Amar Singh Rawal stared at the panoramic view of his city from large balcony of his bedroom. He was brimming with pride at the sight. The sun was going down and the blue sky turned into orange violet sky. The city was getting ready for the evening. One of his queen , Satyavati arrived to give him company. She was his first wife as well as confidant.
"Your highness, you look peaceful. Hence I will consider your contentedness as our accomplishment of looking after you.", she said while smiling softly at him. He shifted his gaze towards her and smiled back at her. "No Maharani ! Don't be so humble. Your service has always been par class. What makes me content is looking at our peaceful city and that our people are happy with my service.", he said.
"Indeed a happy king makes a happy kingdom.", his second queen, Gayatri spoke loud , waiting at the door with the two servers. One of two servers had a small bowl of kheer(sweet dish) on a tray while other had large plate filled with Indian savories bites. She ordered them to place it on small dining table at the center of the bedroom while she walked towards the balcony where the king was. The king and his first queen had turned their gaze towards her
Gayatri was the king's favorite wife and consort. Unlike Satyavati, she had childlike innocence and always craved for the king's attention though he provided her with undivided attention to her. The king smiled. "I prepared special kheer for you,Amarji...I mean.. your highness.", she blurted while Satyavati squinted her eyes at her in anger. Gayatri looked down embarrassed. "Maharani ! It's fine. It was just a small mistake. She didn't mean it.", the king laughed.
"True ! Maharani Satyavati, your highness isn't angry with me for calling his name. We aren't in any royal gathering. It is only king, you , me and the servants. Don't be upset.", Gayatri said. Satyavati cooled down and offered the kheer to the king. He devoured it and appreciated the younger queen's culinary skills. Gayatri was in cloud nine. Later he headed towards the king's court where he held private meeting with his ministers on pressing matters of his kingdom.
It took about an hour to finish the meeting. He was about to dismiss the minister when a soldier arrived. "Your highness, we found a lady in miserable condition outside the city. We bought her to the court.", he said. Amar Singh ordered him to bring the girl. She was bought in. The lady was in her early twenties. Her skin was tanned badly. Her hair was rough and untied. She wore plain green cotton sari and black blouse that didn't match the sari colour. Her lips were dried and eyes were covered in dark circles. She looked famished. Her legs couldn't take her weight and she fell down. The king ordered his soldiers to take her to one of royal guest rooms as well as doctor to check up on her.
(To be continued)
No comments:
Post a Comment