The real Killer

Twelve

"Subhadra,dear,come and give your father water. He needs to bath. He has just returned home after completing a funeral"her mother screamed..

And a young girl barely ten ran from outside. She was playing with her friends. Her anklets rang as she ran along the muddy path. She laughed little and arrived..

There stood her father in a white dhoti. He was doing some chanting. She picked up the water vessel and directly poured the water on him.

It was there ritual. Whenever her Brahmin father had to do funeral works,he would bath outside, then change the holy thread he wore. Then only he would come inside..

Subhadra handed her father the bundle of white thread from which he would make a holy thread. Then she gave him a small vessel and  turmeric powder. She sat on the verandah watching her father making that thread. She was not allowed to wear it,because she was a girl.

At the times when the women didnot even had proper names,she had a name Subhadra. Subhadra,the sister of Lord Krishna,the wife of Arjuna. She too waited for her Arjuna to appear and take her to his kingdom. When she had told her mother this,her mother had scolded her. She was a Brahmin girl. She would marry in her caste. Arjuna was a warrior,a Khetriya. She should not dream about it.

Still her childish heart had wished for someone to come and take her away. It's not that she wished to live in palace. But she was in love with the idea of love..

A Brahmin girl from a small Brahmin village in West Bengal..

And the prince came. Amarendra Singh Raizada had come to visit West Bengal. The would be Nawab of Lukhnow. He had stayed in Bengal for a month. And Subhadra and her mother were the cooks. Subhadra the little helper. Amarendra was four year older than her. The young Subhadra was barely thirteen . Still her free laughter,her anklet chimes,had created a place in the heart of the prince..Both had became friends.

Amrendra had left for Lukhnow. Yet he returned to Bengal to taste the home made Bengali sweets and fish curry,and hear the chatter of the chatterbox whenever he was free. Two years passed. Now Subhadra was fifteen. Both knew they were special. Her parents were looking for groom and his family for bride. Subhadra had told him about it..

Amrendra had told her to pack her bags. He would ask for her hands to her father. She had smiled happily.

Yet her father was furious. He slapped her,locked her up. In anger he cursed her to be never happy in her life..

Her mother pitied her. That night after her father had fallen asleep,she had dragged the sleepy Subhadra and took her to Amarendra. Amarendra had then took her home, away from Bengal,away from home. She had cried holding her mother a lot. Yet her mother and told her,blessed her with a happy life ahead..

She had forgotten the curse of her father..

The parents of Amarendra were very kind people. They accepted her as their own. She,Subhadra soon became Subhadra Singh Raizada. She was very happy. With her beloved,they had built a safe cocoon of their own..

Few months after her marriage,Amarendra had arranged a feast to honour his wife and to introduce her to his friends. They were all rich people. In these friends were Dhruv Raichand and Kamini Sahay. Devyani was also one of them.

Kamini had approached her,became her friend. She had told her,that she and Amarendra were engaged before. But Amarendra broke it after meeting her. She had taught her many things,such as how to do makeups,how to walk,talk,be like the foreigners. She was eager to adjust to Amarendra 's life. So she learnt it. Yet Amarendra was not happy. He made her understand that he loves her as she was. He had fallen for that clumsy girl. So she tried to be herself again. Devyani was little shy. Yet they bonded quickly. And soon she was married to Mallik family and left for Delhi. Kamini married Dhruv . Amarendra had tried very hard to make her not change. Yet Kamini was like a silent poison seeping inside..

Soon she became pregnant. Yet she lost the child. It broke her. But she was only eighteen. Kamini have birth to Dev. Then after two years Sristi was born..