand against the Mughal royals. The people of this community can bear everything, but they won’t tolerate any kind of disrespect to their God. In a moment all of the males of the community came out with whatever type of weapon they are comfortable with and gathered together in a crowd to march to the fort. They were at the front-line in the march along with the youths of the village, they took the first shot. The rest of the people who were alive had fled when the cannon blew, but unfortunately they are known face to the Mughal soldiers because of their works, and the Mughals won’t tolerate the slaves to come out and raise voice. After a while the soldiers attacked in the village, took out each of them one by one, tied them with their horses and dragged them to the prison of the fort. Not a single strong man is present in this part of the village now. No one knows what happened to them, if they are dead or alive.

“So many days have passed and still no news of Lala’s father. I don’t have a grain of food in my home now. They have ruined everything. I have no place to go with my child!” Champa started crying, and soon the helplessness turned into rage. “Why? Why Chote Sardarji called my man to go with them? They are the big men of the village, they could go themselves! Why they dragged us? Now he is happily living in his house and our men are dragged to hell! Why? Why? We are untouchables, why do the upper caste people need to include them in their problems!”

“Don’t say this Champa... It was not their problem, our men went there because the Mughals insulted our God. And not only our people were killed or abducted, they have suffered too. Even Brahmin boys of the village were killed!” An old man tried to console Champa, but it only ignited the fire. “Don’t give me that excuse! Chote Sardaarji told our men to fight for the right cause and then he will look after their family! Tell me where is he now? If he is so good at heart why he let our men stand in front? Because our life has no value? The temple is run by upper caste people, worshipped by them, maintained by them; in normal days they shout at us if we forgetfully come closer to the holy ground, and when the chaos happened, we have to stand in front? If they are so protective of the temple’s holiness, how did Mughals enter inside? How their shadow fall on the temple ground? Why the temple was not guarded properly? Is it my fault that they forget to lock the temple door? We have no connection to the whole incident but we are one who are suffering, why should I keep quiet?”

The other women of the place started shouting along with Champa, and their collective rage was no less than a battle-cry. The wailing and cursing was stabbing Jodha deep in her heart. She took a long breath, came forward and held Champa’s hands. Probably people of her caste is not habituated to this kind of affectionate gesture, so for a moment the crowd went complete silent.

“I, Jodha Begam, queen of the great Emperor Jalaluddin Muhammad, is hereby giving you my word on the Emperor and whole Mughal Empire’s behalf, that each of you will get justice.” She announced in a firm and resolved voice, her eyes glowing. “No child of this locality will have to grow up fatherless. I just want all of you to trust me, to give me some time. If I cannot keep my words, may your curse destroy the prosperity of Mughal dynasty.”

There was such a fire in Jodha’s words the crowd grasped in wonder. Even Jodha’s companions stared in awe. They never expected Jodha to take such a grave oath which might tell upon her own life. Regardless, they could see how the faces of the people in the crowd glowed in light of new hope as they have the deep-rooted belief in their heart that a devoted woman’s vow can never fail. After a moment the sky over their head exploded with the chants and cheers in Jodha Begam’s name.

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When they returned to the palanquin, the sun was almost on the top of their head. Jodha was completely silent in the whole path, her mind engaged in deep thoughts. Her maids and Gulal were having conversation in lower voice but nothing entered in her head. Tulsi was walking beside her, suddenly she called her. “Tulsi?”

“Yes... Yes My Lady?” Tulsi startled.

“What was Champa talking about the lock of temple door?” Jodha asked. “Even some other women were saying something about lock? What about that? Was the temple usually locked at night?”

“Y... yes... I mean we... I mean...” Tulsi stammered.

“What happened that night? Was the lock broken? You were the first person to go there, what did you see?” Jodha asked again.

“My Lady... the lock...” Tulsi uttered perplexedly. “The door was not locked when I went...”

Jodha frowned. “Who usually lock the door?”

“M..mainly my father; a key is there in our home... Another key is with Veera Jiji- she offers service often. And then Sardarji also owns... But... but...” She stammered again. “That night... that night no one is sure who was the last person... Veera Jiji, some other women and I were working late in the temple, my father also did not leave early... no one is sure if they were the last person who locked... I mean... usually when my father leaves alone he locks the door but that day there were some haphazard and...”

“So you think Panditji forgot to lock?” Jodha frowned. “After so many years of service he just forgets?”

“No... he does not think so... but everyone told... I mean it is not the first time he went home without locking because someone else were there to lock it... and thing is no one clearly remembers... but but...” She suddenly got excited. “No one used to think it is important to lock the doors, there is nothing to steal other than some utensils. It was just out of practice, even sardarji used to say we should abandon this lock and key system now because it creates confusion. Thousands of temples are open day and night and nothing happens... and here...” the excitement suddenly changed into sobbing. “It’s not our fault! It’s not my father’s fault! If everyone blames him for this mistake he will not live. He is not eating properly, not sleeping... I don’t know what to do... I thought it will dry down but now...”

“So when you went to the temple first you saw the door was unlocked?” Jodha interrupted.

“Y...Yes My Lady...”

“Where was the lock?”

“It was hanging from the door handles.” Tulsi said, her voice still trembling.

“And you missed to tell me that?”

Tulsi almost cried. “I don’t know anything My Lady... I don’t...Please forgive me... Please leave me...”

Jodha smiled, although that did not give an assuring vibe. “I understand it is an honest mistake. Why are you getting scared? What is the reason of this scare Tulsi?”

Tulsi’s lips trembled, but before she could say something, the next melodrama of the day began.

“What do they want, Begam Sahiba?” Gulal suddenly uttered in fearful voice. Jodha looked up, her frowns got deeper. At the next moment her heart started beating faster.

Because a huge dispersed crowd was emerging together in front of them, each of the man having a weapon in hand, all rushing towards the royal palanquin in an insane rage like an angry bull- everyone has fire in eyes, the sky is exploding with the chorus of their bellow – “Jodha Begam Haay Haay. Mughal Saltanant Murdabad!”

“My Queen! Get into the palanquin! Also the other ladies, get inside!” Gulal Khan cried with a much-needed urgency in his voice. “Please My Lady, don’t waste time!”

Jodha looked at him vacantly, unable to process the whole incident.

“Hurry My Lady. I will protect you with my life, I swear!” The coward and stupid Gulal touched the knife of his waistband. “The crown of the dynasty won’t get tainted on my watch I swear! But please, My Queen!”

Perplexedly, Jodha looked at the palanquin-bearers. They are also alerted, ready to protect the queen at any cost. “There are swords in the palanquin, Rajkunwari Sa.” Moti murmured. “These Rajputanis won’t hide behind like coward. Let them come!” She said proudly.

“I know Moti...” Jodha whispered in a trembling voice. “But they are not enemies, they are not soldiers of another kingdom! They are the mass! Our own subjects! How do you protect yourself in front of an enraged mass, Moti?” She uttered pitifully.

Moti looked at her with white fear, the cry of the crowd increased. “NOT A SINGLE MUGHAL WILL GO OUT ALIVE OF OUR VILLAGE TODAY!”

Suddenly the situation changed as sharp neigh and sound of several hoofs pierced the air. “Soldiers! Not one of these rogue attackers should go back alive!” Shouted Jashn Khan, ordering the Mughal Soldiers. The blue sky filled with the cloud of dust from the hoof, signing a big omen.

“Hold back, Soldiers!” Maan Singh’s voice was higher than Jashn Khan as he addressed the enraged crowd. “I warn everyone to throw their weapon and let the queen go, else the result would be deadly!”

