Lashy!
What a striking similarity!
Durga ..then..
...
What followed thenceforth was the greatest display of bravado, from a woman, that the intruders had ever seen. Cautiously backing herself against a narrow corner, so only one man would be able to attack her at a time, she faced the advancing murderers with the might of her will and the agility of her hand. It was thus that she brought an early death upon three men and maimed two more, showing the brutes how far they'd undermined her courage.
However; as was the course of most battles, Durga sustained many an injury herself. Her limbs couldn't match the immortality of her spirit, her strength steadily diminished with every blinking moment.
Yet, Durga bai didn't cower in fright.
Not even when the leader of the pack, the beastly 'Khalil', paced onward and forced her to look him in the eye. Not when his size dwarfed her profile. Or his roars deafened her ears. Not even when she knew her end was near.
Durga bai fought to the very end - till a time came when she lost all her weapons and vigour, fighting him. Till she was left with no choice and no defences thereafter
'Hand me the Farmaan...' he growled
'I will NOT give you the Farmaan, even if you take my life!' the breathless warrior challenged him as she lay bleeding on the floor, the faces of her loved ones flashing before her eyes
'What if I take your dignity and modesty instead?'
And from the amount of venom in his scowl, she knew those were not empty threats. So, after many bouts of tortuous self-debate, she made the choice most women would make - she decided to give up the Farmaan.
But that did not seem to satisfy her enemy. He wanted more!
And the very thought of what he wanted - the very notion of what horrors lay ahead, debilitated her morale. Now too weak and too wounded to protect herself, she wished she had a blade to end her life just then. But since she didn't, Durga bai, the once proud heiress, was forced to relinquish her ego and beg. She begged and pleaded - not for her life, but for her modesty to be spared.
All in vain. His scowl didn't thaw one bit. He had a reputation for being a 'savage' and he apparently wanted to live up to it -
For, he took away the Farmaan,
Then, took away her modesty,
And finally, took away her life too...
* * * * * * *
Heera now...
You claim you're sabotaging this wedding for Parnagarh, but I wonder if there's another reason too...' he paused 'maybe someone else?'
'Nothing of that sort!'
Tch...' he tapped his forehead 'I should have realised this when you reminded me of Durga's second promise... which states that you should be allowed to wed a man of YOUR choice...'
'What do you mean?' Heera frowned, alarm bells going off in her mind
'I mean... an unmarried Rajput lady, who defies society... defies authority... and even her family... generally does it for only one reason - her man!'
A sly grin returned to his face, as he saw the smile being wiped out of her lips.
'Aidabad?' he whispered - low enough to leave an impact, but loud enough to be heard by her Godparents.
Her face stayed cold and plain, as she made a conscious effort not to flinch. Not to gasp. Not even to blink. Pity though, Heera was not as good an actress as him 'Aidabad? What about it?'
'You were there for two weeks... which is long enough...'
'Yes... so?'
'You stayed at a Mughal businessman's house' he candidly observed her features for signs of a reaction, like a hawk would observe its prey 'Didn't you?'
'And your point is?' Heera retorted, drumming a reminder into every inch of her body that she mustn't giveaway anything.
'I heard that the two of you spent time in each other's company...'
'Kunwarsa...' Chitranjan grit his teeth 'put an end to this disgusting topic... I will not stand back and watch this any longer... our Heera bitiya is purer than gold... so, stop throwing around these baseless accusations...'
'You didn't stop her when she had things to say about me... so, let me speak, Maharaj!' With a sneer, he turned back to the young lady 'Since, you were opposed to this wedding, I was curious to find out if there was some secret you were hiding... my spies informed me about this Mughal man, but I never gave it much thought - even when I heard that you both met and talked a few times... after all, he IS a Mughal... and traditionally, we Rajputs know to keep away from Mughals... we despise them...' he'd stressed on the word despise 'but now that I think back... it adds up!'
'A few formal discussions... that's all...' Heera hissed, desperately wishing there was something else she could do to shut him up right then and there. How dare he do this? How dare he ransack her secrets - personal secrets that she'd kept locked deep within? How dare he pry open her most intimate wounds in public, leaving her exposed? 'It was routine business... what else could it possibly be?'
'Really? You were discussing business?' Mahendar smirked. He thought he'd seen traces of pain in her eyes but he couldn't be sure. At least, not yet. 'What business could you have with an eminent horse trader? I forget what he's called...'
'Akbar Mahmoud Khan Sahib!'
The agony that'd just forced itself up, left a trail of burn as she pushed it back down.
Heera glared at her challenger, her unbroken stare awash with a fresh pang of hatred. Yes, she was aware that he was toying with her. That he was going for the kill. But there was only so much she could do to keep it together. Helplessness. Desperation. Anguish. Exhaustion. Loneliness. Self-pity. A broken heart. There was only so much of it she could take 'It was just business...' she lied again, striving her level best to make her lie sound as convincing as possible - but not before her left eye had involuntarily misted up 'nothing more...'
There! He'd seen it, at long last. In her eyes. He'd found what he was searching for - 'a lover's pain'. He was sure now.
'It IS him, isn't it?' Mahendar gasped, almost surprised that his suspicions had turned true 'Ma Bhavani... save us... not only are the Mughals taking our lands... they're taking our women too!'
He took a conscious step back, suddenly repulsed by the very notion of a marriage with her, as if this baisa had turned into an untouchable. No amount of power and fame was worth pursuing a woman who was worse than used goods. That too, used by a Mughal.
'Maasa... Bapusa... and all this while she's been maligning MY character...'
'Shameful indeed, my Kunwar...'
'This is not true' A hot tear burst its bank when she found herself at the receiving end of several disgusted sighs from onlookers. Another tear came gushing down when she noticed the mortified expressions on the faces of kakisa kakasa 'He is twisting the story, like always!'
'Imagine the scandal when the rest of our community come to know of this... I wonder how many Rajput kingdoms will come to Parnagarh's help then...'
'You are accusing me without proof, Kunwarsa...'
'You forget...' he murmured 'scandal doesn't need proof... a few willing ears will do!'
Having dealt the final blow, Mahendar walked out on her, quite pleased with how well his gamble had paid off. He might have lost a few rounds, maybe even the battle - but he hadn't bowed out like an utter failure. He'd rendered his enemy disarmed, vulnerable and wounded...
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Periyamma.
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