He didn't want to get married. But life doesn't always go as planned, does it? He ended up getting married, and surprisingly, he did not regret it. His wife took care of his siblings like a mother. She loved him deeply. She was the most beautiful wo...
The dreaded day had come. My bua and kaki would be here today. They were very cunning and opportunistic women. When our parents passed, they didn't even bother to check on 3 little kids who had no one. After Baba's death, the influence of the royalty of Madhavgarh came down significantly. Businesses weren't doing too well, so they had nothing to gain from us. But now that Madhavgarh was restored to its former glory and we had become filthy rich, we suddenly became family to them. Now they visit every year. My kaki even tried to set me up with one of her friend's good-for-nothing daughters so that she could have influence here.
Well, that didn't work out, did it? I'm married to a badass woman, whom those ladies could never influence. And so they were bitter and tried to insult Jaanki in any way possible. Not that my wife would let them walk over her, she gave it back, but she made sure to maintain dignity with them. We have to retain whatever family we have left, Jaanki had said. I did know that, if not for familial bonds, at least for political support, I had to deal with those women. Just as I was immersed in the negativity that comes with even the thoughts of those women, Jaanki walked out of the closet, trying to pleat her saree.
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Jaanki's outfit
"Help me, Raghav," she said, looking annoyed. I moved towards her, sat on my knees in front of her so that my eyes were on level with her waist, and started. "Why do you have to do this to yourself every time those women come?" I asked her, annoyed while doing her pleats. "It's not just for them, I know you find me hot in sarees," she said, giving me a teasing look. I tucked her pleats into her waistcoat, taking my hands a little further down than required, rubbing her clothed womanhood. "Raghav!" she moaned, holding my hand, stopping it from proceeding further. "Think before you decide to tease me, Raani sahib," I said, taking my hand out of her petticoat.
She looked at me all red. I smirked and before I could comment any further, we heard a knock on the door. "Come in," I said. "Maharaja's bua-sa and kaki-sa have arrived at the airport. They'll reach the palace in the next 30 minutes," a staff member informed us. I nodded and she left. "I have to go down and check the breakfast, I have to prepare files for today's session with the royal council, I have to check on their rooms, which means I have to finish getting dressed like 10 minutes ago," Jaanki rambled, with dread on her face. "Relax, they won't eat you alive," I commented. "Except, they will," she said, turning around to hurriedly finish dressing up. I chuckled and left to take a bath myself.
Jaanki's POV
I was in the kitchen, tasting each and every dish to make sure they were good enough, knowing very well that those women still wouldn't like them. Sakshi was helping me look into the arrangements in their rooms. They wanted rooms in the queen's chambers. Raghav had out rightly denied them, saying those rooms belonged to the queen and the queen alone. They agreed to stay in the guest chambers after much drama but made sure to taunt me about it until they left. Not that I cared about what they thought of me, but I knew how politically important their husbands were.
"They are here, Raani sahib," a staff member informed. I quickly brushed my hands on my saree to get rid of any creases and made my way to the meeting room. Raghav and Sakshi were already there and Arjun was making his way down the stairs. I joined them. "Yeh log kabhi bhi aa jate hai," Arjun said, annoyed, and all of us couldn't help but hum in agreement. "Namaskar kaki-sa, bua-sa," Raghav greeted them, and I did the same. "The journey was so uncomfortable, Raghav," kaki-ji complained. How these women manage to complain the moment they step inside the palace is beyond my understanding.
("These people show up at any time.")
"Tune phirse ghunghat nhi liya? Kitni baat samjhaya humne, sharam hi nhi hai is ladki ko," bua-ji said, mocking me. "Maine bhi kaha tha ki humare ghar ki koi bhi aurat ghunghat nhi legi. Na hi meri maa leti thi aur na hi meri biwi legi," Raghav said, sternly. "Par woh parampara hai beta," kaki-sa tried to explain, enraging Raghav further. "I don't understand how something that women in the past did in self-defense became culture and tradition. Both of you are aware that women were forced to cover their heads during invasions to protect themselves. We are no longer under invasion, and hence, no woman in this house will ever cover her head," Raghav said in a no-nonsense tone, preventing the women from dragging this topic any further.
("You didn't cover your head again? How many times have I told you? What a shameless woman!" "Even I had told that no woman in my house will ever over her head. Neither did my mother do it, and nor will my wife." "But it's tradition, son.")
Raghav's mother had fought very hard to get rid of the purdah for women, and he didn't want her fight to go to waste. He was very particular about this specific topic. During the early days of our wedding, he had told me not to cover my head at any cost, not that I was dying to. "Naashta karle?" I suggested, trying to ease the environment. Although unhappy, the ladies still made their way to the dining area. As all of us began eating, the women started grumbling about how the food was average at best and about how I seriously needed to work on my culinary skills. I was not a bad cook by any standards, but these women need reasons to taunt me.
I ate my food, ignoring their rambling completely, and so did the rest of the family. As we got up from the table, Raghav said, looking at me "I'll wait in the car, come quickly," I nodded. "You can't take a leave for a day to entertain us? It's not like the kingdom will stop running if you don't go for a day," bua-ji remarked. "It very well might bua-sa, rani ke bina rajy kaise chalega?" Arjun said, pissed at them. I held his hand to calm him down and said, "It's important, bua-ji." I left for the car ignoring their taunts, dragging both Arjun and Sakshi with me. "You know how those women are, we don't have to react to everything they say," I said as soon as we reached the outside of the palace. "But look at how annoying they are!" Sakshi exclaimed and Arjun nodded. "Leave it, just get to work," I said, shaking my head.