“We don’t fear! No Mughal will go back alive until we are standing!” The crowd roared.

“Don’t take test of our patience. Sardarji, this is the last warning!” Maan Singh said in a grave voice. “Buasa... No one will be able to harm you as long as I standing here. Bearers, take the queen safely to the camp!”

“Go to the palanquin, My Lady!” Whispered Gulal.

Taking a deep breath, Jodha took the quick decision. She knew this was stupid and reckless. But perhaps this is the high time everyone has to give their test of endurance.

“Maan Singh, order your troop to keep their weapons down. Not one of these villagers should be hurt, even though they try to harm me!” Jodha shouted looking at Maan Singh. “The devotees of Lord Shiva!” Turning at the enraged crowd she roared. “Has hatred taken over your basic sense in such a way that you are ready to raise weapon on a woman, ready to kill her and wet your soil with her blood? Then look at me, I stand right here. I will walk back to my troop in front of your eyes. If you have a little bit of compassion inside you, you would put your weapons down and let me go.”

“We won’t let Mughals go out alive!” The crowd shouted.

“Then here I am. Go on!” Jodha’s voice did not tremble this time as she stepped up. The crowd cried again, but this time there was a lack of intensity in that howl. Some of the young enthusiastic people kept on yelling, but no one dared to raise the weapon.

The Mughal troops stood shocked as they witnessed the queen walking through the dusty land under the sun with head held high, the mad mass with weapons in hand and deadly slogans on lips staring numb at her.

But there will always be some overly enthusiast hateful person in every crowd. “Go to hell, woman!” Shouted a young voice, as a sickle came in projectile towards Jodha. And before anyone could blink, a bamboo stick came flying out of nowhere and clashed with the sickle, both fell down on the ground with a thud.

The fire erupted in an instance. The Mughal soldiers howled, running towards the crowd. The crowd roared back, standing with everything. It did not took long for the first drop of blood to fall. “Stop! Stop this at once, I order you Maan Singh!” Jodha screamed.

“HOLD BACK!!” Maan Singh ordered with the top of his voice. “Not a drop of blood! Hold!!”

The soldiers are prone to listen to the order, but not the crowd. The bloodshed brought a new movement, some of the people started running out of fear, the violent ones roared again. “The Queen will not go back alive!”

“STOP!!!”

Another chorus of voice penetrated the air. This time it was different. It was the voice of the women of the village. Everyone saw with awe another crowd is coming from behind. This crowd is bigger, consists of all the women and some old men of the village followed by the lower caste people who also have their own weapons in their hand. “No one will touch our queen!” They shouted together.

This incident was so unexpected that everything stopped for a moment. Meanwhile the elderly woman leading the crowd came forward, looking at the eyes of the village lead.

“Sardarji, let the queen go. We all beg you.”

“What are you talking about Veera!” Sardarji exclaimed. “These Mughals killed your son! These people...”

“Queen Jodha is not one of them who killed my son.” Veera exclaimed. “She is our queen. It is our duty to protect her honour.”

“Have you gone mad?” Sardarji smiled hopelessly. “Mughal queen has come to manipulate us. To pollute our land...”

“If blood of an innocent woman fall on this soil, it would pollute our land. Our village would be doomed for thousand years. Sardarji, I have lost my son. My heart seeks for revenge too. But not the queen. She is one of ours. As long as one woman is alive in this village, none would be able to touch our queen’s hair.”

“Long Live Queen Jodha! Long Live Queen Jodha!” Shouted the rest of the crowd.

“Sardarji, don’t be stubborn. Today we are on verge of another bloodbath again. We must stand down.” An old man suggested. “Besides, the queen has not done anything against us. She could have burned down the whole village by now after the audacity you showed, but she stood alone, ordered her soldiers to stand down. She has visited all the houses of the victims, she has promised to give the justice we deserve. She has come here for us, to help us. Apologize and let her go.”

Sardarji started fumbling. The crowd started scattering slowly. The women of the villages came forward and stood in circle around Jodha.

“Anyone wants to harm the queen will need to kill us first!” The march of the women proceeded guarding their queen like a fort.

An exhausted, absolutely spent Jodha looked at the sky tiredly and smiled. Tears glittered at the corner of her eyes. Yes, she has won.

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At the afternoon Jodha was sitting outside of her tent with her attendants when a guard came and bowed. “Your Highness, some ladies from the village are urging to see you.”

Jodha looked at Moti with a slight smile. Moti smiled back. A lot of things have changed in this small span of time. Then with a nod, she approved.

Within a minute five-six women from the village walk towards her, Veera being the leader of the group. “Your Highness.” She addressed with utter respect. “Please forgive us for our rudeness. You have come here to help us and instead of welcoming you with open heart we humiliated you. I don’t know how our village will pay for this sin ever. Grief and rage does strange things to a person, My Lady. We all had lost our sense for a while. Had you not come, we won’t get it back, we would drown in the toxin built in our heart. Forgive us for our sins, my queen.”

“You have done no wrong.” Jodha held her hand with affection. “I am grateful to you all, Jiji. Thank you so much for accepting me. For believing me, for protecting me. I won’t let your faith down. I will bring justice for every soul of this village.”

“Jodha Rani ki Jai Ho!” The group of women cheered in unison.

“Please be my guest, you all.” Jodha said with a smile. “Gulal, get some seats for them. Reva, sherbet and some sweets from my kitchen.”

“We can’t take anything, My Lady. We are honoured that you asked but...” Veera stated with a smile. “Today is a very auspicious day My Lady. A lot of women of the village has kept Somwar Vrat. We will now go to the temple together and break our fast after pouring water on Bholenath. Even last year we had a grand celebration this day in the temple, but now...” Veera’s voice trembled as she struggled to hold tears. “We will never be able to celebrate anymore, My Queen; but we cannot stop worshipping our God. That’s why we are going- to pray for a little peace...”

Jodha’s heart filled with a deep sadness. She tried to smile. “I have nothing to console you, I have no power to take away this mountain of despair from your heart. But I know time will heal the wounds. And next time when you will celebrate, everyone you have lost would smile from the sky looking at you.”

“My Lady...” Veera hastily removed tears from eyes and smiled. “We are here to invite you with us. Please join us in the worship today. We have done a big sin by stopping you from visiting our God. Give us one chance to repay, please!”

Jodha amazedly stared at Veera for a while. “You want me to join you all in the prayer?”

“Yes, My Queen. We all have talked to Sardarji and the others. We have said that Queen Jodha is our queen, she is not a Mughal. She will enter inside the temple rightfully. No one has any objection anymore My Queen.” Veera looked at her with pleading eyes. “We would be honoured forever if you sit with us in the prayer, My Lady!”

Jodha could not say a word as her eyes filled with tears of joy. She has not felt this joy of victory in heart for a long time. Holding Veera’s hands again she nodded.

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The afternoon went like a dream. Had Jodha imagined she would have the opportunity to sit with the commoners in a prayer-line of an old dull temple in a village when she first stepped in this ground? She did it! She has served the purpose the emperor has sent her for. She has won the heart of these women. The idol of the Lord never felt so real before, the hymns of the prayer never touched her heart like that. She knows her emperor would built thousands of beautiful temples for her if she wishes, but none of them would fill Jodha with such content like this hard stony floor of this dark, almost broken temple did.

With the thought of him, Jodha’s heart suddenly longed for the emperor. She did not get time to think about him the whole day, now all of a sudden she started missing him so much that her heart wrenched. Such a day of victory for Jodha, and the one person she wants to share the happiness with not at her side. When will she see him again? God knows how many days she needs to stay here for going to the root of the matter? Jodha sighed, looked at the idol. “God, please let us meet very soon.” She murmured.

