☾【𝑴𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏】☀

☆𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 1:𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺'𝘴 𝘉𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨☆

In the spring of 1894, Calcutta and her friends were done with their day of studying at the Presidency College. The girls decided to take a break and enjoy some ice cream. As they walked down the streets of the European Quarter, they came across a vendor selling scoops of vanilla ice cream. The girls decided to stop for a quick bite. They thanked the vendor and continued their walk, taking in the sights, sounds, and bustling streets of the quarter.

Calcutta and her friends walked along the streets, just enjoying their day. Suddenly, a close friend named Milan questioned her: "Have you ever wondered about getting married?"

Calcutta looked at Milan, startled by her question, but she answered it with a laugh instead: "Oh, do you mean me? I guess I haven't thought about it much. Why do you ask"?

"Yeah, I know you're a busy girl. But it is quite strange for you to still be unmarried at 19 Maybe it's time to find a husband, don't you think?"

"...Well, I've always been career focused. I believe relationships and marriage can wait until I'm a bit older. But I considered being married to a wealthy man, perhaps an emperor. "

They both gasped after hearing Calcutta mention the wealthy man, their ice cream forgotten for a moment. They exchanged a look, the mention of the emperor getting their attention and now they couldn't think of anything else.

"The emperor?! Are you crazy?" said Milan, looking shocked.

"You've got to be kidding, girl." Another friend added that even she was taken aback by what Calcutta said.

"I am not, just eat your ice cream, I did consider that idea. If a wealthy and powerful man came and wanted to marry me, why shouldn't I?" Calcutta said as she turned to look at her friends.

"Okay, you can't seriously be thinking that any emperor would want to marry you. That's just ridiculous! No emperor would ever look at you like that!" Milan exclaimed.

"...But they say that the heart wants what it wants...what if an emperor one day just decided they wanted to marry you? Would you turn them away?" Another girl remarked while eating her ice cream.

Calcutta grinned as she strolled and spoke to her pals: "Well, I can't answer that now. If that ever were to happen, I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

"I can't imagine an emperor would ever want to marry you though. They've got all their royals and nobles to choose from. Who would want to be married to some university-educated peasant?" Milan stated in an ironic tone that she believed it would never be possible for a common citizen to wed an emperor.

"Hey now, I'm definitely not a peasant! I'm an educated, hard-working Indian woman who comes from a wealthy business family", mentioned Calcutta.

"If you marry an emperor, you'll be lucky to enjoy the life of a relaxed queen while in charge of the country and government," Milan said, glancing at her.

Calcutta stopped for a moment and looked at her 2 friends with an expression of confusion and asked them "Are you expecting me to marry?

Both Milan and another girl nodded yes.

"What's wrong with getting married, Nivedita? You might find a good husband someday..."

"...And who knows, you're young and pretty enough for that!"

"'Good husband'? 'Wealthy man'? You're both saying it as if it's a matter of fact, that I'll end up getting married someday. If that happens, fine, but don't expect me to have marriage be a goal of mine. I'm not a trophy to be won."  Calcutta had little patience for her friends' shenanigans, and after one of them made a joke, she simply rolled her eyes and scoffed before heading off. Her other friends found this amusing and laughed as she left, continuing to enjoy their time together. The joke was probably meant for good fun, but Calcutta had no patience for it and had to leave before it annoyed her further.