Urvashi : heart touching short story

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Urvashi

Urvashi

She was not an ordinary woman. But it was her dream to live an ordinary life. A household lady cooks for her family, takes care of her children, obeys her husband, listens to her elder family members, follows some social rules made for household persons, practices some religious rituals in her everyday life. But Urvashi was not like that. She was not shy just like other ladies. She did not have to work hard like an ordinary lady does for her family. She did not have a family, a husband, a child. She had wealth, a big and well decorated residence, several workers, fame, but she had nobody who was her own. People admired her art, her performance, her beauty, but nobody ever felt that she also had a heart, she had her own emotions. She also needed love instead of just lust.

She was Urvashi. It was not her birth name, she was famous with this name. By profession she was a famous dancer of Lukhnow. People used to contact her in their social occasions to perform amazing art of music. The people from Royal court were her regular audience and there were plenty of rich citizens of Lukhnow who used to visit her regular performance. The kings of several states used to contact her in their recreation rooms. She was only 21 years old, well trained in Indian classical music and dance. There was nobody who could compete with her.

Sometimes, in the lazy hours of day time, she tried to remember her childhood in her village. She was a loving daughter of her father. Her elder brother also loved her very much. She could remember those happy days with her mother. Her father was a poor man. He  only had some crop-field and from that income of farming , he carried on all the expenses of the family. Once his educated brother tried to consume all his properties, but failed. Till then the relation between two brothers was bitter. One day the little girl was playing in the field with her friends. She was 10 years old then. When she was returning home alone from the play ground of the village, some people covered her face with a cloth and after a short struggle, she became unconscious by a sharp smell. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in this big city. She was imprisoned in a house and a middle aged cruel woman was her guardian. She lived there two weeks.

From there, another pretty woman took her along. She was kind-hearted and loved the poor little girl very much like her own daughter. She cried and appealed to be send back to her village. But nobody listened to her. 

One day she tried to escape from there. But she became puzzled into the heavy traffic and complex roads of the city. The cruel woman caught and beat her. She tried it for the second time when she came to the next house, but the pretty woman, called 'Gulabi aunt, didn't even scold her, instead she spoke with softness that, it was impossible to go back home. She too was trapped like her when at her age. Gulabi aunt named her 'Urvashi'.

Gradually Urvashi accepted 'Gulabi aunt' as her guardian and she became habituated in her new circumstance. She started to learn music and dance under Gulabi aunt and at her 18 years of age, she became famous for her perfection and her beauty. 

When she was 20, almost all  men of Lukhnow city was fond of her beauty. Among them, was an 18 year old boy who was blind to her. He was Brajesh. He was even prepared to die for her. It was fun for Urvashi. The boy was younger and was immature. So she treated him like a little boy. Brajesh even used to come at day time. Urvashi liked him. Because he could not even speak in front of her. He told about his feelings for Urvashi to her maids. The maids also took his childish behaviour as fun.

Brajesh wanted to propose his feeling of love to Urvashi everyday, but failed every time to expose his words to her. But Urvashi understood his feelings. But Brajesh was an young boy and he didn't even know  properly what 'love' is. She felt sorry for that boy, but it was not possible for her to encourage him to be a freak. After all she was not an household woman. It was not possible for an young boy like Brajesh to fight against the society.

One night, after her evening performance, Urvashi was taking some rest in her room. She heard some noise on the road. She came to her second storey veranda to see what was going on. But when she came, nobody was there on the road. So she returned to her room and felt a man with a sharp dagger pointed towards her standing beside the door. But when they looked at each other, he lowered the knife.

"Who are you? Why are you here at this time?" Urvashi asked without moving her gaze from the man's beautiful eyes.

"Ratnajit". The man was also lost himself  in her eyes. After sometime he said, "I need to go."

"When will you come again?" Urvashi asked.

"I don't know!" The man replied. "May be tomorrow; may be never."

Ratnajit left that house silently. When he was gone, Urvashi felt a strange feeling deep inside her heart. That night she couldn't sleep. Her consciousness was covered by two beautiful eyes.

Next evening she had to perform in king's palace. But she could not concentrate properly in her art form. The performance was not as usual that evening. After returning home, she waited whole night for Ratnajit. But he did not came.

In the morning Brajesh came with a news. He told, a man was caught by the guards of the king. He was an external merchant in the city market of Lukhnow. The guards caught him near Urvashi’s residence the previous night.

Urvashi became aware. She asked Brajesh, "How does he looks like?"

Brajesh described the man. Urvashi became sure that it was Ratnajit. She asked, "What did he do?"

