Part 5
Professor Shaurya started telling the story to the class.
So here goes the story'
Once upon a time, there was a handsome, valiant king who was known for his heroism, his bravery and his great royal qualities. He was kind to the poor, noble to his courtiers and very caring to his queen. Yes the word is 'Caring''.Caring because it was never beyond then care'He cared for her like a friend, did all the duties of a husband tried to give her everything that she wanted, but not love'Somehow he could never love her'Because he never believed in love..Love according to him was fragile and only ordinary man craved for such meager things'He married her only because of the political benefits that were bestowed to him by this marriage'Their marriage brought the alliance between the two kingdoms ruled by two powerful kings..One by Shaurya Pratap's father and the other by Anant Pratap Singh, his Queen's father'Well the queen herself didn't have any other demands then her materialistic pleasures, the wealth of Chunargard kingdom. She never loved him either..All she wanted was the fame and name of a queen which she had accquired'Yes to be the queen of Maharaj Shaurya Pratap Singh was a matter of great pride and honor and she never had any other desires.
This fragile love which was according to Shaurya only an ordinary man's possession, was soon going to bloom in his heart, because God was planning some interesting and extra-ordinary love story for this not so extra-ordinary warrior, as miles away from his kingdom, there could be heard in the palace of Naugard the laughter of a girl who was going crazy running all over the royal garden and laughing her heart out'She was playing like a small young girl with her five best friends, some who were princess too, some the minister's daughters, while one among them who was not of her age, a bit younger but very close and dear to her'.This small girl who was always close to this beautiful princess had unusual sparks in her eyes when she grew excited..People sometimes thought her to be a bit 'different' from others but then nobody dared to say anything about this girl as she was the princess's favourite among all her friends'Telling anything against the girl would mean disrespect for the princess which would be the greatest invitation for killing oneself as the king will never spare anyone who would go against his beloved daughter's wishes'Maharaj Rajendra Singh loved his daughter more than his life as she was his only daughter and never thought of having another child as he didn't want that his daughter to share his love with any siblings'Princess ran after the girl with her eyes tied around by a cloth and shouted'."Bhago Kurwaki, kitni dur bhagogi humse..Hum Rajkumari Chandralekha hai jisne kabhi harna nahi sikha'Akhir tumhe pakar ke hi dum lenge aaj'.hhaahha" ..This was Princess Chandralekha's favourite game'She was not the conventional princess who would be shy, coy and quiet'.Chandralekha was a talkative, playful and a very mischevious young girl of 18, for whom the entire world ran around her'Everyone was very fond of her unique nature'She was just not the type of Princess that were born in 18th century'But nevertheless she had all qualities of a princess'She attained mastery in all the fine arts, including dancing, singing, painting, cooking and embroidery'But her favorite hobby in which she was quite famous in entire Naugard was that of Sword Fighting and archery'Atleast once on a week there would be sword competitions held in the mahal with many Prince and subjects wanting to just get a chance to participate in the fight with her'Yes the word was 'participate''as no one had ever won the competitions with her'What more, she was also the finest horse rider in her kingdom and always insisted her father, King Rajendra Singh to take her with him for hunting'She was wild, courageous and had almost all the traits of a princess but was also equally graceful, carried herself like a damsel with so much of beauty and elegance in her that people could not stop praising the rare blend of qualities of traditionalism with unconventionlism in this young princess'
"Pakar liya, pakar liya, pakar liya'" she finally caught hold of a hand and quickly removed the cloth from her eyes and to her shock found her mother Maharani Krishnakshi standing right in front of her with a stern and strict look in her face'Chandralekha could feel the dangerous time that was soon going to prevail for the next few hours in her life!...She quickly became serious and lowered her eyes to apologise for her behaviour'."Ye sab kya hai Chandralekha?..Aap kaisa vyaibhaar kar rahi hai'! Achi Rajkumariya apke jaise pesh nahi ati'Itni zor zor se hasti aur chillati nahi hai!...Kya yahi sikhsha, yahi sanskar di hai humne apko?" 'Her mother was boiling with anger and Chandralekha was cursing her fate for not ringing even one alarm bell before this danger came like a whirlwind at this hour of crisis!...Still with a last hope to pacify the tigress standing in front of her she proceeded'"Matashri, humse bohot bari bhul hui hai'khel ke anand mei humei pata hi nahi chala ki humnei kitna shor kiya hai mahal mei'Humei maaf kar dijiye..Hum vachan dete hai ki age se aisi bhul nahi hogi'Hum shama mangte hai apse'Humei maaf kar dijiye Matashri'" and starts sobbing while still keeping her eyes lowered'But her mother was just not in a mood to listen to her pleas today'This was Chandralekha's everyday story..First to keep everyone busy with her childish tactics and then to apolgise with full emotions' "Nahi ab aur nahi Chandralekha..Apki bachkani harkato se hum tang a chuke hai'Aap bari ho chuki hai..Kal kisi Rajya ki Maharani banengi'Hum nahi chahte ki koi bhi ake humari parvarish pe ungli uthaye"' At this Chandralekha playfully answered'"Par Mate(Ma), Pitashri ne to humse kuch kaha hi nahi, ki hum kal hi maharani banne wale hai!!"..and everyone around her starts laughing including her friends'"Bas Chandralekha'Aaj apko apne kiye ka dand(punishment) milke rahega..Tabhi ap sabakh sikhengi!!" Apko ye sab mazak lagta hai na'Aj apko na khana milega aur nahi pine ko pani..Aur chup chap kaksh(room) mei Jaiye..Aj ap apne kaksh se bahar nahi ayegi aur nahi koi apse milne ayega'Aj ap pura din aur puri raat andhere mei hi rahegi..Jaiye ab..!!"Her friends smelled the danger very well, and so even they quietly retreated to their respective homes without saying a word and Chandralekha was very shocked and angry at this.
