The Cinderella Of Rewa

8. Vedika

Present :

His eyes shining like a little boy, Mihir opened the box of ladoos infront of Devoleena.

"Sahiba, it's a girl", he said happily.

"Why were you not at the prayer meet?", Daju Ma snapped.

"Sahiba...my..my wife was in labour..and..."

"So? You were not the one giving birth right?".

Vedika's heart broke when she saw the way Mihir's face fell.

"Sahiba she was in pain for more than six hours", Mihir muttered.

"I know sir. Even I've pushed two babies out of my body".

"I just..I just wanted to see my daughter's face once", Mihir practically sobbed.

"Babies are born everyday Mihir", Daju Ma said in a pitying voice "Don't you need to do your work properly to earn well for your daughter's sake? When she grows up she should be able to say, her father is a hard worker. Not some lazy man sitting at home. Now come and start your work. And congratulations, anyway", she said, dismissing the ladoo box with one hand without taking a sweet.

After Daju Ma had marched inside haughtily, the others servants and Vedika crowded around Mihir.

"Who does she look like?", Rudra asked.

"She'd look like Vidya bhabhi of course", Ranga commented.

"Is Vidya doing good?", Ganga enquired.

Rumki and Sahil had laid their hands on the ladoo box and were fighting with each other for it's contents.

Mihir lighted up considerably seeing that at least his fellow servants were genuinely happy about his new fatherhood. He answered all their questions animatedly. People who already had kids bombarded him with all sorts of advice for fatherhood. At the end of all the chaos, he turned to Vedika and said in a very quiet voice, "I wish Yash Sahib was here".

Of course he wished that, Vedika thought tenderly. If her father had been there, he would've embraced Mihir, given him a generous bonus, chided him for coming to work that day and sent him back home asking him to stay with his wife for another month.

All Vedika knew was that it was not just Mihir who wished Yashvant Thakur was still around. 

•••

Two Months Later :

The bell rang as all the maids, servants, stable boys and guards came running in. Navratri had lit up Rewa like a star in the sky. Everyone in Thakur Mansion had to be in the courtyard while the aarti was being done.

The twelve feet bronze statue of Goddess Kali built by Yashvant Thakur stood magnificently in the middle of the courtyard. One look at it, could give anybody goosebumps.

The prayers started. Vedika stood in the rearmost part of the courtyard praying silently.

Madhuri and Sonakshi stood in the frontline behind their mother looking sulky while Daju Ma was screeching prayers in a high pitched voice that would've made a donkey proud.

A stable boy lit camphor infront of the idol, while Ranga sporting a big tilak on his forehead was throwing flowers on the idol and trying to outshout Daju Ma in chanting the prayers.

Vedika closed her eyes and said her prayers quickly before retreating towards out of the courtyard. Her stepmother would certainly not bother to look for her if she slipped away before the puja ended. Besides, Vedika knew exactly what would happen next and had no inclination to witness it.

Sure enough as she crept away from the prayer area and turned back, the puja had reached it's crescendo.

The cries of 'Jai Ma Kali!' rose from every throat.  Daju Ma had started shaking wildly, twirling her head round and round. Her long, slender fingers digging into her own skin. It was to be one of the nights that the Goddess possessed her.

Vedika had been frightened out of her life when this had happened for the first time. But now she was bored. Sighing, she started walking towards the kitchen.

Daju Ma would go on and on like this till the early hours of the morning with her hair let loose, screaming the Goddess's name and shaking continuously with many of the servants copying her.

When Vedika's father had been there, there had never been such histrionics.  Yashvant would chant the prayers in his serene calm voice while the servants would stand in rows piously with their hands folded.

Now, however, after the power of the mansion had changed hands, Vedika saw the same servants jumping around and crying, apparently possessed like their mistress.

The bloody sycophants! Vedika thought. For them, all that mattered was that they were paid for the jobs they did and were given a roof over their heads. They didn't care who paid them.

Her father's honesty and integrity had mattered nothing to them. All they had ever wanted was to get money from him. Now that his wealth had passed to another hand, they had camouflaged themselves to get the same money from the new mistress. 

Daju Ma's screams grew louder and were echoed by the rest of the servants. Some girls had fainted, Ranga was beating the drum like it was his worst enemy and Rudra was ringing the bell wildly to add to the cacophony. The entire compound was filled with smoke from the incense and camphor. The cries of 'Jai Ma Kali!' was growing incessantly.

Once inside the kitchen, Vedika realised she wasn't alone. Ganga and Sahil were huddled there sitting by the light of a single oil lamp.

"Come on let's eat", Vedika said.

"Oh yes, please", Ganga said, opening the pots of food lined up near them, one by one.

"But this is prasad", Sahil said looking at both the women, puzzled "Won't she scold us if we eat it?"

By she, Vedika knew he meant Daju Ma.

"We are there right? Why are you worried?", Ganga said reassuringly as she pulled the vessel of gravy towards her. Vedika opened the pot containing rasagullas.

"Can I have one sweet?" Sahil asked eagerly, standing up and knocking out a brass vessel in the process. Ganga and Vedika looked at each other in alarm.

But to their relief, the frenzied prayers of Daju Ma drowned out the noise. Out in the courtyard, each person was still trying to outdo the other in the competitive display of devotion.

"Why only one sweet? Have three", Vedika said placing the sweets infront of Sahil. His mother further loaded his plate with rice, rotis and gravy. The two women proceeded to fill their own plates and stomachs.

There was no one her to disturb her here or tell her what to do or treat her like a maid in her own house. Vedika wished the three of them could just sit there like that forever. If only she had known what was coming.