The worship was over. Pandit-ji came to Jodha with the holy pancharati diya. Jodha closed her eyes and sought blessings from the holy smoke. After a few normal talks, PanditJi escorted Jodha to the door.

“I knew you would win the heart of my village, My Queen. What my heart showed me before others saw that in your honesty and courage. Lord Bholenath has sent you to us in this crisis.” The old priest was telling. “We have complete faith that you would bring justice and punish the real culprit.”

Jodha smiled gratefully. “I cannot thank you enough Pandit Ji. If you would not have showed the faith, I would have to go back. I will be grateful to you forever.”

“Don’t say like that, My Queen.” The priest said a little unmindfully. “This is the only atonement I could have think of!”

The word stuck odd in Jodha’s ears. “Atonement? Why would you atone, Panditji!”

Panditji smiled sadly. “Sometimes you have no choice but to bear the burden of others sin, My Lady.”

Jodha’s frown grew deeper. Suddenly her eyes fell on the lock hanging from the door handle. She remembered the unfinished conversation with Tulsi all of a sudden.

“What was the matter with the lock that night, Panditji?” She asked.

Panditji looked at her, his eyes trembled. “I don’t know! But I can promise on My Lord’s name, I did not forget to lock the door that night!”

“Tulsi was saying you were not always the one responsible for the door? That anyone from the village used to...”

“I know my responsibilities well, My Queen.” The old man interrupted in a colder voice. “I am doing my duties since before Tulsi was born. I don’t just forget!”

Jodha frowned. “Then you are saying... that the door was locked at night. The Mughal Soldiers did not break the door, but they opened the lock with a key? Not something very believable.”

Panditji said nothing, but his lips trembled.

“That’s why you found the whole incident odd and smelled an odour of conspiracy, isn’t it?” Jodha pressed. “But why didn’t you tell me about the lock and key, Pandit Ji?”

Pandit Ji looked up and smiled weakly. “One has to be very strong to admit his biggest shame in front of the world. Turned out, I am not strong enough.”

“You are the one of strongest person I have ever known, Panditji. I understand something you know which is eating you alive.” Jodha said with all her empathy. “Please Panditji, tell me. You don’t have to bear this burden alone.”

Panditji was about to open his mouth, but one sharp voice stopped him from behind.

“Baba?”

Jodha frowned at a worried Tulsi running towards them. Tulsi’s eyes were swallowed, full of nervousness. “There were some discussions regarding the bhog Baba, Sardarji calling you right now!”

“I am talking to the queen, Tulsi. You should know which one is the priority.” Panditji sounded annoyed. But then his eyes locked with the worried stare of Tulsi. Jodha could not fathom the conversation that happened between father and daughter through one glance. But Panditji sought her permission to leave all of a sudden, and almost fled before Jodha could say anything.

“Allow me to escort you to the palanquin, My Lady.” Tulsi said. Jodha said nothing and kept walking. Her frown had grown deeper. Tulsi followed her pace and started talking in a very timid tone.

“I request you, My Lady, please don’t ask my father anything about the lock. The day that incident happened, everyone had blamed my father first. My father broke down, he still feels guilt for everything that happened afterwards. He is an old man My Lady, nowadays he keeps on forgetting simple things, he might have forgotten to lock the key as well. Or maybe someone else forgot and is shifting the blame to my father. I told you several persons of the village had this key. But whatever happened has happened. If everyone starts digging the dirt again... my father will die, My Lady! He won’t be able to tolerate the burden of this guilt anymore.” She said everything in one breathe.

Jodha stopped walking and looked at Tulsi. “You suspect that someone might be shifting the blame on your father, but don’t want to clear that to save your father from the guilt? Why?”

“Because My Lady...” Tulsi murmured. “It would happen anyway, a lock would not stop it. And...” She sighed as her eyes filled with tears. “We are very poor and helpless My Lady, there are people in this village who are able to smash us under their feet. Better stay quiet than...”

Tulsi stopped suddenly with a gasp. Then ignoring Jodha completely she ran towards her hut. Jodha followed her. Her son Nandu was sitting on the yard playing with a ball, a young lad was standing in front of him. Ignoring him completely Tulsi kneeled in front of Nandu and slapped him hard without any reason. She eyes were popped out in panic.

“How many times do I need to tell you not to sit here in dark alone?” She shouted at her shocked and terrified son. “How many times do I need to tell you? How many times?”

“Come on Kaki, he was not alone. I was with him see? I came here to play with him, isn’t it Nandu?” The young lad said with a strange crooked smile in his lips. “Why do you fear so much Kaki, everything is alright as long as I am with him.” His words were sure like assurance but his tone was nothing less than a threat. “Good Night Kaki.” He said and turned around only to come face to face with Jodha. The boy seemed a little nervous as he didn’t expect the queen here, but it did not break his cool and daring stature. “Pardon me, My Queen, I hadn’t seen you before.” He murmured as he bowed down in front of Jodha. “I am your servant My Queen, please let me know whenever you need anything.” He almost recited the memorized lines in a hurry and left.

Tulsi exploded again as the lad is gone and stormed on her timid son. “Why did you talk to him again? I told you not to talk to him. I told you not to accept anything from him! Show me this!” he snatched the ball from the boy’s hand. “This toy is not yours. You again took it from him? Why don’t you understand??”

“He didn’t give it to me, Maa.” The scared boy murmured in an almost muted voice.

“Then who gave it to you?”

“Palki-Bhaiya.” The boy said pointing towards Jodha’s palanquin and the bearers who were sitting together nearby. The palanquin is parked near to this yard, the bearers must have made friends with this little boy. Tulsi calmed down a little. “Still, you won’t talk to any stranger understood?” She got up and adjusted her veil. “I am sorry, My Queen!”

A lot of questions were growling inside Jodha’s mind. But she said nothing. “Who is this lad, Tulsi?” she asked.

“He is Chote-sardarji. Our Sardarji’s son.” Tulsi replied.

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Jodha was sitting outside of the tent in evening when Maan Singh sought a visit.

“I need to leave with my troop Buasa.” He said remorsefully. “Urgent notice came from the Emperor himself.”

“What happened? Is he alright?” Jodha asked in a worried voice. She knows His Majesty would never order Maan Singh to leave keeping Jodha unguarded had not it been some very serious emergency.

“I am very sure he is alright, Buasa.” Maan Singh tried to assure her. “Some pressing matters have arisen in the capital which would need involvement of a bigger force, hence this notice. I would not go if it was not very important, but...”

“Well if His Majesty himself has called you, you need to leave at once.” Jodha said. “Please send me a message once you reach, to assure me everything is alright in the capital.”

“Of course Buasa. I would insist you to come with me, but the situation in the village is much more stable now and I don’t see any intimate danger so maybe you should complete your trip here.” Maan said. “I have already sent message to the admiral; the rest of the troop will come here by dawn. I think Jashn Khan has enough security force to manage for tonight, don’t you, Jashn?”

“Yes Huzur.” Jashn Khan said in a confident tone.

“Then if you permit, I will leave with my troop right now Buasa.” Maan Singh sought blessing from Jodha. With a worried smile Jodha nodded.

Within an hour Maan Singh left with his force. The whole camp surrounded by loneliness and dark.