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Chandralekha never realized that her beautiful, cheerful day would become so horrible and scary'Yes scary because she was very scared of darkness..She had heard too many ghost stories in her early childhood from her grandmother who was unfortunately no more'She still felt as if some ghost would come in the darkness to smile at her sleeping face and would scare her'Or some bad old witch will appear in front of her in a broomstick and laugh hysterically and turn her to a frog or a mouse!!...These thoughts were enough to rouse her tension and make her sweat while the 10,000 mice inside her complained and had almost come to a point of holding strikes inside her stomach for keeping them starving for such a long time after that morning exercise of playing in the hot weather!!...
Chandralekha was determined that she has to do something to get out of this situation'.Neither could she stay hungry nor could she sleep in the the darkness'She was living a life of a bondage from the morning for just enjoying sometime with her friends!...She loved her freedom and loved to play around like an ordinary girl'She always hated the traits that were expected from a princess..Shy, Coy, Calm and Submissive'These were not the words found in her dictionary..her mother always advised her to inherit them but she would ignore her, giving her own sweet reasons and her Father's encouraging words would always be a strong weapon for her, against her mother's wise lectures and ultimately she would win the battle'"Karne do humari putri ko jo who karna chahti hai, Iske baad to who humei chorke chali jayegi kisiki maharani banne'Humei huamri putrid par pura bharosa hai'who humei kabhi niraash nahi karegi'" would be her father's replies to her mother's pestering'.But unfortunately today her father was not in the Rajmahal and had gone to visit the nearby Rajya to visit his sister and his Maharani decided that this was the best chance to teach their spoiled daughter a lesson'
"Darwaza kholo koi..Hum yaha mar jayenge'Pitashri humei humari akhri saaso mei humei dekh bhi nahi payenge'Matashri humei jane do'.koi hai.."and she kept on shouting and screaming, her voice was getting uncontrollable for the guards of her door who were now in a difficult position as to what to do'But before they could decide about their actions the voice of the princess suddenly faded with half blabbering and then everything got strangely silent''.Now they got scared and started calling out'"Rajkumari ji!...Ap thik to hai na?...Rajkumari ji!..kuch to boliye'.Maharani!...koi maharni ji ko bulawo..lagta hai Rajkumari ji behosh ho gayi hai!..."'..One of the servants run to Maharani to inform about her daughter's sudden collapse 'Maharani Krishnakshi comes running after hearing about her daughter's sudden pass out' She screams at the guards that why even after knowing about the princess's condition why the door has not been opened of her room'The door guards quickly opens the room of the princess and finds her in an unconscious state'Maharani runs to her daughter weeping,
"Putri Chandralekha,'kya hua apko? uthiye Rajkumari'and she along with some servants help Chandralekha to her bed'.The room is lit after this with candle and diyas and Maharani sprinkles some water on the Rajkumari's face'After sometime Chandralekha wakes up and blabbers'"Matashri'" "Bas Chandralekha..Kuch mat kahiye'.humei maaf kar dijiye'humei apko itni kathor saza nahi sunani chahiye thi..Hume abhi Ved ji(doctor) ko bulate hai..Woh apki thik se ilaaz karenge'" Says the concerned Maharani'But Chandralekha replies back that she was fine and she fainted due to hunger and as she was afraid of darkness'At this mother feels sorry for the poor girl and promises her never to give her such a harsh punishment' "Hum abhi apke liye kuch khane ka ayojan karte hai'Aap araam kijiye" and she pats her cheeks and leaves the room'After she was sure that her mother had left the room she quickly gets up and laughs her heart out'"Chalo humei humari saza se mukti mil hi gayi'Humei kaid karna itna asaan nahi'." And she smirks with the thought of her success'
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Next day Maharaj comes back and gets to know about his daughter's condition and immediately goes to see her'he enters her room while Chandralekha was busy gossiping with Kurwaki'"Chandra'kaisi hai aap?..Kya hua tha apko?..abhi kaisi tabiyat hai apki?..apko araam karna chahiye naki batei'." And her father would go on with his advises had she not stopped him'"Shant Pitashri..woh to kal ki baat thi..Abhi hum bilkul thik hai'Dekhiye'" and she shows herself while smiling lovingly at her father'But Maharaj was not in a mood to take her comfort talks'
