Puja Bhaila
“Tell me Swaraamai; I would do anything,” said King Bhanu Singh. Swaraamai sensed an urge in his voice. “Please,” the king begged again. “Okay, then listen carefully,” she finally replied. And as Swaraamai spoke, King Bhanu Singh froze, of the horror he had been revealed to. Images of what Swaraamai was telling him started to flash in his mind and he cringed with disgust. “No,” he finally shouted.
Though small, Hansipur was a kingdom of envy for all the neighboring kingdoms. It had rich grasslands, the soil was remarkably fertile, and it was spring almost throughout the year. To the east of Hansipur stood the great Mount Minar, which was where Arunmati, the great river, originated. A little down its path, Arunmati divided into two and flew with all its vigor across the east and west boundaries of Hansipur and finally met north at a point where Hansipur’s boundary ended. So Arunmati was more like a protective shield for the kingdom.
Throughout the year, many enemy kingdoms had tried to cross the River to attack, but had failed miserably. Most of them had drowned during their attempts. Others, frightened by the enormity of the River, had retreated. So, blessed with excellent geography and Arunmati as its shield, Hansipur had thrived with abundance.
It was an exceptionally cheerful day at Hansipur, as its beloved prince Bhaven was to return home with the most beautiful girl, Mainaamati. Everybody was anxiously waiting for their arrival. Their prince had gone in search of a girl, who he had fallen in love with at the very first sight, and after weeks of search, had finally found her.
Horns and horses’ neighing signaled the prince’s arrival and the great bridge was pullied down for the prince’s chariot to cross Arunmati. People cheered and clapped as the prince’s chariot ran through the streets. The horses speeded all the way up to the palace and stopped in front of the gates. Mainaamati stole a peek from the small window-like opening in the chariot and nearly gasped at the sight. The palace door was enormous, crafted with metals and the finest woods. Being a farmer’s daughter, she had never seen anything like that before.
The gates opened and King Bhanu Singh walked out. Prince Bhaven got off the chariot and walked to the other side, opened door for Mainaamati and offered her his hand. As she stepped out, people were mesmerized by her beautiful looks.
Mainaamati and Bhaven walked up to the king. Bhaven embraced his father. “Father, this is…” Bhaven started.
“Mainaamati,” King Bhanu Singh interrupted the prince with a smile. The king was now looking at Mainaamati. “Welcome, my child. I am delighted at your arrival in my kingdom and in my family,” the king continued.
Mainaamati was nervous. The grandeur of the palace was intimidating to her. She finally mustered up some courage and said, “Thank you, Maharaj; you have a beautiful palace.”
“Thank you, child. Bhaven shall give you a tour of your new home,” the king replied.
As they made their way to the palace, the king ordered the prime minister to announce the wedding of Bhaven and Mainaamati, to take place two days later.
The entire city was decorated with flowers and colors for the grand day. It was the most beautiful wedding Hansipur had ever seen. Mainaamati, the women were saying, looked like a living goddess in her red sari. The king had enormous amounts of foods prepared to feed the guests. Everybody in the country was invited. Kings and queens and landlords from distant lands were invited. People came and greeted the newlywed couple, presented them with rich gifts and wished them well. The celebration went till late that night.
It was 6 a.m. the next morning. Mainaamati slowly came out of her sleep. She opened her eyes and saw Prince Bhaven lying beside her. She smiled when she remembered that she was now a wife to a prince. She was a princess.
She stared at her husband sleeping peacefully like a baby. She brought her hands onto his face and ran her fingers through his cheeks to his lips. ‘He is beautiful,’ she thought. She felt her eyes watering when she realized how unbelievably lucky she was. She remembered the day when she was working with her father in the fields when the prince, with his bodyguards, happened to be taking a stroll in their village. The prince had stopped his horse when he saw them to start a casual conversation with her father. She remembered how the prince was stealing glances at her. She smiled at the thought.
At this moment, she was interrupted by a knock on the door. She got off the bed and hurriedly put on her sari and opened the door. It was a girl.
“The king has summoned the prince, Rajkumari,” the girl said.
“I’ll inform him; thank you,” Mainaamati replied with a smile.
***
“May I come in, Father?”
Bhaven stood on the door to the king’s chamber.
“We don’t have much time, Bhaven,” King Bhanu Singh said, as he motioned for Bhaven to come in. “Tripurapur is planning its first attack in two months. My sources have told, their army has grown stronger than ever. Arunmati is drying up every day and they are taking that opportunity. We must do it soon,” he said.