Jodha had gone to bed earlier tonight. She was beyond exhausted after all the happenings of the day. But she could not sleep. Her eyes could not rest for a bit as the incidents of the whole day kept boggling in her mind. A lot of questions scattered here and there, no story makes sense. What is about the confusion with the lock? Has someone kept the door opened intentionally? What is the truth Pandit Ji is so ashamed of? Who is scaring Tulsi so much? Sardarji’s son? That’s why Tulsi was so mad at Nandu for entertaining him? Maybe. But why? Tulsi... She knows a lot. But she won’t open her mouth. She is too scared. Scared for her son. Even a coward woman can be the most brave mother when the threat comes to her child. But what could be this threat? What is Tulsi hiding?

As the night darkened the camp became more silent. Even the guards got asleep at some point. Only Jodha was devoid of sleep. Exhaustion makes her float on the verge of unconscious sleep, but her anxious mind pulls her out at the next moment. She had no idea of how much time has passed, how long the night is; she just kept on floating in a strange state between sleep and consciousness, in a tired and restless mind.

At one point, when she was almost succumbed to the call of a deep restful slumber, her mind suddenly kicked her up. As she opened her eyes her heart almost stopped beating as a chilling sensation ran through her spine.

In the unpenetrated darkness of the tent she could clearly felt the presence of someone else in the room. She could feel the invisible shadow looming closer to her bed, she felt the weight pressing on the mattress, she felt a little touch on her toes- the touch that doubled her heartbeat in a moment. She should have screamed for the guards. But she could not. She was numbed with silence all of a sudden. Instead, she went for the dagger under the pillow, and put it right under the throat of the invisible intruder.

“Who are you...” she whispered.

“You know me.” An almost silent whisper floated in the air.

The silence prevailed for a moment. Then a strong muscular hand twisted the dagger of her hand, and the force pushed her on the mattress, the shadow of the intruder looming over her, getting more and more close to her body.

As Jodha tried to scream, a palm instantly pressed her lips, and the tent again drowned in silence.

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Another hour had passed.

There is a pin-dropped silence in the air tonight; not even an owl is hooting, no chirping of crickets- as if a bad omen emerging in the darkness. Everyone in the royal camp are also possessed by this dark silence, even the very trained night guards are not very cautious tonight; everyone has been charmed with a dazing spell.

A little boy, too young and skinny to be noticed by the guards, sneaked in the royal tent very cautiously. He looked here and there, and identified the queen’s tent. The guards in front of the tent were sound asleep. The boy stood in front of the thick curtain, and called in a very low voice- “Your Highness! My Queen!”

A few moments later the curtain moved. The face of Jodha emerged from inside. She looked miserable. Tired, sleep-deprived, restless and excited at the same time. Untangled hairs flowing all around, eyes red and swollen, face blackened because of the smeared kohl... Her frown got deeper as she identified the boy.

“Nandu? You? This late?”

“My Queen!” The boy was panting. “Could you please come to the temple? My mother wants to see you now.”

“Now?” Jodha’s brows knitted.

“Mother said there are something she needs to tell you and you only, no one can know about this and that’s why she wants to meet you alone in the temple.” The boy murmured the memorized lines, but suddenly his voice merged in plead. “Please My Queen! Please come with me!”

Jodha stared at the face of the boy for a while. This is probably the first time she heard the boy talk so much at a time. His eyes were full of tears, as if he was pleading for his dear life.

Jodha signed once, looked inside the tent for a moment. Then pulled the veil over her face.

“Let’s go!” She came out of her tent.

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“Where are they, Nandu?” Jodha asked in an anxious voice. Tonight she again broke the limit of her dignity, and this time she has outdone herself. She sneaked out of the royal camp all alone in this unknown and potentially dangerous place with the only company of a little boy just to get answers of some questions. The quiet ominous night seems to be never ending. The silence makes the air colder, the quietness carries the forecast of the upcoming storm. Jodha did not know where she is getting into, only she knows she needs to get all these answers to unveil the conspiracy which is taking place here at the cost of the lives of the poor villagers.

Nandu guided her to the gate of the temple. “Here...” He said in a trembling voice.

Jodha looked at his face. The boy still had tears in his eyes, his face darkened in fear and tension. Jodha touched his cheek affectionately. “Nothing will happen to your mother Nandu, I promise.”

As a shocked Nandu kept on staring at her, Jodha took a deep breath and entered inside the temple. The door closed at behind. Jodha stood at the porch which leads to the sanctum. It was dark inside, only a lamp was burning timidly inside the sanctum in front of the idol. “Tulsi?” Jodha called loudly. “Panditji?”

For a moment she heard a muffled whimper, and the only lamp extinguished at the next moment, drowning the whole place in pitch black darkness. Jodha took a long breath. “Who are you?” She said.

“I have no animosity towards you, My Queen! But we have to do it. That is the only way.” A cold voice uttered in dark.

“Where is Tulsi and Panditji?” Jodha shouted.

“Here only, at a corner of the portico. They are safe for now. Unconscious though.” The owner of the voice came closer. “It’s sad that they had to get into this mess. He is a respected man of the village, and Tulsi is one poor woman, Nandu is a lovable child. I wish I could at least keep Nandu away from this but alas! Pandit Ji did the grave mistake when he willingly involved with you in this ploy, My Queen.”

“Okay, do whatever you want with me. But leave them alone. I won’t tolerate a scratch on them!”

“I wish I could. But they know too much, and they are the only witness. One cannot leave a witness behind while committing the most heinous treacherous crime- murder of the queen.” The owner of the voice almost came over her shoulder. Jodha felt another presence near her, heard a faint sound of clanging blade of a sharp weapon.

“This is your plan? Trick me into coming in this temple and killing me and the family of the priest at the dark hour of night? You think you will get away with this?” Jodha said in a fiery voice. “I am not a random woman. I am the queen of this Mughal Empire. The Mughal soldiers would skin you alive if...”

“Who wants to get away with this?” The man in the darkness laughed. “I know Mughal army will go savage after this. I know they will burn down the village. The emperor will get furious, he will set on revenge and mutilate each of us till we die. And you know what, we want this. We need this to happen. Because that will bring in the fire. That will bring the revolution. A real revolution needs this blood, this pain, this sacrifice. You are Hindu, My Lady. You are one of us. You will understand.”

Jodha scoffed. “So this is the ploy all along? Ignite the fire of revolution in the heart of deprived Hindu villagers at the cost of their lives?”

“A real cause needs real sacrifice, My Queen.”

“Real cause, is it?” Jodha laughed this time; the viciousness of the laugh whipped in the air. “So it is for that real cause you had to commit the most heinous sin and plant something proscribed in the place of worship; it is for the real cause you intentionally place some poor people in front of the cannon and hide in background; for the real cause you trick the most deprived people of the village to join in the rebellion and throw them under the boots of the royals as mere pawn- because you needed more headcount. For that real cause you played with the sentiments and faith of your fellow villagers, manipulated them and pushed them in such a situation from where there is no coming back. All for the real cause. May I know, what is that real cause, Sardarji?”

Everything went silent for a moment. Only sound was a sound of deep anxious breath from a nervous man. Jodha smiled.

“It was you all along. For a moment I thought you were also the one is being manipulated by the situation, but no; you are the one who created it. It was clear to me when your son went ahead to threat Nandu and Tulsi. They are the key of the whole ploy, hence Tulsi’s association with me made you nervous, and you made this mistake. You might have skipped the grave punishment till then because there is no solid evidence, but now you will be charged with an attempt to murder of the queen herself. Who will save you?”

