✔️Tale as Old as Time (Kunwar Pratap/Ajabde [Praja])

44//~pratap!~

"Yeh pure 5 kilo ki talvaar aur 7 kilo ki dhal hain. Sabse bhari aur sabse upyukt. Hum isse abhyas karenge to hum koi bhi talvaar kabhi bhi bhari nahi lagegi," he said flaunting his new sword and sheild.

"Aap ek bakhat pakadiye to," he said.

I took hold of the sword and the shield in my hand. They were indeed heavy and my clothes were pretty restricting. I felt my grip loosen and ended up dropping the shield and sword.

"PRATAP!" I exclaimed so he would have the time to save himself before the sword and the shield fell on him however, he had already noticed and caught both the sword and the shield before they hit the ground.

He looked up at me and instantly, I regretted the word that had slipped my mouth. Not only was he my husband and therefore saying his first name was a big no-no in this era, he was also the crowned prince and I had just addressed him without his honorary title.

"Kya kaha apne?" he asked looking up at me looking very mad.

I instantly grabbed my ears to show that I was trying to think of an apology, it was just taking a bit of time to formulate.

"Kunwarsa, nahi Ab woh woh bhulse-" I tried and swallowed as he still looked mad. I turned around and looked away. Perhaps, that would help my brain work faster.

"Kyun kiya apne aisa Ajabde!?" he asked me.

"Woh ab- hum aapko nahi kehte to ab to Talvaar aappe gir jaati na," I said.

"Arthat," he said putting down the sword and the shield. "Aapko humari chinta ho rahi thi aur anyase aapke moo se humara naam phisal gaya, hmm?"

I nodded but he still looked mad.

"hum kshama mang rahe hain na Kunwasa," I said in a tiny voice.

"Kshama se kaam nahi chalega Ajabde, aapko iske liye and diya jaiyega," he announced.

"Achha," I said trying to think of all the possible ways he could come up with "Bataiy-bat-Batiaye,"

"Aapko abse, sadev hume issi naam se sambodhit karna hoga," he said and a smile crept onto his face.

My eyes went wide as I thought about the scandalized idea he had just come up with. This man and his jokes.

"Kunwarsa, Yeh kya keh rahe hain aap, yeh humare sanskaro ke virudh hain," I said.

"Sanskaro ke virush hain maate hain. Sabke same na sahi, akele mein to aap hume iss naam se sambodhit kar sakti hain na. Aur vaise bhi apne kuch vichar kiye bina hume iss naam se sambodhit kiya hain iska earth hain ki yeh aapki antar aatma ki avaz hain aur antar aatma ki avaz hi suchi hoti hain,"

"Kaise bol sakte hain hum?" I asked him rhetorically. Even I had never heard my mom call my dad by his first name and that was 500 years forward.

"Kyun nahi bol sakti hain aap? Aap aur hum saman hain," he said.

"Hum dono saman kaise ho sakte hain, aap maharana aur-"

"Saman hi hain. Panditji ne kaha tha ki aap humari ardhangini hain. Kya earth hota hain ardhangini ka? Apke bina hum adhure aur humare bina aap," he said.

"Nahi," I replied stubbornly.

"Aap aur hum barabar hue aur barabari wale ek dusre ko naam se hi pukarte hain," he said.

"Yeh kya barabari ka bhoot chad gaya hain aapko?" I asked.

"Kuch aisa hi samajh lijiye," he said.

"Ab boliye," he leaned closer like a little child who wanted his way no matter what. "...Pratap"

"Pr-pr-humse nahi hoga Kunwarsa," I said.

"Hoga. Prayas kijiye," He said. "...Pratap!"

"Pratap!" I blurted out and hid my face under my hands. He started laughing. I moved my fingers at peeked at his laughing face.

"Apne jo yeh abhutpurva sahas dikhaya hain uske liye hume aapko puruskar dena hoga," he said.

"Puruskar?" I thought and then agreed. "Hume bhi lugta hain,"

"Yeh lijiye," he said. "Pata nahi yeh anghoothi humare pass kabse hain paratnu ab yeh aapki hui. Yeh hume uss samay bhi nikat rakhegi jis samay hum aapse door yudh par gaye honge. Yeh sadev aapko humari yaad dilayegi,"

I accepted the ring with a smile but as I tried it on all my fingers, I realized that it was too big for my hands. Immediately, I felt disheartened that his first wedding gift would go to waste.

"Gabhraiye nahi, eska bhi upay hain humare pass," he said and took the ring from me.

He sat down on one knee and looped the ring around my toe.

It fit around my big toe snuggly. He looked up at me and smiled warmly.

:~:~:~:

We finished eating the sour mangoes and then I remembered that he needed to find his name.

I held my hands out in front of him and he looked back at me with a confused expression. I gestured back to my henna-clad hands thinking he would understand.

"Apna naam dhoondiye," I said scooting a bit closer so he could have a better view.

"Aapke haatho mein?" he asked me still oblivious.

"Haan, aapka naam humari mehendi mein chhipaya hain. Dhoondiye," I said moving my hands closer to his face.

He squinted and then attempted to look for his name.

"Yaha?" he asked pointing to a set of squiggles.

"Nahi," I said. "Aur dhoondiye na,"

He turned my hands around to look at the back.

"Nahi hain waha," I said. "Thik se dhoondiye, eetna bhi kathin nahi hain,"

He took my hand into his and examined it closer. Finally, he found it and pointed to his name amongst the dark hues of my henna. I smiled with satisfaction.