Nights
The first word that comes in our mind on the mention of night is the stars that sparkles in the night sky. The beautiful twinkles, the random mesmerizing patterns decorating the sky is a sight to behold.
While the stars are the king of the n...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The Sun rose and so did the family of Maharaj Pandu. Vijaya too, surprisingly woke up with a good mood unlike the usual sulking when Chandrika would wake her up.
"Suprabhat Jaya. Did you sleep well putri?" Kunti asked entering the hut with a pitcher of water in her hand.
"Suprabhat mata. Yes I slept well. It's so peaceful here unlike the drums of the palace that wake us up daily. They just disturb the sleep like no other and then the constant nagging of all the dasis to get ready fast to reach the temple as fast as possible. Imagine getting up early in the morning and being rushed to the bathroom and the cold water is poured on you. You are not able to wake up and everyone pushes you in a series of work!" Vijaya dramatized throwing her hands everywhere while Kunti just laughed how chirpy she was early in the morning.
"Now you should get ready fast. Ill do your hair after which you can tag along with the boys. You will have fun there." Vijaya nodded excitedly and got dressed for the day. She got ready in a simple yellow colour lehenga and just a simple pair of earrings. She felt so light and free unlike what she felt in the palace.
"Mata can I ask you something?" Vijaya asked holding her knees to her chest as Kunti braided her hair lightly, adding buds of roses to her hair instead of heavy jewels.
"Yes Vijaya. Go ahead." Kunti pinned the last bud of rose to her hair and began braiding it again till the end.
"Mata said that in palace you should be dressed with a lot of jewels and heavy dresses. It is compulsory but here it's not mandatory. Why is it so? Don't we have to look beautiful here too?"
"Because in a palace, you have to be chained, weighed down so you don't cross your boundaries. They are not jewels, they are restrainers." Kunti whispered to herself, gazing into the infinite stretch of sky.
"What? What do you mean Mata?" Vijaya asked confused. Kunti shook her head and smiled.
"Because there you are a princess but here you are Vijaya. You are whatever you want here." Kunti smiled finishing her hair. Vijaya jumped up and faced her.
"Like a free bird. In the palace I'm a bird in cage and here I can fly!" She explained extending her arms and circling around Kunti, pretending to fly which made Kunti laugh.
"Now take this and run. Otherwise the boys will leave you." Kunti said handing Vijaya the box of refreshments she packed before she ran out of the hut. Greeting Maharaj Pandu on her way, she joined the boys who made sure to keep her in the middle to keep her safe.
"Bhrata Yudhishthir, I heard your favorite weapon is a spear. Why is it so? Why you chose such a different weapon and not a usual one like bow and arrow or a sword?" Vijaya asked trying to dodge the pebbles that came her way jumping a little on her way. She tried hard to keep up with Yudhishthir's long and smooth strides as he paved his way through the wavering path with practiced ease.
"Because I feel drawn towards it. It gives me peace when I hold the spear in my hand." Yudhishthir tried not to go into technicalities of the weapon and confuse Vijaya.
"But is it not difficult? I mean if you ever are indulged in a dual, it is difficult to fight with a spear. It's at times bigger than you so it's difficult to control and attack." Yudhishthir smiled at her curiosity, slightly stunned at her observation skills as well. He turned towards her and extended her hand towards her to help her cross the small brook.
"It's not. If you know the skill, you can do anything. Spear is not difficult but requires skill. Once you learn that, its not so difficult as it seems." Vijaya held onto her lehanga tightly trying that the water does not ruin her dress while listening to Yudhishthir carefully.
"But bhrata, wouldn't it have been easy for you to choose the conventional weapon like a sword or bow and arrow? Why waste so much energy into something different and unconventional?" Vijaya questioned as she scrunched her eyebrows at Nakul who just threw a few dried leaves at him. Picking up a small twig, she threw it as him making him wince and rub his arm earning a loud chuckle from Bheem.
She turned her attention towards Yudhishthir who was now silent, smiling to himself. She waited for a few minutes for him to answer.
"I chose spear as my weapon because I felt drawn towards it. I felt passionate towards it." He walked a little closer to Vijaya before continuing.
"Always remember Jaya, things that draw you towards themselves might seem different than what others do and a little unconventional but that shouldn't stop you from owning it. If you are passionate about something, just do it. It being different, uncommon, unconventional or difficult shouldn't stop you. If you have the will, you will achieve it anyhow." Yudhishthir kept an affectionate hand on her head as she tried to grasp each and every word Yudhishthir just told him.
Their little moment was broken by a weird voice which grabbed their attention. Nakul and Bheem yet again indulged into a funny fight, more like Nakul trying to save himself from Bheem's wrath and Arjun laughing his asses off.
Vijaya noticed a small boy a little behind Arjun who did not make his presence obvious but anyone present there could feel it. He smiled a little at the scene without making himself very noticeable.
"Here we go again." Yudhishthir muttered tiredly making Vijaya chuckle.