“Yes I did it. It was worth it. For the most needed revolution. To awake the villagers and to show how destructive Mughals really are.” The Sardar said in an aggressive voice. “And who will put charges against me? I will kill you right now, your blood will be scattered in the temple ground- enough to make the whole army mad. They won’t have the nerve to hold back and think straight. They will become the hounds of hell, pull everyone out of their bed and skin them alive because that’s what they are.”

“And that will serve your purpose? Your grand revolution?” Jodha taunted.

“It will one day, My Queen. But sadly you won’t be there to see it. It will be all over soon, Your Highness!”

“Huh!” Jodha’s voice bent in sarcasm. “Sardarji, your humanity decides which path in your life you choose, but at least you should be brave enough to own that choice. It is funny how even now you are trying to fabricate a story of grand revolution to establish yourself as a great leader in my eyes. Admit it, Sardaarji. You did all of it for money. You did it because you are greedy enough to sell your own faith and the lives of your own people in hands of enemies of this empire.”

“Empire?? I don’t believe in any empire!!” Sardar got excited. “My moto is always to show my people what a shameless imbecile inefficient emperor Jalaluddin Mahammad is!”

“These are not your words, Sardarji! It is evident you are borrowing your words from people of a certain belief- the belief you don’t share with them, you are just a dog being fed by them- aren’t you?” Jodha raised her voice suddenly, the underlined rage in her voice resonated in the air. “Come one Sardarji... before you start any action tell me the truth. What did you gain in this whole game? Only money? I have heard you have become very rich all of a sudden, Sardarji? They were paying you well, weren’t they?”

“Who... No one! No one was paying me!” The sardar shouted now.

“Of course they were. And their cause is completely different than what you depict as your motive. Even the biggest radical fanatic will not harm their own faith to lower the status of the emperor in some villager’s eyes.” Jodha was chillingly calm now. “Who were they, Sardarji? Mughal officers? Mughal priests? Or some random soldiers? Who is the king of the game of which you are merely a pawn? They must have been very influential to manipulate you to give away your own root belief and entity right?”

“Don’t lecture me! Who are you to lecture me on giving away own belief? What have you all done??” The Sardar lost his cool now. “Your father sold his daughter to Mughal to save own kingdom. Your brothers serving Mughal to maintain own status. You are bedding a Mughal barbarian every night to live a lavishing queenly life. So why cannot I leave my faith behind and go for profit? What has my religion given me other that poverty and insult? What is there for the Hindus in this Empire? Don’t you know it gets too easy to get a stable job and a lavishing life in city if someone converts and change their belief? Why I won’t go for that option?”

“No one had stopped you from converting. Who gave you the right of playing with so many lives??” Jodha’s voice trembled in extreme fury.

“Yes, I would do that! I went to do that only! But then someone gave the better opportunity... Just a small work and my son and I would get a big position in new court. And money... a lot of money... We never see that much amount together before! Why won’t I grab the better opportunity? Those poor people of this village had no life anyways, it is better that they have died in order to buy me a new horizon of happiness.” Sardaar was panting in excitement now. Each toxic breath he exhaled fill the strangulated air with venom.

“Who was the man who gave you the offer? Did you know him before?” Jodha asked in a cold voice.

“No... I only happen to... Hey!!” The Sardar suddenly realized he probably talked too much. “You Hindu w*ore, what do you think you are interrogating me? Enough talk now. Your life is in my hand! Son, put on a little light so that I don’t miss!”

A flicker of light glowed near as Sardar ordered his partner-in-crime. Sardar’s son was trying to lit up a small lamp. In that flicker of light Sardar’s face became a little visible. Jodha has seen this face multiple times in broad daylight, but really didn’t observe the man. Today in this numb darkness she could see what her eyes had missed. Those two eyes, who used to look very ordinary, are gleaming in excitement of pure greed and evilness. It is funny how darkness reveals the side of a human which light cannot do. In the faint light Jodha also saw the unconscious old priest and Tulsi lying near the sanctum wall.

“What are you going to do with them when you kill me, Sardarji?” Jodha asked calmly.

“Maybe will leave the oldie here, easy target for your soldiers, easy for me to shift the blame on him. And will keep his daughter in the hut, the boy too. When the whole village will burn no one will notice who lit fire in that small hut.” The evil man smirked. “But we can improvise the plan according to situation. You need not to worry. Pray to the God once before you sleep forever, My Queen, I promise it will be fast and easy.” The metallic cold of the knife’s blade touched Jodha’s neck as the whole place became too much silent all of a sudden.

Then Jodha’s laugh broke the silence in a moment. “Guess I am not the one who needs praying, Sardarji!”

The next few incidents happened in an eye-blink, like a thunderstorm. Before the Sardar could response or push the knife into Jodha’s throat, he felt a bolt of pain in his wrist, then his lower-abdomen. Then another sharp binding pain at the upper abdomen almost blinded him as he hunched forward screaming. And before he could fathom what just happened, Jodha swiftly went behind him and crushed his neck with a piece of cloth.

“Your calculation was on spot, Sardarji! The only mistake you did is you thought this queen as a weak fragile woman easy to be overpowered and killed by any man.” Jodha hissed. “I am a Rajputani, Sardarji! I have enough strength in my arms and enough training ingrained inside from childhood to smash ten people like you. Never underestimate a Rajputani anymore, Sardarji!”

As the Sardar discovered in panic that the knife he had brought to kill the queen is now sticking inside his upper abdomen, another incident happened just beside them. Sardar’s son was just standing with a lamp in hand by now. The unanticipated turn of events had left him shocked for a moment. He recovered with a jolt, roared, put the lamp on the narrow broken ventilator gap and proceeded to attack on Jodha with another knife in his hand like a mad bull. But he could not. A short blunt weapon flied in air from darkness all of a sudden and hit his hand. His knife fell and he sat down holding his wrist with another hand, and the mishap happened. The burning lamp fell right on him and the clothes caught fire right then, his dreadful screams scattered the earth as the disastrous fire started to devour him in a moment. The darkness of the room disappeared at an instance, the whole place illuminated in red as the deadly scream of the young lad mixed with the anguished wail of the distressed father. And amidst that bed of smoke and fire rose a frame of a human- stout and rigid, glowing in his own light of personality just like the fire... He rushed out from inside the sanctum to the burning man in order to extinguish the fire, but it was too late- the screams had turned into whimper as the fire had started to consume the wooden structures of the building now.

“Be careful Your Majesty!!” Jodha screamed in panic, as she witnessed her beloved to literally play with fire in order to save a distressed culprit before it was too late. Her grip on the another culprit had loosened automatically, but it was evident the Sardar was no more in the state of running away.

“Jodha! Go out! Get out of here before the fire spreads! I am getting them out!” Jalal shouted as he proceeded to the unconscious bodies of Tulsi and the priest. The fire and the smoke had awakened them, they were desperately trying to untie their bonds.

“No My Lord! Only after you!” Jodha cried.

“I am right behind you Jodha! Get help! Open the door, Maan Singh will come anytime soon!” Jalal convinced her in a loud but surprisingly calm voice.

“Maan Singh!”

Noises were coming from outside along with the sound of a rhythmic march and disciplined chant in the Emperor’s name. Even before Jodha could reach the door, the door was banged open. Maan Singh was standing outside along with his whole troop.

“Took you long enough Maan Singh!” Jalal smiled while panting as he carried the old pandit and guided Tulsi towards the door. “Now take charge of the whole situation.”

Under the swift commands of Maan Singh and exceptional skills of the whole troop the fire got under controlled within a small time.

