Gurukul - The Past Or The Present?

The struggle...

Days passed, and finally both armies were ready for the battle.

It was the night before the battle, and soldiers were sleeping in tents that they set up in the jungles of Orchha.

Bandana, Ishan, Abhay and Rudransh were still chatting.

"Bandana" Rudransh said her name, she looked at him, "ham kucch kehna chahte the aapse" He said. She blushed, he probably decided to propose to her.

"Rudransh" Ishan said trying to stop him, but Rundransh ignored him.

"Bandana ham Bithoor se nhi hai. Ham Gwalior ke Rajkumar hai" Rundransh finally confessed.

Ishan closed his eyes, Abhay sighed, and Bandana just looked at Rudransh.

"Ham yeh b..." He said but Bandana stopped him, "yeh baat aapko pata thi?" Bandana asked looking at Ishan and Abhay. They nodded. She waited for a couple of seconds and then left the tent.

"Ham dekhte hai" Ishan said and followed her.

"Bandana suniye" He said holding her hand, "kya sune ham Ishan Bhaiya? Aap sab jaante hai, fir bhi chall kiya aapne!!" She said angrily, "Bhaiya aapne..." She said hurt.

"Rundransh boht acche hai Bandana. Aap bhi jaanti hai" He said trying to convince her, "jaante hai! Lekin unme Gwalior ke Rajao ka khoon daudhta hai...unn...gaddaro ka khoon" She said.

"Kal ke yuddh me Rundransh nhi hone chahiye" She said, "lekin" He said but she stopped him, "agar woh yuddh me aae, to ham khud unki jaan le lenge" She warned.

He was shocked, how could she say that!?

She turned and left crying.

*******

Finally, the most awaited morning came. Everyone was ready.

Abhay was not participating in the battle as he got injured during practice and Rani Lakshmi Bai didn't want any unfit soldier.

"Sabka dhyaan rakhiyega" Ishan said to Abhay, "aap ese baat mat kijiye. Wapas aake khud dekh lijiyega kese dhyaan rakha hamne" Abhay said. Ishan chuckled.

"Vapas to ham zarur aaenge, iss janam me nhi to kisi aur janam me. Lekin aapse milenge zarur" Ishan said, "Bandana dekhiye kesi baate kar rahe hai" Abhay complained.

"Abhay Banna" Bandana called him, "ham shaheed ho jae to royiega mat, veero ki shaheede pe rote nhi hai" She said.

"Kucch nhi hoga aapko! Vijay hokar wapas aaengi aap!" Abhay said, she smiled.

*******

The battle was not what Indian soldiers expected it to be, the difficulty level was too high.

The number of British soldiers in the battle was the quadruple of what the Indians calculated. The British army didn't know about the battle, it was supposed to be a surprise for them, then how were they so prepared?
This was the question every Indian was thinking about.

Soldiers from both sides were getting killed. Rani Lakshmi Bai and Tatya Tope were like the killing machines.

"Bandana!! Aur sainik aa rahe hai!" Tatya Tope shouted. "Kya? Itne sainik kese aa sakte hai!?" Shub asked Bandana, who was confused herself.

A third of the Indian army was killed. Most of the soldiers were tired. It was afternoon anyways.

"Kya kare?" Bandana asked Ishan, "ladenge" He said stabbing a British. That gave Bandana the motivation to keep going.

"Tatya Guru ki madad kijiye, ham aur Shub sambhaal lenge yaha" Ishan said to Bandana. She ran to Tatya Tope. She was about to reach him when she heard a blast and the heat behind her. She freezed.

"ISHAN!!!" Rudransh shouted. Bandana slowly turned with teary eyes, all the soldiers in that area were laying on the ground, dead. Blood was eveywhere, she couldn't even recognise Ishan's body. Shub was also laying dead between these soldiers.

"Bhaiya??" She said and started running towards the corps, "kaha hai aap Ishan Bhaiya??" She shouted.

"Bandana..." Rudransh held her hand, "Bhaiya kaha hai?" She asked crying, he shook his head as tears started flowing from his eyes.

"Nhi...woh honge waha. Itne kamzor nhi hai woh! Wahi honge kahi" Bandana said turning to leave. Rudransh pulled her and hugged her tightly.

She cried her hear out and screamed loudly. She suddenly pushed him, "sab aapki wajah se hua hai! Aapne hi firangio ko bataya hoga iss yuddh ke bareme!! Gaddar hai aap!!!" She said pushing him again.

"Bandana! Kya kar rhi hai aap?" Rani Lakshmi Bai said stopping her, Bandana lowered her lashes. "Maharani Sarkar inhone gaddari ki hai" Bandana said.

"Inhone gaddari nhi ki hai. Yeh to Gwalior ki sena ko hamari madad karne ke lie lae hai. Gaddar koi aur hai Bandana, yakeen maniye" She said.

"Hamne bhi hamare Shub ko khoya hai" She said wiping her tears, "ham sab ki zarurat waha hai" She said pointing at the battlefield.

Bandana nodded, wiping her tears.

She was much more confident and fierce after the blast, as if she wanted revenge.

Everything was going in Indian army's favour until shooting started. The British soldiers shot randomly, Bandana's main aim was to protect Rani Lakshmi Bai and Tatya Tope. Rundransh helped her but unfortunately, there was no one to help them.

While running towards the Queen, Bandana and Rundransh were shot, not only once but many times. Their bodies were wounded, they slowly fell and shut their eyes.

Rani Lakshmi Bai tried to wake them up, but it was game over for them.

The battle continued for some more time, until Rani Lakshmi Bai was stabbed by the British. Tatya Tope and her ministers took her somewhere away from the battlefield, where she finally died.

Abhay was shot dead in his tent, which was attacked by the British.

Later in the commissionary, Gayatri, the girl Ishan loved, was seen to take her reward for sharing the information about the battle. She was the traitor.

Disha tried to contribute to the struggle for independence through law.

Sameeksha decided to join the army of Pratapgarh and train for the next rebellion.

Some lives ended soon, some later...but as Ishan promised, they all had to meet in another life.