Transmigration - Accidental or Intentional - On Hold

Chapter 6

Enroute to Agra

Jallal entered his tent, fuming at his failed revenge attempt and Jodha's insult. He never expected Jodha to answer back, especially in front of soldiers. It was a huge blow to his ego. No one had dared to insult him. Jallal felt humiliated with the fact that there was nothing he could do to stop the insult. It was as if he deserved it. But he would not accept it. He would not accept defeat. He decided to take his revenge in Agra. He quickly made a plan. He thought, "Jodha Begum, you cannot escape this time." With the newly formed plan in mind, Jallal drifted off to sleep.

The troupe left for Agra the next morning. Jallal had not done anything so far. He was waiting for his chance. Jallal's silence was troubling Atgah Sahab. He knew Jallal never remained silent. He was worried for Jodha as he felt Jallal was planning something big. As he had no idea of the plan, he could not help Jodha. He just hoped that Jodha would understand Jallal's plan in time to escape from it.

While Atgah was busy praying for Jodha's safety, Jodha was nervous about reaching Agra. Jodha could so far understand that Jallal did not like her. She just hoped that she would survive through it. She prayed to Kaanaa for strength and calmed herself. She then started looking forward, eager to know her new life.

Agra

The troupe reached the Mughal Fort by evening. From her Palki, Jodha was able to see a part of the Fort. To say she was mesmerized would be an understatement. The divine beauty of the Fort could not be expressed in words. The work of the craftsmen could be clearly seen. Jodha kept looking around, trying to get as much view as possible of the Fort from outside. However, her view was cruelly stopped by the Palki bearers, who slowly but steadily lowered the Palki.

Jodha slowly exited the Palki with the help of a servant. Not knowing what to do, she stood still at her place. Almost immediately a middle-aged woman approached her. The woman was dressed in an elegant and royal off-white dress. Her body was covered by jewellery made of pearls. A broad smile adored her lips. From the way the woman was dressed, Jodha concluded that the lady belonged to the Royal Family.

The woman looked pleasant and amiable. She quickly moved towards Jodha. The woman lifted Jodha's Dupatta and admired her for a minute. She then spoke with a smile, 'Masha Allah, you are indeed very beautiful. May Allah shower you with all his love and blessings. Amen. Let me introduce myself. I am Hamida Banu, Jallal's mother.' Jodha, though stunned, quickly composed herself and took Hamida's blessings. Hamida happily blessed her. She then turned towards Jallal. Jallal had been quite distant from her since childhood. She tried to reduce the gap. However, there was no success. Her smile was dimmed by the realization that Jallal did not bother to acknowledge her.

Hamida composed herself and spoke, 'I am happy to find you safe and sound, Jallal.' Jallal just nodded in reply and turned towards Maham Anga, 'Badi Ammi, Please go and rest. You need to be present for the evening celebration.'. This hurt Hamida a lot. One more pair of eyes noticed Jallal's indifference towards his mother. Jodha was confused by Jallal's behaviour. She remembered clearly how protective he had been about his Badi ammi. If Jallal cared for Maham Anga so much, then why didn't he bother about his mother. Before Jodha could ponder further, Jallal turned towards her. He mentally smirked and spoke, 'Jodha Begum, I want you to cook for the celebration. Make sure that the entire food is made by you. I hope you won't disappoint me.' Instead of waiting for her reply, Jallal strode towards Ruqaiya's chamber.

Jodha didn't have time to react. She sighed and accepted her fate. Hamida slowly spoke, 'Jodha Begum, come. I will show you your room. You can rest for sometime.' Jodha nodded. She then entered her house after completing the remaining rituals.

Ruqaiya's Room

Jallal entered Ruqaiya's room with a bright smile. Ruqaiya rushed towards Jallal and hugged him tightly. Ruqaiya and Jallal had been friends since childhood. Ruqaiya had been in love with him since then. Jallal had great respect for Ruqaiya. He blindly trusted her. Ruqaiya had never given him a chance to mistrust her. She made sure that no one was above her in the Harem. Her miscarraige had, however, pushed her on the path of revenge. Now all she wanted was revenge. 

