A walk in the clouds

Chapter fourteen/ a long wait

In Bilari town
At the Thakur residence ,
Late in the night.

It had been four long days since Abhi had left me late in the night here at Inderavadan's house. The waiting was starting to get to me. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to take it. Prarthana, Inderavadan's younger sister had just left me in the sitting room, to go of to sleep. I was sitting reading a book. Something I hadn't done in a very long time. When mother was alive she encouraged me to do all sorts of fun activities but after her passing away everything stopped. I never had the time for anything I wish to do, seeing to the running of the palace, the guests and Rani Charumitra was a full time job. Ranisa kept me on my toes all day long. Not that I minded it since I was too exhausted by the end of the day to do anything but fall in bed fast asleep. So it kept me too busy to sit and pity myself. But now this alone time, I was glad for some free time where I could do as I pleased. It was late in the night and everyone was already asleep. They were all such kind caring people, Inderavadan's family. Taking a stranger into their house without knowing who she was. I know they were doing it for Abhi but still they did not have to treat me like a cherished daughter of the family. Without asking a single question, they had showered love and kindness on her. They had gone out of their way to make her feel comfortable.
They were an extremely wealthy family from what I could see. Apparently they were traders. The town of Bilari was basically a town of traders, and as such it was a wealthy town. It was near to Kishangarh. From Rajsamand we had crossed Kishangarh to reach Bilari. For some unknown reason most of the big traders had set up their residences here in Bilari rather then in Kishangarh. It was also called the town of havelis. Kishangarh was just a two hour ride away. Prarthana was a fountain of information. And with nothing much to do it had been fun to  get to known the place I would be calling home from  now onwards.
Knowing Abhi was so nearby was comforting. Inderavadan was a great friend. His cheerful companionship stopped me thinking of Abhi constantly. Had he talked to his family, what was their reaction? How had they taken the news of our marriage? What would Rajmata Durga Devi, Abhi's grandmother, think of me. Will she support Abhi and me, will she oppose our relationship. Oh God!!! This waiting was killing me. How long before the wait was finally over!!!
I turned to look at the grand father clock standing to one side of the room. It was almost ten in the night. Getting up I, put the book down and walked out of the sitting room crossing the courtyard I walked to the back door entrance. Needing to be out in the open. The garden's serene surroundings calmed me. Going to my room to sleep was not a very inviting option right now, knowing my troubled mind would not let me sleep.
It was a beautiful garden. It was set in a geometric design. It was divided in to four parts. A central paved path ran in a cross design through it. One corner had a paved check design with stone benches to sit on the sides. Inderavadan's father loved chess and he had, had this design set here in the garden, so he could play outdoor too. There were wooden pieces for playing which were brought out only when anyone wanted to play. The other corner next to it had a rose bed. Different colours had been used to create a design. The corner opposite to it had a beautiful geometric white marble floor with a motif,  where certain parts of the floor were a foot lower than the rest of the floor. This lower part was covered with water. The water and white marble design was stunning. The design continued to open into a shallow pool with a stone deck in the centre, which was connected by a small bridge to the main garden. There were benches for sitting. A large tree in the corner gave it shade and privacy, cutting off the view of the deck from the house. It was a design based on Mughal architecture, and it suited this small garden very well.
As I entered the garden I could hear music floating. Tarara....rara..... hmmm.... Hmm........beautiful. Inderavadan seemed like an accomplished violin player, and he was playing a beautiful tune. He often came here in the night to just sit and play. He was a good looking man, very gentle and soft spoken. All the three friends were so different yet I think we're quite alike too. Where Bharat was loud and boisterous, Inderavadan was quite and an introvert, while Abhi!! Abhi was a bit of both. He was always cheerful, and at times so serious. Maybe these differences attracted them to each other.
I came and quietly sat down on the bench opposite to his. Closing my eyes I just lost myself in the magic of the music. It was not a familiar tune but he had magical finger, for he did play so well. One tended to forgot all while listening to his music. When he finished playing, for a few moment thereafter there was complete silence. For a while we sat in absolute companionable silence. I did not mind the silence it was quite comfortable.
"Where did you learn to play so well, it was so beautiful, so magical!!"
"In school. Abhimanyu, Bharat and I went to the same school. An arts subject was compulsory and since I had an aptitude for music I tried my hand at whatever was there. But my favourite was violin, so I learnt to play it. I would perform on the violin during school events. It was fun."
"It is so unlike anything I have ever heard."
"Hmm.. because it is not Indian. It is a classic piece of Mozart."
"It is beautiful. I can hear it the whole day. So what was Abhimanyu's choice of instrument?"
"Piano..... And the harmonium. He manages to play the piano, but he plays the harmonium quite well. He is more of a singer than a musician. He can sing quite well. In school Abhimanyu and I always took part in the founder's day event. I would play the violin and Abhi would sing."
This was a side of Abhi I hadn't see before. Although Abhi and I knew each other quite well by now, we still had a lot to learn about each other. And I was enjoying learning different things about him everyday.
"What about Bharat? What does he play."
"Nothing! He tried all the instruments but......After a month of painstaking efforts.......  the teacher begged Bharat to quit the music classes. He said that he was going deaf..... He was literally in tears every time Bharat came into the class."
Both of us were holding our stomachs and laughing now.
"I know that Bharat and Abhi went to the same college. What about you, you did not join them? Abhi has mentioned Bharat being with him a few time but never you. Did you not go to college with them?"
"Well to that!! I was going to go, my admission was done, but Maasa fell very sick, and I couldn't leave her and go. She took a lot of time to recover, we almost lost her once or twice. By then I dropped the idea."
"So you did not attend college?"
"I did!! But in Jaipur. It was nearby and I could be home in a few hours."
"Will you play something else for me please, Inderavadan?"