Minimal matters were discussed in the court first, and then the matter of trade with Raja Abhay was up.
Ratan came forward and gave the idea, which was the only one Mrityunjay liked. He advised him to talk to Raja Abhay and discuss the matters with utmost attention. Mrityunjay agreed and told them that Maharani Katha would write the invitation.
Ratan agreed, and then the meeting was over.
Meanwhile,
Standing in front of the door of Rajmata’s chamber, Katha waited for her permission to enter. As the attendee came out, she told her that Rajmata had called her in. She went inside the chamber and saw her waiting for Katha in her bedroom and was sitting on a couch.
Katha went forward and bent to touch her feet. She blessed her and asked her to sit beside her. As Katha took the seat, Rajmata said,
“Bahurani-sa humein kal atyant prasannata hui ye dekh kar ki aapke haath ka banaya bhojan sabko khoob pasand aaya, humein bhi bahot accha laga. Aap jaanti toh hongi hi ki aapka aur Jai ka rishta Jai ke baapu-sa ne tai kiya tha jab aap paanch (5) varsh ki thi. Hum toh aapse kabhi mile nhi the parantu suna bahot kuch tha aapke vishay mein, humein toh lagta tha ki kisi mein itne gun ho kis prakaar sakte hain parantu ab ek-ek baat saabit ho rhi hai.“
“Bahurani-sa, I was very pleased to see that everyone liked the food you cooked with your own hands, and I also enjoyed it. You may already know that your marriage to Jai was arranged by Jai’s father when you were five years old. I had never met you before, but I had heard a lot about you. I used to think that someone can’t possess so many qualities, but now it’s becoming evident.”
She said, and I smiled, looking at her. She then continued, “Waise humne aapko yahaan isliye bulaya taaki aapko hum Chandrapushp Mahal dikha sake“,
“By the way, I called you here so that I could show you Chandrapushp Mahal.”
Katha asked in a soft tone to clear her confusion, “Maa-sa ye Chandrapushp Mahal kya hai?“,
“Maa-sa, what is Chandrapushp Mahal?”, she smiled and told her,
“Chandrapushp Mahal humare iss mahal se juda ek aur mahal hai, woh khaas kar raaniyon ke liye banwaya gaya tha. Bahot hi sundar mahal hai woh, isliye hum chahte hain ki aap ek baar woh mahal dekh lein kyunki hum aapko kuch cheezein bhi batana chahte hain.“
“Chandrapushp Mahal is separate from our main palace, specifically built for the queens. It’s a very beautiful palace, which is why I want you to see it once, because I also want to tell you some things.”
Katha smiled at her and replied, “Ji, avashya Maa-sa”,
“Yes, of course, Maa-sa.”
She smiled back and stood up to proceed toward the palace.
At Chandrapushp Mahal
The duo talked a lot on the way to Chandrapushp Mahal as Rajmata asked Katha about her favorites, and she asked her about hers. They talked and laughed a lot, and somehow Katha was feeling emotional at the fact that she finally got a mother’s love.
She showed her various parts of the palace, and Katha was left awestruck to see such beautiful gardens. Every garden was dedicated to a particular flower that either looked exquisite under the moon or bloomed only under moonlight, which made Katha understand the origin of the name of this palace.
When they were at the center part of the palace, Rajmata told her its purpose, ‘whenever the queen gets pregnant with her first child, she comes here at the central part and steps into the pond which is filled with water lilies and tells her husband about her pregnancy, where every bloom echoes the promise of a blossoming future.‘
She told her this with an excited expression, which soon turned into a disappointed one, and seeing this, Katha asked her the reason, to which she replied,
“Maharaj’s (Mrityunjay’s father) mother had also told me this way. I liked this method, so I thought that when our first child was born, I would also tell Maharaj in the same way. But when Jai was about to be born, Maharaj couldn’t be informed in this manner because he was on the battlefield, and he returned after Jai’s birth.”
She said in a disappointed tone, and Katha’s heart ached to see her broken like this. She too liked this idea, so she promised her to tell Mrityunjay this way only.