"Par beta aap kal behosh ho gayi thi..Apko aj araam karna chahiye tha'aur ap yaha batei kar rahi hai apni sakhi se'" Maharaj personally didn't like Kurwaki much as he knew what she was, but only beared her because of his daughter's stubbornness that she would die without her best friend'Maharaj tried to convince her many times'"Beta ap kisi aur ko bhi to apni sakhi bana sakti hai'.Woh to ek Rajkumari bhi nahi hai'Apko kya anand milta hai use baat karke?..."'"Pitashri aap Kurwaki ke barei mei aisi baatei na kare'Hum jante hai ki who ek rajkumari nahi hai balki balki Daisa ki beti aur humari khaas dasi hai jo sirf humare Shringaar karne mei aur humei tayaar hone mei humari madat karti hai'Par hum use daasi nahi mante..woh humarei liye humari sakhi hai..sabse kareeb'Agar aap humse prem karte hai to dubara use humse door karne ke barei mei koi baat nahi karenge!..." and her father could not give any more explanations..He knew how stubborn his daughter was and when she liked something she would never ever let it go away'So he let go things as it was but only giving Kurwaki's mother i.e Daisa a warning that Kurwaki should never use any magical powers on her daughter'
"Pitashri..kaha kho gaye aap?..batayie na kal humei apne saath leke challenge na Shikhaar karne?...varna hum firse bimaar par jayenge'kuch to boliye pitashri'." Her father was still lost in her thoughts when Chandralekha jerked him to bring him back to the human world and he just shrugs back and tells her to take rest and orders Kurwaki to leave'Chandralekha was disappointed now at her father's actions but she was firm and decided to go with her father the next day'
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She got ready along with four more of her friends'Some Rajkumari's and also Kurwaki along with her'Her father got shocked seeing her waiting in the early morning'"Chaliye pitashri hum taiyaar hai'" Her father tried to act like he didn't understand.."Par kaha jane ke liye?...Hum to shikaar par ja rahe hai'" "To hum bhi to wahi ja rahe hai pitashri..Kal hi to humne kaha tha apko aur apne agya bhi diya tha humei apke sath an eke liye'ab chaliye varna der ho jayegi'" and she got out with her friends and ordered the servants to bring out their horses'Maharaj decided to surrender to his daughter's wishes as he realized that arguing with her would be a work of insane as his daughter was just not ready to listen anything'The royals were having a great time hunting in the famous jungle of Shandher..They had already killed 4 deers and the ministers along with the king was enjoying their time, but the girls were not very happy'All were dying in the scorching heat and wanted to take some rest in some shade..They were very thirsty and water cans were already empty by then'
"Pitashri agar apki ijazat ho to hum thora araam kar le'Humei thora pani chahiye..Kya hum kahi se pani bharke laye...hum thak gaye hai aur humari sakhiya bhi'"'pleaded Chandralekha to her father making a face, seeing which everyone would feel sympathetic'" Isiliye humne kaha tha apse ki apko ane ki zaroorat nahi hai par ap to apne zid pe hi are hoti hai humesha..nahi ye jungle bohot khatarnakh hai..ap kahi nahi jayengi akele..Sainik apke saath challenge'"Pitashri aisa mat kijiye, ape k sainik ko bhejiye humarei saath..puri sena ayengi to sare janwar humse darke bhaag jayenge!..." and hearing this everyone starts laughing.."Thik hai Thik hai..Jayiye'"..One sainik follows her along with the girls'Kurwaki understood what she was upto and gave a naughty smile looking at her'After sometime the group of girls reach near a big river and they jump up with Joy'Now Chandralekha had a plan'She was completely tired and was feeling very hot, so wanted to take a bath in the river'But with that soldier behind them, it was impossible!...So she signals Kurwaki who nods in reply and turns to face the soldier'Rukiye Sainik.."Ap aage nahi ja sakte'.ye humara aadesh hai.." The soldier gets angry and shouts at her'" Tum hoti kaun ho hum aadesh dene wali..Hum jante hai ki hum kya kar rahe hai..Aur waise bhi hum sirf Rajpariwar ka aadesh lete hai, ek daasi ki nahi'aur ye maharaj ka hokum hai ki hum Rajkumari ji ke sath rahe aur inhe yaha se sahi salamat le chale'" saying this he starts to move forward but is stopped by Kurwaki's eyes'She looks at him with her eyes fixed and commands him to stop there'Hypnotizing people and making them do what she