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It was almost dawn. The dark night was ready to get washed away by the soft glow from East sky. Just like a new ray of hope washes away all the darkness of past. This small village was about to witness a new dawn today, a new dawn which is going to wipe out all the nightmares from their life. The whole village has almost turned up near the temple, half of which has tragically burnt into ashes in yesterday’s fire. Fortunately the sanctum and the idol has not faced any damage. The sky over the temple is still gloom, there is still smoke in the air. But the slight discomfort has no effect on the enthusiastic crowd; the chanting on the name of the Emperor and the queen is quaking the earth, the strangulating air is carrying the glow of victory and peace after a war.

Jodha was sitting on a rock surrounded by maids and Harem guards, Moti has draped her with a warm blanket. Panditji, Tulsi and her son was sitting on the ground nearby, all of them still shaken by the horror of the incident. Sardarji was placed at a corner imprisoned by the soldiers. The stab-wound Jodha inflicted on his upper abdomen has stopped bleeding but he was still in shock, mostly for seeing own child burning in fire. The Chote-Sardar was rescued by the Mughal soldiers, but his burn wounds are too critical to be recovered completely as per the royal physicians. Death would be the only blessing to him. Perhaps this is the way God punishes His own sinners, thought Jodha while staring at the distressed father.

Sighing a little, Jodha looked around. The smokey temple-ground looks like the peaceful war-field after the peace treaty now. Everyone is calm, relieved but overwhelmed with various emotions. Jashn Khan and other Harem guards are standing at a side with shell-shocked face. The other attendants and healers are busy with the affected ones. The subedar and his officials have turned up with the rest of Mughal soldiers, they are now answering to the Emperor himself. Maan Singh is busy taking care of the mess, the soldiers trying to control the over enthusiastic crowd. The whole village came running when they saw the smoke from temple ground, but little did they know what was waiting for them. They perhaps could never believe that their own sardar whom they worshipped as a leader could manipulate and betray them on the name of their God. The Sardaar would die of mob lynching had not the emperor intervened and addressed the raged mob in his royal authoritative tone. “My Dear Villagers.” The emperor had said. “I thank you all for keep believing in my queen Jodha Bai in the toughest time of yours; I thank you on behalf of the whole Mughal Empire for not losing your faith, to be patient for the truth to be prevailed. Hence I would request you to wait for once more, one more time, to let the justice prevail. I, Jalaluddin Mohammad, the Emperor of Mughal dynasty, promise you all that this man- this sinner of the most tedious sin will get the most deserving punishment one can get; I assure you all that. But you all have to be patient and believe on me, on the law, on justice. You have hold on your faith for such a long time with all your willpower, I request you not to lose that in a sudden moment of excitement.” There were something magically assuring in his voice that calmed the crowd. The mob started cheering on emperor Jalaluddin and queen Jodha’s name, and haven’t stopped since now.

Jalal was talking with the officials nearby. Jodha’s eyes roamed around and stuck at him. He is still wearing the pale and grubby attire of a common poor man, only the turban that he was wearing before is now wrapped clumsily around his hand with which he is unmindfully playing while discussing on this serious event. He must have hurt his hand while trying to rescue chote sardaar from fire; had he tended himself yet, or is he trying to hide the burn with that dirty turban? Jodha suddenly got anxious just with the thought of it. His Majesty was standing at a distance, but Jodha could clearly see sheer lines of exhaustions in his face. His disheveled, tousled hairs are clumsily scattered all around, his face sooty and dark, and his eyes are glowing like always. Jodha suddenly felt a pang of pain in her heart. It has been so long since she has seen him from so close, so long since he is standing so near to her- so near that she can go running towards him and embrace him with all her strength and love- but she cannot. When will this longing be over?

Maybe the desire of her heart reached out to him, because he looked at her. Their eyes met , the world around them lost suddenly, and they kept on staring- kept on drowning in each other’s eyes. Then Jalal started walking towards her in slow steps, his eyes did not move a bit. Jodha’s heart started beating in double speed. Her cheeks blushed for no reason.

“Are you alright?” Jalal was now standing in front of her. Jodha smiled and nodded. Jalal smiled back, and without breaking eye-contact he kneeled down and touched Pandit Ji’s shoulder. “Are you alright, Pandit Ji?”

“Yes... Yes Your Majesty!” The old man panted. “I cannot thank you enough Your Majesty! You saved my life; you saved my daughter and grandson, the whole village and the honour of our faith!” his voice trembled in emotion.

Jalal smiled delicately. “That was my duty, Pandit Ji. And I must apologize to you, I had to enter inside the temple and the sanctum and impure the holiness of it with my infidel touch. But I guess your God himself has found his own way to cleanse it with the fire.”

“The God has cleansed all the sins with this fire, Majesty! And he sent you to us for this purge.” The priest said in a tearful voice. “I am still at a loss, Majesty. How all these happened? I mean... Chote Sardaar came to our house and attacked me out of nowhere, the next thing I know was the incident of the temple... Everyone saying Sardaarji made all the ploy just to create a havoc? But why?”

“Why... That is an interesting question, Pandit Ji. That answer can only be given by your sardaar.” Jalal smirked. “But how it happened, I might have an idea. And I also guess that...” He looked at him intensely. “You too have one.”

The pandit lowered his eyes in great shame. “I fear to know, Your Majesty. But let the truth win today.”

“There is nothing to fear Panditji. Nothing to be so ashamed of. A rightful man can never be ashamed of truth.” Jalal smiled. Then he looked towards Nandu. “Nandu, will you tell them what you told me?”

The eight years old boy looked timidly and shook his head.

“Why Nandu?” Jalal touched the boy’s cheek. “What happened?”

“I promised Maa to not to tell Nanaji anything.” Nandu said slowly in a wet voice. “I promised Maa not to tell anyone. Why did you tell them, Bhaiya? Maa will beat me up if she knows I told you.”

Jalal affectionately patted his cheek. “Nandu is a good boy, isn’t he? This guilt was eating him alive even if he did not know the mistake. But he did not tell anyone anything, since his mother forbade him. It’s okay Nandu, don’t tell your Nanaji. Always listen to your mother. But remember as I told you, when you know you are wrong, just be brave and admit it. You feel better.”

Nandu smiled this time. Jalal turned to Tulsi. “Will you tell him, Tulsi?”

Tulsi was sitting silently near to Nandu. She suddenly cried out loudly and clutched Nandu strongly in her lap. “He did not know! It was not his fault!” she wailed.

“Yes he did not know. He made a mistake of innocently believing a man he knows from childhood.” Jalal nodded. “Panditji, you had locked the temple like you always do at the night before the mishap. You made no mistake from your side. Someone opened the door at midnight stealing the key from your shelf. He was the one who installed the piece of meat inside the temple unknowingly. It was Nandu who did it, Panditji. Chote Sardar allured him with some gorgeous toys and used him for this gruesome sin.”

“O God!!” Pandit Ji palmed his eyes. “Why... why my grandson?”

“Because he was the closest pawn to use. An eight year old innocent boy who knows nothing about the world, give him a covered packet and tell him that it is a part of a game, a challenge of leaving it in dark temple at midnight without being afraid and a grand prize is waiting for him- he will do it. He will steal the key of temple from his grandfather and do everything told. Then the next day comes and he sees a bloodbath in his own eyes, and he immediately understands it had something to do with the last night’s adventure. But he shuts down in fear, and he cannot admit it to anyone except his mother who swears him not to tell it to anyone. Can you imagine how much trauma Nandu has endured all these days all alone? Whatever happened was not Nandu’s fault, Panditji; and yet he paid the price. Don’t be ashamed anymore. Be proud of him for being brave enough to come up and admit it.” Jalal touched the priest’s shoulder. Then he looked at Tulsi who was still crying. “You knew it was Nandu when you discovered the incident right?”

