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Gauri, a young village girl ho...
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"January 27, 1998
I wonder with what mindset does a warrior step into a battlefield all armed, ready to fight for his nation by putting his life on the line? What thoughts run through his mind when he faces the army of enemies for the first time? How he remains focused? Does the fear of someone penetrating his armor keeps him alert or is it the rage that brings the worse out of him? Is it about survival or a rampage?
When I imagine myself in such a scenario, I decipher it depends on a person to person.
But one common thing that lives through every war is the armor of the warrior. It doesn't matter if the human survives, the metals live through ages, go through the process of extraction, melting, beating, and getting reshaped again to fit another body. Hundreds of small interlinking iron rings are held together by rivets so that the armor follows the counters of the body. A hooded coat, trousers, gloves, and shoes- all made to cover the entire body of the Knight.
With every battle, the armour returns home wearing chinks, broken and dented, singing the tale of the God who feeds on souls. The bloody spots on the once polished surface hold the secrets of demons that rode the horizon after the first body fell.
If you look through the lens of history, you would notice something similar about all these ruins that were left behind by the monarchs who once proudly marched the lands as Lords. The walls of these humongous structures- the forts, the palaces, the gardens, the minarets- all hold memories of rich culture and cruel invaders.
Some of these grandeurs still stand proud like a young bride because they have been cared for and passed safely throughout the ages, but the same cannot be said for the others, which got degraded and turned into a part of haunted folklore.
The Fort of Maharaja Suraj Vikramaditya Rana of a wealthy warrior clan that claims descent from Lakshmana (brother of Lord Rama), is a great example of the flourishing Suryavanshi Dynasty.
In 1705, when the Mughals erased the line between good and evil, a revolt broke in the sacred lands of Hindus. The faith of humble people was tested by ruining the symbol of their belief- the temples. The dignity of females was bounced in the society that worships the Goddess of doom- Mahakaali and Durga.
Trauma got instilled in scared minds.
Powerless, the people started sinning to overcome the ruthlessness of the uncivilized barbarians.
Widows were burned along with their dead husbands. Little girls were married off to wealthy households or sometimes older men who guaranteed their protection (even if they exploited naïve minds into closed rooms). These practices turned into a norm to save the women from the greedy hands of hungry wolves and a corrupted system. No parents wanted their daughters to be sold into a harem or forced into another religion.