It was an unusually hot day. King Bhanu Singh thought it would be nice to take a stroll around the country. He got on his horse and started off. After a while, he reached Arunmati’s junction. He loved to come down here quite often and sit by the banks of the river. That day was going no different, when suddenly he noticed something sparkly coming out of the river. At a closer inspection, he realized that it was small fish, golden in color with fins that sparkled like diamonds. The fish jumped in and out of the river. It seemed as though it were playing in the river. The king was mesmerized by the creature and wanted to own it. He looked around for a sharp object. He picked up a stick and made a swing at the fish as it jumped out. The king’s years of training in archery did not betray him. The stick went straight into the fish’s belly.
That night, King Bhanu Singh had a dream. He dreamt that Arunmati had dried up and the enemies were attacking Hansipur from three sides. In the dream, the enemy had overthrown him and taken over his throne. He woke up, panting. The dream felt almost real.
The next morning, the king rode on his horse and went off without telling anybody where he was going. He rode his horse up above the hill and stopped outside a cave. He got off his horse and went inside. “Where are you, Swaraamai?” he called.
“Your dream will come true, Bhanu Singh; you have angered Arunmati,” a woman’s voice replied.
The king started to panic. “I made a mistake, Maa. How do I make it right? I do not want to lose my kingdom. Isn’t there a way?” the king asked.
“Yes, but I don’t think you will like it, Bhanu Singh; you should go back. They are looking for you,” replied the voice.
“Tell me, Swaraamai; I would do anything.”
Swaraamai sensed an urge in his voice. “Please,” the king begged.
“Okay, then listen carefully! The fish you killed, Bhanu Singh, was Arunmati’s soul. You’ve killed Arunmati’s soul. For the curse to be revoked, Arunmati needs to be offered with a young soul.”
Bhanu Singh listened intently. Swaraamai continued, “She needs to be a woman from your family. A woman with a child. Remember Bhanu Singh, she should be the most beautiful woman your kingdom has ever seen. Take her to Arunmati. And as you had pierced the fish’s belly, the girl should endure the same fate. As the blood from her belly mixes with Arunmati, it will take the soul of the unborn child.”
Images of what Swaraamai was telling started flashing in the mind of King Bhanu Singh and he cringed with disgust. “No!” he finally shouted.
About a month after the wedding, Mainaamati was lying in her bed one day, when Bhaven came into the room. He walked up to Mainaamati and kissed her forehead. “I just heard the news. You have made me the happiest man alive, my princess,” he said joyously.
Mainaamati smiled at him. Bhaven continued, “I know I have been very busy lately and haven’t been with you much. How about spending the whole day tomorrow together, and going around Hansipur on our chariot?”
“Oh, Bhaven, I would love that.” Mainaamati got up and hugged him.
They started early the next day. Bhaven and Mainaamati rode on the chariot the entire day. Bhaven showed her all the beautiful places in Hansipur. Mainaamati was captivated by the beauty of the kingdom. After the sunset, Mainaamati asked if it was time to go home.
“Not yet; you are yet to see the most beautiful place in Hansipur,” he said and led his horse to the Arunmati junction.
Once off the chariot, the prince said, “The water is only knee-high; let’s go in,’ and took Mainaamati by her hand into the river.
“You know, till about two years back, the water in this river was so high that it was impossible for anybody to cross it,” he said.
“What caused the water to dry, then?” asked Mainaamati.
Bhaven looked at Mainaamati and with a straight face said, “The water shall rise soon; very soon.”
“Really, when?’ asked Mainaamati happily.
“Hopefully, tomorrow,” said the prince as he took out a sharp knife from his pocket. Mainaamati looked at Bhaven in confusion and horror. Before she could ask him, she felt the knife plunge deep into her belly. She looked down at her belly in complete disbelief as she shrieked in pain.
“I’m sorry, my love,” whispered Prince Bhaven into Mainaamati’s ear, as he pulled back the knife. Thick red blood oozed out and her sari started to soak in her blood. The blood started dripping down her body, into the water.
Prince Bhaven looked as the blood mixed with water. Satisfied, he smiled. The water turned red as more and more blood started to ooze out of her wound.
Mainaamati was starting to lose her consciousness. “Wh…why?” she asked, with whatever little strength she could gather. She was beginning to feel dizzy.
“To save my land,” she thought she heard the prince reply. Her vision was getting blur. The pain was excruciating. She took a long breath and mustered all her strength, grabbed the prince by his shirt and held herself close to him. She looked into his eyes. The prince was looking back at her blankly.
“You…cheated me…” she finally said and collapsed into the river.
Prince Bhaven stood there for a while, staring at Mainaamati’s body. ‘She really is beautiful,’ he thought as he made his way back to his horse.
***
[Puja Bhaila is an MA in English from Pokhara University.]