“I caught Nandu at the night before when he came running from temple. He mischievously told me that he has completed a bravery challenge and he will get prize for it. It was late so I did not push it.” Tulsi uttered in a broken voice. “The next morning I went to the temple; I opened the lock, got inside and discovered the whole thing, and I knew right then! I tried to clean it up, but could not. Then the hue and cry started. I knew if they get any clue of Nandu’s involvement then I won’t be able to save my child. So I pushed the false story of the door being already unlocked. Then everything happened so fast! That day Nandu told me everything. It was not his fault, he did not even know what was in the package, he just thought it was a part of the game. But everything had changed, blood of the villagers had wetted the land. Whom would I go for help? Who would believe me? My father would die if he knew the truth! So I hid it! I had to!” Tulsi started sobbing again, this time in a more quiet, chocked voice.

“I understand... I only wish if you could believe in Jodha Begam and tell her the truth before. Then tonight’s incident could be avoided.”

“I was frightened. I did not know how much I could trust our queen. What if she put my son into prison? Also Chote sardaarji understood that I know a lot; he used to threaten me. Every day, every moment. Your Majesty, I was so feared I had no idea what to do, whom to trust! Queen Jodha blessed my son with a coin, I knew chote sardaar will suspect that we have got it from her as an incentive of telling the truth, hence I had to return it to her. Queen Jodha took me as her guide in the village, Chote Sardaar was scared that I might spill everything to her, hence he started blackmailing me every now and them. I was living in a hell these days, Majesty!” Tulsi said in a chocked voice.

“I felt that threat the first time I saw you all.” Jalal stood straight and looked at Jodha. “I already suspected a foul play here in this village, and how could I let my queen go alone to face all these? Hence I had to come invisible. You know what, in all these prominent faces in a royal caravan there is always a few person who is too close to the queen, who follows the queen like shadow every place she goes, yet no one sees them. All I had to do was to become one of them; the man who carries the queen in everywhere she goes, every path she chooses.”

“As a palanquin bearer!” Jodha exclaimed unmindfully. “You were there all the time... from day one!” Now she could understand who was her invisible protector from day one. The one who saved her from the snake and later from the enraging crowd!

Jalal smiled. “As palanquin bearer. One of the most convenient disguises. I could be very near to the royals and the soldiers- to hear what is going on; at the same time I could easily mix with the commoners. People fears guards, soldiers- but no one is afraid of a man who carries the royals. Only a few people knew, Maan Singh being one of them. While Jodha Begam was working so hard on recovering people’s trust, I was on the undercover mission of knowing what is going on. A lot of information comes up from people’s gossip. Like how much income does this Sardaar of this poor village have, how many times he goes out of village, how many suspicious friends he have... Those information might be insignificant in other circumstances, but Nandu gave me enough reason to pinpoint my doubt on the Sardaar only. It was not easy to achieve Nandu’s trust, but after a few interactions he started believing me as his friend. He did not confess to me right then, but the small hints that he gave me was enough to follow every steps of the Sardaar. However, they were not strong enough to arrest him then and there; he had villagers’ faith and a scratch on him would burn everything down. So I set up a little bait and he made the mistake I was waiting for. Maan Singh had been the shield between Jodha Begam, villagers and the rampage of the soldiers all along. I sent Maan Singh away with most of the soldiers, giving him a great opportunity to kill the queen. I knew they will use Nandu again which they did. And as I planned, Nandu came to me before he goes to Jodha Begam, and I cascaded the information to the queen. Little did the Sardaar knew that he did not trap the queen inside the temple, rather the queen trapped him to get the confession out of him.”

“You knew it?” Moti Bai exclaimed in Jodha’s ears. “How? When? You did not tell us?”

Jodha smiled. How could she forget the invisible intruder in her tent?

A strong muscular hand twisted the dagger of her hand, and the force pushed her on the mattress, the shadow of the intruder looming over her, getting more and more close to her body.

As Jodha tried to scream, a palm instantly pressed her lips, and the tent again drowned in silence....

“Shhh!”

Jodha’s heartbeat had stopped; she tried to snap out of the stasis and overpower the stronger force that had suppressed her, but no... she could not. There was something about the touch- something mystical, something intoxicating... and she could not help but drowning... That palm has now moved from her lips, those fingers slowly caressing her cheeks, she could feel sensation in her waist, a mild and delicate touch of five curious fingers around her curves... Weight of a mighty physique slowly taking over, and she is drowning... drowning... drowning in an enthralling enchantment...Her brain was not working, her heart completely surrendering under the possession of the stranger touch- or is it stranger? Why does Jodha feel she knows this... This warmth, this passion, this enigma- she has experienced all of it... Everything is so close to her heart.

But how is it possible?

“Who are you!” Jodha whispered after gathering all the strength she had, her voice trembling, on verge of tears “Why are you tormenting me?”

The hold that had spellbound Jodha was suddenly released. Amazed, Jodha heard a repressed laugh... which slowly became louder and eventually echoed in the tent.

And she knows this laughter. Knows this voice very well!

“Hahaah.... ohhoo... Jodha Begam! Never knew you are so easy to be fooled! Wooohh... And you were about to cry? Hahaha!”

“My Lord!” Jodha almost screamed, half in astonishment, half in joy. “What... how... This...” And all this joy suddenly converted into anger. “Not funny! Not at all funny! This is a very poor prank!” She whined, pressing one hand in the broad chest in her front.

“Actually it is! What were you thinking? Never thought my Rajputani sword will lose the battle so easily? I was totally ready to fight another duel with you and here you surrendered your dagger so fast and started using the weapon of tears? Harem is not suiting you at all it seems?”

“I... I knew there was something I...” Jodha blabbered. “You know what? I should have stabbed you right in your face! You are such a... such a... bad person!”

“Hahahaah!” Another laughter echoed the tent, as two strong arms embraced her body. “I have surrendered my soul to you, Jodha... Every drop of my blood are in your name; I would happily bleed to death for you, My Queen, and my death will be the offering of my love...”

He cupped her face and came even more closer... even in the dark she could see him now. She entangled her arms over his neck, touched her nose with him. “How can you be here, My Lord? Am I dreaming or have you come her riding my dreams?”

“I was always here... It is your fault that you missed me.” He bent and planted a quick, short yet passionate kiss in her lips. She closed her eyes, felt the warmth in her heart... “Allow me to light the lamps... let me see you...”

“Don’t worry, I am real; won’t vanish with the light...” Another laughter was followed by a long, lingering kiss... Jodha took a deep breath, absorbing every tiny detail of the moment in her heart. Her fingers slid down his back, strongly entwined his waist as she pressed herself towards him... but he suddenly broke the embrace in hurry.

“Don’t do this to me now... we don’t have time!” He said while caressing her cheeks affectionately. “We have works to do...”

“What work Your Majesty?” Jodha asked attentively. She already understood this sudden surprise visit of the emperor which she was still processing was not only to give her a shocking experience of happiness, rather something crucial has happened which required the Emperor’s personal attention. “Maan Singh was summoned by you, and now he is not here but you are... I don’t really understand what...”

“Yes, I ordered him to leave.” He sighed a little and touched her shoulders. “Jodha, I have planned something... something dangerous and risky, but it will resolve everything within tonight. I know I should have asked for your consent before doing so, because it involves your safety but... I ask you now, will you keep faith on me and do as I tell? ”

“Always, My Lord!” She said without any hesitation.