Ruqaiya slowly left him and said, 'Jallal, how have you been? I missed you so much.' Jallal smiled for the first time and pulled her for another hug. Holding her close, he gave her the good news,  'I missed you too. I have been great. How are you doing?' Ruqaiya pulled him closer and said, 'I was miserable. Staying away from you is so difficult for me.' Jallal gave her a kiss and said, 'Ruqaiya, it is difficult for me too. Hence, I promise to spend the night with you. Anyways, I have good news. The first step of our revenge was a success. I married that Rajvanshi. She is here, in Agra. I have also started the second step too.' Ruqaiya was pleased to hear that. She gave a huge smile and asked about the second step. On hearing about Jallal's decision of letting Jodha to cook for the celebration, Ruqaiya frowned.

She spoke to him slowly, 'Jallal, you know well that this celebration is very important. How could you allow her to cook? How can you give her such an important task?' Jallal held her and said, 'Ruqaiya, calm down. Jodha is a princess. Do you think she would know how to cook? Even if she was a good cook, will she be able to cook for so many people? I don't think so.' Ruqaiya still looked unsatisfied, 'But what if she is successful?' Jallal smirked, 'Ruqaiya, she is cooking for the King. You know well what a cook must do before serving the King.' Ruqaiya finally smiled. She then hugged him, 'Yes, how can I forget. Our second step would be successful for sure. Leave all of that aside, Let us play chess.' She pulled him towards the chessboard.

Jodha's Room

Jodha was brought to her room by Hamida. Her room was small and elegant. It had a pleasant look. Jodha was happy. However, Hamida looked embarrassed. Jodha noticed Hamida's expression and asked her about the same. Hamida sighed and replied, 'Jodha Begum, this is the smallest room in this Harem. I would have ordered the servants to give you a bigger room. However, Ruqaiya Begum is the in-charge of this Harem. She didn't want to give you a bigger room. I cannot disrespect by going against her.' Jodha was confused. She couldn't understand why Ruqaiya Begum hated her even before knowing her. She needed to clear her doubt and did the same, 'Ruqaiya Begum?' Hamida nodded, 'Ruqaiya Begum is Jallal's first wife and childhood friend. She is the one who manages the Harem.' Jodha nodded, 'Ah, now I understand. She would not have liked to share her husband.'

Hamida wanted to inform her of the truth. But she just couldn't. Something stopped her from telling the truth, the fear that Jodha's family could be responsible for the miscarriage. If Jodha knew nothing, then at least she could save Jodha for some time. Hamida asked Jodha to freshen up while she gets her room set. While Hamida was instructing the servants, Jodha freshened up.

On finding Hamida busy with her work, she slowly went to her, 'Maasa,' Hamida turned towards Jodha and looked at her with tears brimming. Though Ruqaiya and Salima respected her, they had taken their own sweet time to accept her. Even her son doesn't love her that much. Jodha, on the other hand, accepted her immediately. She wished her son would accept her too. Jodha was startled by her tears, 'I won't call you Maasa if you don't like it, Raj Mata.' Hamida wiped her tears and smiled brightly, 'Jodha Begum, call me Maasa. These are tears of happiness. This is the first time someone addressed me with so much love.'

Jodha, though wanted to ask her a lot of questions, simply nodded, 'Maasa, can you take me to the Kitchen? I would like to start with dinner preparation.' Hamida was immediately worried, 'Jodha Begum, you would be tired. Don't stress yourself. You don't have to cook today. I will tell Jallal that you will cook tomorrow.' Jodha was happy with Hamida's concern. She gently assured Hamida, 'Maasa, call me Jodha only. I am not tired Maasa. I will cook for everyone. Don't worry.' Hamida, though worried, smiled looking at Jodha's confidence. She then gestured to Jodha to follow her. Jodha thanked Hamida for showing her the Kitchen and started with the work right away.

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