Devika - A journey unbound by time

11: Cooking

Gayatri happily went to the kitchen to prepare a sweet dish for the Little Princess and King Nanda only to find the servants standing outside the kitchen area and the door to kitchen area shut. Surprised she asked them, "What is happening? Why are all of you standing outside? Have you completed preparing the dinner? Why are the doors to kitchen area closed?"

The servants looked at each other in distress. A maid came forward and said, "Princess, Miss Rajni is cooking for His Majesty and has asked us to wait outside till she completes her cooking. She is cooking special dinner for His Majesty."

Another maid said, "Princess, old Cook was very angry that he was asked to step outside. When he asked about dinner for others, Miss Rajni simply scolded us and said that we should be more caring towards the King and should take care to keep His Majesty happy. She also said that others can simply adjust for a day by eating fruits or something. Also dome comments were made about Little Princess getting fat and the need to abstain from eating."

Gayatri glanced at the old Cook sitting despondent at a side and then turned to face the closed door, "What rubbish is this? If she only cooks food for His Majesty, then what will Little Princess eat? Don't you know how much His Majesty loves Little Princess? King Nanda will surely punish you if Little Princess goes hungry." Her heart ached at the thought of Devika going to sleep with only a half filled stomach.

The expectant faces of King Nanda and Princess Devika came to her mind. They had both lit up with happiness when she had promised to cook a sweet dish for them. Angered at Rajni's behaviour, Princess Gayatri knocked loudly at the doors to kitchen, "Rajni, open the door. What is the meaning of this? You cannot act like this and bully the people in the palace."

A voice sounded from inside, "Princess Gayatri, I am cooking special food for His Majesty. You should have more respect towards him. Nobody around here cares for him, how sad would he be to know this. Why don't you have some patience? If the servants want to cook, then they can cook after I finish. The doors will not open before I finish cooking." Hearing this reply, the faces of servants standing outside turned black.

"This is ridiculous. How can you act like this in someone's home when you are here as a guest?" Gayatri countered

"Princess Gayatri, isn't it a culture of the Nala Kingdom to treat guests as Gods? Also, who are you to admonish me? What identity do you hold in this palace? Are you the Queen of Nala Kingdom? Just who do you think you are? We are not in Kuru Kingdom where you can ask your Father to punish us." Rajni spoke derisively without opening the door.

Gayatri grew upset at her words and her hand which was used for knocking fell to her side. The servants around her darted a furtive glance at her. Looking at the sad expression on her lovely face made their heart ache for this Princess of Kuru Kingdom. The old cook decisively stood up and walked towards Gayatri.

"Your Highness, please do not worry. I know a way to make things work. Can I request Your Highness to grant us permission to use the utensils used to cook in the festival time?" he humbly asked Gayatri.

"Ah! Yes yes, you can use those utensils." Gayatri immediately replied, puzzled but nodding her head.

The old cook grew bold after getting permission and took charge. He assigned a couple servants to get the utensils and ordered another servant to gather the ingredients from their respective storage rooms. He then proceeded to gather a few wooden sticks to fuel the makeshift stoves. He arranged three stones such that they could support the huge utensils and placed wooden sticks between them. The palace usually organized dinner parties for the nobility during festivals. They had huge utensils kept separately that could be used to cook for large crowds.

It took the cook a bit of extra efforts but they were able to cook dinner for all the people in palace. The smell of delicious food wafted in air. Each dish emitted their unique smell, making the stomachs of people rumble. Gayatri asked him, "Why do the dishes smell so nice today?"

The old cook bowed and humbly replied, "Your Highness, cooking in open air on a wood fired stove allows the smell of food to spread."

Gayatri became motivated by the efforts of kitchen staff and asked the cook if he could help her cook a sweet dish.

"Your Highness, you just need to give command to us. We can cook whatever you want." the old cook replied.

"Today, Little Princess has requested me to cook something for her. How can I break her heart?" Princess Gayatri replied.

"But Your Highness would require smaller utensils to cook. Using such huge utensils might spoil the taste." the old cook replied worriedly.

"The sweet dish that I will cook is for all the people in the palace. This utensil will be proper for that purpose. It is just that I have no experience handling such huge vessels." Gayatri replied.

All the servants had a small smile on their faces. This was how Princess Gayatri had treated them over the years. The kindness in her was genuine unlike Miss Rajni who showed one face to the King and one face to others. That person couldn't even grasp the importance Princess Devika held in the King's heart.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Rajni and her maid had completed cooking. Rajni walked over to the pots and took out a small bottle concealed in her clothes. She then proceeded to add a few drops of the bottle's contents in each and every dish.

"Miss Rajni, what did you add to the dishes?" her maid asked curiously.

"It is an aphrodisiac of highest quality." Rajni replied, an evil smile lurking on her lips.

The maid shuddered and said, "But Miss, what if someone comes to know that you added aphrodisiac to the King's food?"

"Heh.. so what if someone does come to know? The deed would be done by then and King Nanda would have no choice but to marry me." Rajni spoke her eyes gleaming with happiness.

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Soon it was time to eat dinner and Devika was walking towards the dining area with Guruji. She was discussing with him on what she had read so far.

"I never knew that the food cooked by us on daily basis can turn poisonous if not cooked in the right manner. The book that you gave me certainly provided valuable insights on this." Devika commented.

"Many people don't realise that as well. But I wanted to discuss the same with you. Little Princess, imagine if the food cooked in the palace is made by a new chef or by someone who wants to harm His Majesty covertly. What should we do in that case?" Guruji paused to let the conversation sink in and continued, "I think we should keep food testers for the food cooked in palace. That is a small way of ensuring the safety of His Majesty and yourself."

"That is a sound idea. I will get Father to implement it today itself." Devika replied thoughtfully.