Jodha smiled remembering those moments. Jalal was looking at her now, his eyes full of praise and pride. “Come here, My Queen!” He reached out and welcomed. Jodha smiled and got up, together they stood in front of the burnt temple to address the crowd.

“I must be thankful to my queen. Without her active participation, her wit and bravery and above all her integrity and honesty, we would never be able to unveil this conspiracy.” He raised his voice and announced. The mass exploded in chanting. “Long Live Queen Jodha! Heil to His Majesty!”

The Emperor spoke again when the chanting dried down. “The conspiracy indeed has been a very sad reveal for all of us, and with the culprit being arrested now I hope this village will be able to stand strong on the faith and conviction that had been the pillar of their humanity for so many years, and this small jolt will not be strong enough to create a crack on that pillar. However, along with this I cannot overlook the fault of administration that costed so many lives. I have no words to express how much guilty I am for the loss of our people over a non-existent issue as after all their blood lies in the hand of Mughal Empire. No apology will be enough to compensate the loss that you all have endured, hence instead I will take an oath here. From this day none of my subjects- be them Hindu or Muslim, will shed a drop of blood over an issue like this. Everyone is welcome to come and express their dissatisfaction to the Empire, no one will be forcefully stopped. From now on a special representative of the emperor will be installed in every province to report about the sensitive issues directly to me, so that I can have a direct conversation with you all. With this note, I would order Subedar Sahab to release all the people who have been captured from the village without any offence with a fair amount of compensation from the royal treasury. Also the families that have endured loss of their dear ones would receive some amount of compensation as a sign of our repentance. Lastly, I promise you all that whoever is the root of this evil conspiracy will not get away easily, he will have to endure the wrath of justice.”

The crowd cheered in the name of The Emperor and the Queen. Jalal looked at his queen, his eyes full of admiration. “Begam Jodha...” he addressed suddenly. “Will you want to say something to our people?”

Jodha was taken aback by the sudden gesture. “Me, Your Majesty?” She repeated.

“Yes My Queen. You surely have something in your mind to offer them, don’t you?” Jalal smiled.

Jodha smiled back and came forward. She folded her hands and looked straight to her subjects as she started to speak- “All my dear people, I would like to show my gratitude to all of you for the wonderful hospitality I have received from each and every one in my little stay in this village. I came here when you all were healing from a great trauma and grief, and in that tough time it was not easy to keep faith on a stranger, especially if she comes from your supposed enemy camp. But you all did. I promised you all that I will try my best to make everything alright in your life, and unless your abiding trust on me, I would never be able to fulfill my vow. You all accepted me as your own, you all gave me the chance to prove that there is no enemy, we all are under the same roof, living for the same cause. Now as the truth as prevailed the darkness, with the Emperor’s permission, I would like to make a small announcement from my own.”

Jodha looked at Jalal. Jalal seemed a little surprised, but he smiled and nodded. Jodha took a breath and started again.

“This temple has been the center of the faith of this village all along. It is mingled in every emotion, every laugh and every tear of the villagers. Be it a celebration, or a time of grief, their life has been revolved around this temple under the blessing of Shivji. Now that this temple has fallen due to the burden of the sin of humanity, the pillar of that faith much be retained again with such a devotion that it will never fall anymore. If you all allow me, I would feel honoured to restore and renovate the temple from my own fund.”

The outburst of emotion and cheer among the crowd filled the air with pure joy and enthusiasm. The dawn became the witness of Jodha’s victory, as the red East sky rhymed with the chant in Jodha Rani’s name.

“I am overwhelmed by the proposal that Jodha Begam made today, and wholeheartedly promise to support her in every way in this noble work. Also, along with this I announce to start a project of fulfilling the other basic facilities in this village.” Jalal smiled and announced. “My people, it was an honour to address you standing in this land, I am thankful to my God that we have been able to restore the peace again in this village. I would want you all to know one thing, and believe it wholeheartedly- that I am on the throne to ensure your happiness and security. I might take bad decision, make mistakes- but the motivation of me being an emperor starts from and ends with my people. I am always there for you, my door is always opened. I only ask for a little trust and acceptance, and together we will create paradise on earth. Now allow us to leave, today I will set out for capital with my queen.”

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The overwhelmed response at the time of departure moved Jodha in tears. Her arrival was too cold, the outright rejection from the villagers had broke her from inside. Within two days those same people were cheering in her name, pleading her to stay, sobbing and crying as she is leaving- probably will not come here again... The caravan was ready, her palanquin was supposed to carry her right from the tent, but Jodha refused. She walked to each of the person in the crowd to greet individually, promising to visit again when the temple is rebuilt. All of the ladies of the village brought her small gifts- like homemade sweets, cotton scurf, bangles and vermilion with blessing. The children gifted her flowers, touched her feet and took her blessings. Champa fell on her feet sobbing. “You are incarnation of Maa Durga, My queen! You saved us! You saved all of us!”

“Get up Champa...” Jodha pulled her up and embraced her graciously. The whole village stood awestruck by this unbelievable gesture of a queen to an untouchable lower cast woman. “I am no Goddess, Champa- I am a normal human being, like everyone. The part of Shakti is within your heart, the courage, the power of speaking up the truth in every circumstances.” She looked at Tulsi. “And you too, Tulsi... At first I thought you are coward, you don’t have the strength to stand up for yourself. But no... you are not at all coward. You are a mother. A mother can do everything for her child. Can bear everything, can fight anyone. I witnessed that in you. Thank you so much Tulsi- without your help and support none of it could be possible.”

Tulsi wiped out her tears and folded her hands. “We will be forever grateful to you, My Queen! I will never forget you.” She said.

Jodha stood in front of Panditji and touched his feet. “Panditji, I cannot express how grateful I am that I got to meet you. I have seen a lot, but never ever I saw a man like you. Such honesty, integrity, devotion, faith and vision- you are a gem of a human, Panditji, a real rishi is what you are!”

“Soubhagyabati bhaba!” Panditji could only murmur a blessing in tearful eyes.

Jodha held the old man’s hand. “Panditji... Before going I have one last request to you... Please don’t say no to this...”

“Order me, My Queen!” The priest exclaimed.

Jodha took a breath. “All those people whom we call lower-caste, who have been tagged untouchables by society and been pushed at a corner of the village, whose lives supposedly have no cost, have proved themselves to be the real devotee of God, real keeper of our faith. They have fought for the same cause, they were ready to give their lives to protect it. Then who are we to keep them away from their God? Panditji, you have to promise me- when the temple is rebuilt again there will be a big festival. And all of these people will participate in that celebration actively, will be allowed to pray in front of God. Pandit Ji, promise me from today you will ensure that there is no discrimination between the devotees of God in this place of worship.”

There was a mild buzz in the crowd, that was stopped when Pandit Ji smiled and assured. “From now on, everyone with devotion will be able to enter in this temple, will be able to worship our God...”

The ‘untouchables’ cheered in Jodha’s name. Jodha folded her hands once more to greet everyone goodbye, the villagers kneeled together, chanting her name. As the sun glowed, two beams of sunrays fell on Jodha’s head- as if the nature herself crowned her to be the queen of these people...

Jodha walked towards the palanquin where the others were standing. Jalal was standing beside his horse just by the palanquin, he was now dressed like an emperor- his grace doubled the glorious aura of the royal caravan. Before getting inside Jodha’s eyes met Jalal’s. He was staring at her, his eyes glittering in myriad of emotions...

“What are you seeing, My Lord?” Jodha asked in a low tone.

“The Queen of the people...” Jalal murmured. “The Queen of Hindustan!”