wanted was something Kurwaki was an expert'She may have looked young, but was more matured than the princess in her decisions and deeds'The soldier stopped moving and obeyed her order..As soon as she turned towards the river, the soldier fell unconscious and fell near a tree'Kurwaki smiled as she walked towards the river, where Chandralekha and her friends were already having a good time'Chandralekha wanted the soldier to go back to her father, but Kurwaki knew that it would be dangerous, as her father would soon come running to find them and they wouldn't be able to enjoy their day'The girls were a bit hesitant in removing their clothes and also a bit shy but Kurwaki had removed all her clothes as no one was present there except the girls and she was enjoying to her full in the cold water..Splashing each other the girls were laughing and giggling like kids and Chandralekha was swimming like a baby free from all the worldly tensions'She just wanted to forget all the restrictions and rules that she had to follow, being a Rajkumari'
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In the meantime Maharaj Shaurya was trying to find his way back from the jungle, he had no clue where that jungle led to..He was a bit in pain and some blood drops were flowing from his left hand, which had been injured by some enemy soldiers on his way back to the mahal..It was hard to injure Shaurya Pratap Singh whom many were scared to fight with, and many shivered at his very name'There was no word called mercy in his dictionary for his enemies and his punishments were always very harsh and cruel'But nevertheless everyone knew that he never punished anyone without a reason..Today he killed all the soldiers who came to kill him on his way back to the mahal but wanted to know by whom they were sent'But they did not give him the answer..So how could he spare them..There must be someone very close who was behind this plots'"Hume jald hi pata lagana parega!..." ..thinking this he suddenly heard some chirpy voices nearby and decided to follow the voices'"Shayad waha koi ho jo humei is jungle se nikalne ka rasta bata sake'"'
He reached the place and what he saw popped his eyes out'A beautiful damsel naked swimming blissfully and playing in water'He thanked his stars for that fight and also his horse for leading him to that jungle'He felt like heaven and glared from top to toe at that flawlessly beautiful body'He didn't know why he was enjoying this sight..It was wrong to watch another woman like that, he knew it when he was married..but then he couldn't help enjoying this sight and wanted to watch for some more time when Kurwaki noticed him..She screams at the top of her voice.."Kaun hai waha!..Dusht kahike , humei is tarha dekhne mei tumhe sharam nahi ati'!!"'Hearing this Shaurya got excited and decided to come forward. He proudly came out and said.."Ha nahi ati!...Sharam tum logo ko ani chahiye ki is tarha se bina vastro ke snan kar rahi ho!..." he said looking lustfully at Chandralekha'Chandralekha was shocked and angry now..Her anger knew no bounds..She felt like she would come out right away and slap him there and there for looking at her body like that'She shouted.."Dusht, papi..teri himmat kaise hui humei is tarha dekhne ki?..apni nazre abhi neechi karo..Varna humarei pitashri apni talwar se tumhari akhen nikal lenge'Tum jante nahi hum kaun hai aur is tarha humei dekhne ki tumhe kya dand mil sakti hai!..." She kept on shouting while her hands were on her upper body trying to cover herself from those thirsty eyes'She thanked God that the water was atleast covering her lower end and Shaurya pitied this'He wanted to see her full'He was still staring at her and replied to himself'"Jo bhi dand tum dogi, woh dand tumhe adha dekhne ke dand se to acha hi hoga!!..."and she shouted'"Kya bola tumne?..." '
Yahi ki HumChunargarh ke Maharj Shaurya Pratap Singh hai'Humei jo dand de sake who aaj tak paida nahi hua'Hearing this Chandralekha was shocked but not scared. She too spoke proudly'"Aur hum Rajkumari Chandralekha hai'Naugard ke Maharaj Rajendra Singh ki ek lauti putri'.Humei jo hara sake waisa aj tak humei mila nahi'Humei jo chahiye who hum paa ke rehte hai!"'..""Naugard!" the very word made his blood warm with anger but he was more amazed seeing the boldness of the princess, her bravery inspite of the fact that the eyes of a strong and powerful man were glaring at her'he enjoyed this and said to himself'"Apmei to garmi kud kud ke bhari hai Rajkuamri ji'Ab humei is garmi ko graham jaldhi karna hoga..Apko harane wala apko jald hi milega!.."