"Nothing!" Brajesh said. "Actually somebody theft some precious ornaments  of the queen. The king ordered his security guards to find out the thief in four days. Otherwise he will give them death penalty. But the guards failed to find out the original thief, and so, they were seeking a man to represent as the thief. The merchant was new in this city. There is nobody, who can support him in the royal court. So he was their easy target. They chased him before two nights. He was vanished in this area near Urvashi’s residence. Next night they caught him and imprisoned him."

Urvashi was speechless. That afternoon she went to the prison with Brajesh to meet Ratnajit. The man was sitting inside the cell completely depressed. When he looked at Urvashi, his eyes flashed with happiness. But Urvashi was sad. She knew that, he was going to die as per the state's law. Then king would not listen even to her. Yet she asked the guards to leave him free, because he was innocent. One of them gave her a suggestion, "We need a thief to save ourselves. If you can arrange anybody else, then we can let him go. We have no envy to him."

When returning to her home by a horse carriage, she was very upset. Brajesh noticed her emotions for Ratnajit. He asked Urvashi, "Do you love him?" Her tears gave him the answer. It ailed him deeply. They both were silent then. When they reached at Urvashi’s door-step, Brajesh told her, "I never dared to tell you that 'I love you'. I love you more than anything in this world. I love you more than myself. You love that man. It is fine to me. Because I love your emotions too. You will get back that man. But I have a request to you, please don't forget me ever. Good bye my love."

Urvashi did not listened to him properly. Her concentration was in another thought. When Brajesh left, she entered into the house and announced to Gulabi aunt that, she was not feeling well and could not perform that evening. She spent whole evening and night into her room weeping and thinking a way to save Ratnajit's life. But she couldn't solve the problem.

Next morning, she was really ill, a maid came to her bed room and informed that a man came to meet her. She came to the sitting room and with a great surprise saw Ratnajit stood there. She was too surprised to speak anything. Ratnajit said, "Thank you very much madam. You are a kind hearted lady. You have saved my life. But I have to say you something. The boy, whom you sent there in my place, do not deserve death. Rather my death was better to me....."

"What? A boy? I have send a boy?" Urvashi was more astonished.

"Yes! That boy, who was with you the previous day." Ratnajit told her.

Now all the words told by Brajesh became clear to her. "Where is he now?" She asked with panic.

"Probably he is now in Royal court. The king will give him a death sentence today." Ratnajit informed her with a great sorrow.

"That crazy boy...." She ran toward the entrance door and caught a horse-carriage on the road. She was in her night gown, bare feet, uncombed hair. She told the cart driver, "To the Royal palace! Hurry up!"

When she entered into the royal court, the guards stopped her at the gate. But when they recognised her, let her go inside. There were a crowed of men from different classes. At the middle of the court room floor, Brajesh was standing tied with chain like an animal. The king asked him, "Do you have anything to say in your favour?"

"My Lord! I am the real thief. I have nothing to say anything in favour of me." Brajesh replied the king.

"Anybody want to say anything about him?" The king asked to the crowed. Then Urvashi came beside Brajesh and appealed, "I have to say something My Lord. May I?" The king gave her a sign to tell.

"My Lord! He did nothing." Brajesh surprised with Urvashi’s words. "I am that thief. I theft those jewellery from Honourable Queen's dressing room. He knows it. He loves me. So he is only trying to save me."

"Hmm! Fine! Where is those things now?" The king asked to her.

"I have sold them all in a hidden market." Urvashi lied.

The king now smiled a little and asked her, "Now tell me, what types of jewellery items were there?"

Now Urvashi felt uneasy. She stuttered and named some random items. The king then asked Brajesh. He also stuttered. The king told them, "So, none of you are thieves. Now tell me what's the matter? Why are you pretending so?"

Urvashi told all the story what was really happened. The king ordered the guards to free them and he seized those corrupted guards.

Outside of the Royal court, Brajesh asked Urvashi, "Why is your get-up like this?" Urvashi slapped him all of a sudden, "You crazy boy! Why did you do this? If anything happened to you? I was so scared. But God saved you." 

"It was you who saved me. But why have you came here and took the blame upon you? Were you going to die for me?" Brajesh asked.

"Yes." Urvashi replied with a red face. 

"But you told me, you love that man."

"I was wrong. Actually I love you. I have realized it when I came to know that you are in danger. I felt my world was getting dark. I felt like suffocated. Please don't do it again."

They were walking side by side. Brajesh held her hand softly. Urvashi turned back and saw it was not that 'funny', 'crazy' boy whom she used to know. Rather, he was a perfect lover who could die for her. Who was caring to her. Who was her own man. Brajesh kissed on her soft lips and said, "Promise".