Rajmata looked happy with it and then told her that they should move forward toward the eastern part of the palace, as it was the only one remaining, and that it was Mrityunjay’s favorite part.
As they sat there talking and laughing, and discussing various things about the palace, Katha did not like the fact that the main motive behind the construction of this palace was to give the place to many queens of a king and give them equal treatment.
‘If one woman’s love is not enough for a man, no palace can fill the void within him,’ thought Katha.
She pushed aside the thought when Rajmata told her that Mrityunjay was there. She looked in the direction of the entrance and noticed him, then, to tease him, Rajmata said
“Jai, aap idhar kaise, raha nhi jaata apni patni ke bina kuch kshan bhi?“
“Jai, what are you doing here? Can’t even stay without your wife for a few moments?“
“Ho sakta hai aisa ho Maa-sa parantu abhi toh hum aapse milna chahte the, waise aap yahaan kya kar rahi hain Katha ke saath?“
“Maybe, but Maa-sa, I wanted to meet you. By the way, what are you doing here with Katha?“
Rajmata answered, and that made Mrityunjay feel heartache for a moment,
“Ab jab hamari bhi bahuranisa aa gayi hain toh humne socha ki inhein ek bhent de, ye Chandrapushp Mahal kayi varshon se yuhin khaali hai, isliye humne socha ki bahuranisa yahaan reh sakti hain yadi chaahe toh.“
“Now I also have a daughter-in-law, so I thought of giving her a gift. This Chandrapushp Mahal has been vacant for many years now, so I thought to ask Bahuranisa if she wants to live here.“
Mriyunjay frowned at her statement but composed himself and asked,
“Aap kyun chahti hain ki Katha yahaan rahe Maa-sa? Woh humare saath humare kaksh mein rahengi, patni hain humari. Jo bhi ho kya jawaab diya Katha ne?“
“Why do you want Katha to stay here, Maa-sa? She will live with me in our room, she is my wife. Anyways, what reply did you receive from Katha?“
The moment Rajmata said that Katha had replied positively, colors drained from Mrityunjay’s face. Without saying a word, he stood up and left from there without even glancing back.
As Mrtyunjay left from there, flaring anger but said nothing and didn’t even turn around, Katha looked at Rajmata, who was chuckling, and she couldn’t help but ask,
“Maa-sa, why did you say that I have agreed to stay here? I didn’t say anything like that to you.”,
She smiled, cupped her cheek, and said,
“Humne aisa isliye kaha kyunki hum jaan na chahte the ki kya humare putr ko ye jaankar bura lagta hai ki unki patni ne unse door rehne ke vishay mein vichaar kiya hai, chidhana hi sahi upaaye tha ye jaan ne ke liye, ab joki hum jaan gye hain ki haan unhein bura laga toh ab hum aapse keh rahe hain ki jaiye aur bataiye apne pati ko ki humne parihaas kiya unke saath. Aur haan, ho sake toh thoda aur chidha lijiyega pehle, taaki jo unke hriday mein hai woh bhi toh bahar aaye“,
“I said that because I wanted to know if my son would feel bad knowing that his wife has thought about staying away from him, teasing was just a way to find out. Now that I know that he felt bad, I am telling you to go and tell your husband that I teased him. And yes, if possible, tease him a little more first so that what’s in his heart also comes out.”,
Katha couldn’t help but be impressed by her thought, so she nodded and made her way straight toward the main palace. She took a deep breath and entered the bedroom only to find Mrityunjay sitting on the couch, immersed in a book.
She moved a little forward, making sure he realized her presence as the anklets were helping her. He lifted his gaze to look at her and then again focused on the book in his hand,
“Kya karne aayi hai aap yahaan par? Jaiye Rani Mahal, yahaan toh waise bhi nhi rehna chahti aap.“
“What are you doing here? Go to Rani Mahal, you don’t want to live here anyway.”,
he said in a frustrated tone, while she asked him in a teasing tone,
“Aap sach mein chahte hain ki hum chale jaaye? Yadi haan toh bata dijiye, hum apni vastuein le jaate hain apne saath.“
“Do you really want me to go? If yes, then tell me, I will take my stuff with me.”
