Nandini

Returning

The palace was quite and calm as if it was resting after a long
night, and it needed to rest. The wedding chaos after going on
for weeks finally settled. The bride was brought to her home
and as per the traditions and beliefs of elder people she was
not only wedded to the groom but also to the palace and only
death can part her from this palace.
It was late in the night and there was pin drop silence around
the palace, if you roam through the palace at this point of
time it can creep you down your spine and amaze you
simultaneously. It was a beautiful palace with ancient
jhoomar hanging from the ceilings, these showpieces were
made entirely of glass and were magnificent and beautiful.
The corners of the palace were glowing with those scented
candles and were adoring the palace with their spell.
There was something about this palace, it was more famous
then the people living here. People around the village used to
say that this palace doesn’t need to be protected, it is capable
of protecting itself. But these were just the stories, no one
knew the actual truth behind these stories and nothing ever
happened here which would raise people’s suspicion.
It was a new morning after the long night for nandini. It was
all a new environment for her. That newly wed 18year old girl
first time away from her home, unaware of people’s
expectations and more than that it was not easy for her to
accept someone as her husband who was of same age as her
father. This was a very common tradition in early India for
parents to marry their young daughters to someone double of
their age and it was not easy responsibility to get married at
such younger age to someone who is not even of their age and
thus resulting in lack of companionship.
Nandini,…… Nandini,….. Its already 6am for how long you plan
to sleep, you’re not in your parents home anymore and we
won’t tolerate you nuisance here, said bindiya( nandini’s sister
in law)
The door opened with a loud sound from moving the bolt as
these palace doors were pretty heavy and difficult to open.
Nandini opened the door and she was standing on the other
side of it. She was pulchritudinous (divine), her long hair
touching her waist were wet with water droplets falling from
them drop by drop. She was barely able to manage the veil on
her wet hair making it impossible for her to hold it on position
and her newly soaked legs in Awalta (red liquid used by Hindu
women to soak their feet as sign of prosperity and to increase
the beauty of newly wed woman) were leaving a mark on the
floor. Her kamarbandh (waistband) was making a jingling
sound as she was passing across the hallway, filling the
corridors of the palace with its sound.. Nandini was so beautiful that people can pause their breath just for a glimpse
of her. She had a smile which can stop wars.
Nandini, how long are you gonna take everyone is waiting for
you at the pooja, her mother in law almost screamed. Nandini
panicked and almost started running with the pooja thali and
this made her kamarbandh and anklets jingle even louder and
filled the entire palace with her sound.
Nandine came running to the pooja hall which was adorned by
glittering red clothes and the essence was all around the hall.
Nandini this is your first day in the palace and you are already
late, do you realize for how long we are standing, her mother
in law bashed at her.
I’m sorry, nandini stumbled with her words and started the
pooja and everyone else joined. While doing Aarti her veil was
distracting her to hold it on position. After the pooja ended
Nandini touched feet of her in laws and was moving to give
everyone prasad (sweets which is given after Pooja) when her
mother in law called her, “what is this Nandini, why are you
not touching your husband’s feet? You don’t need his blessings ?” Nandini was trying to understand that why she had
to touch his husband’s feet, her mother never used to do this.
But she didn’t say a word and bent to touch his feet, he smiled
and went away, but his smile was not very pleasant, it was
more of pride and was more of as a symbol of his superiority over her. She didn’t say a word but this almost caused a tear
from her eyes. Everyone left the hall and she was standing
there alone, after sitting there for a while she calmed herself
and tried to forget the horrific things that her husband did to
her last night. It was difficult but she convinced herself that
this was her fate now and she was supposed to live with it.
She was lost in her thoughts when suddenly she felt someone
gazing at her, as if someone’s eyes was piercing through her
soul, Nandini became uncomfortable and started looking
around the hall but there was no one. She thought to herself
that may be she was putting a lot of pressure over her
imagination and she might be assuming. Just then she heard a
sound of someone writing something on the wall she
immediately turned to look and she almost screamed
AAAAAAAAAA………. She saw something written on the wall
with blood it read “ Mahal mein wapasi Mubarak ho
Rajkumari” (meaning – welcome to the palace princess).