CHAPTER - 2

Akash,in the mean time,before taking any more step forward,went to Delhi University and made several enquiries about the dead scholar and gathered information regarding his subject but no one could actually tell about the ways or nature of his research.He investigated about the scholar’s personal life and came to know that he had a family of four,with parents and an elder sister.His parents passed away and his sister was married off and he was a bachelor.Even after a lot of trial,Akash could not gather any valuable information which would actually help him in his investigation but one thing that he understood was that the next line of clue will only be available from Vijaygarh and if he actually wanted to investigate the murder and reveal the mystery,he had to go there.One day,Akash was playing video game in Neil’s playstation while Neil was doing his homework.Suddenly Akash stopped playing and said,”Pata hai Neil mujhe na lagta hai ke...””Yaha beth kar kuch bhi nehi hoga aur aapko Vijaygarh jaana parega.”Neil,without raising his head from his cope,completed Akash’s unfinished words.Akash looked at him and with a smile said,”You know what Neilu,you’re my best buddy.Peechle janam mein Iam sure tu meri ma ya meri biwi raha hoga.”Neil raised his head and gave a sheepish look to Akash and replied,”First of all don’t call me Neilu,its a girl’s name aur vaise bhi aapki baate smajhne ke liye kisiko PHD karne ki zarurat nehi hai.Jabse aapne vo murder case ke baare mein suna hai na tabse aap agar 10 baate karte ho to usme 9 baate isi ke baare mein hoti hai to ab bolo koi kare bhi to kya kare,kisi chote bachche ko bhi samajhme aa jaayegi.Par aap sabko manaaoge kaise?Aapki to naukri bhi hai.”Akash put down the joystick and almost lie down on the bean bag and laughed sarcastically,stretching his legs and then said,”Maine aaj tak kisi ki baat suni hai jo ab sununga?Apne boss ko aisa blackmail karunga na ke unke paas koi option hi nehi bachega kyuki unko bhi ye baat achchi tarah se pata hai ke mere bina unka pura department  paralysed hai.Ma ko main sambhaal lunga uske baare mein fikar karne ki koi zarurat nehi hai.”Neil completed his homework and while putting his copies and books aside,said,”Chachu mujhe bhi lekar chalo na ghar mein pare pare bore ho gaya hu,vacations bhi chaalu ho jaayenge aur mujhe ghar par hi rehna parega.Kyuki papa to chalejaayenge na waapas camp mein.Kitni boreing life hai meri,mujhe bhi to kuch thrill,vrill chahiye life mein.”Akash felt pity for him and said,”I can understand dude!!teri life bari pathetic hai,kyuki aadhe se zyaada din tujhe saas bahu kit u tu main main dekhni parti hai.Par main tujhe apne saath nehi lekar ja sakta hu.Sorry!!”Neil came to him and asked,”Kyu lekar nehi ja sakte?Main aapka itna kaam karta hu,aapke saare secrets main secret rakhta hu tab bhi aap mere liye itna bhi nehi kar sakte hai?”Akash,made a taunting smile and replied,”Abbey teri behen ki ****!!Bhabhi mar jaayegi ya mujhe maar degi agar main tujhe lekar gaya to aur tu bachcha hai na to bas bachcho ke tarah hi reh.Zyaada bara hone ki zarurat nehi hai.Main koi trip par nehi ja raha hu,kaam par ja raha hu.Murder case solve karne ja raha hu aur vaha bachcho ka kya kaam?Baat karta hai.”Neil said,”Thik hai thik hai main samajhta hu sab kuch.”He grabbed Akash’s hand and pulled him and said,”Niklo mere kamre se koi zarurat nehi hai aapko yaha rehne ki aur aayinda kabhi mere room mein aana bhi nehi.”Neil almost kicked Akash out of his room and slammed the door on his face and Akash yelled,”Oye!!Ye play station waapas kar ye maine kharid kar diya tha.Kaminey!!Mujhe dhakke maar kar kamre se bahaar nikaal diya,itna bara insult!!Bhaar mein ja tu!!”Akash,with lazy steps,rubbing his head,returned to his room.

[ LONDON ]

A young woman was standing on the balcony of her room,in a big mansion,with no expressions on her face and it seems she was lost in her own thoughts and a cloud of sadness had covered her face and her eyes had dark circles proving she might had not been sleeping since last few days.A hand was placed on her shoulder and she turned and found an elderly woman standing and the woman asked,”Bitiya ke huo the khaana kyu na kha rahi?Uske baad tanne davaayi bhi to leni hai na?”The girl replied,”Hume kuch bhi achcha nehi lagta hai ma.Khaana khaane ka bhi dil nehi karta aur ye sab dawaayi kha kar kya faayda jab hamaare paas din hi zyaada nehi bache hai.”The woman covered the girl’s mouth and replied,”Bitiya tu bhale maari kokh jani na hai,par iswar jaane hai,apne khud ke kokh jane se jyada prem kiyo hai maine thaare se.Main thaari dhaaima na balki Yashoda ma hu aur ma ke saamne tanne ye marne waali baat karne mein laaj na aayi?Iska matlab to je hai ke tu mane apni ma maane hi na hai.”The girl held her hand and kissed them and said,”Na na ma aisa mat bolo,apni ma ki to humne shakal bhi nehi dekhi hai.Jabse samajhna seekha hai aapko hi dekha hai aur aapko hi apni ma maana hai aur agar aap na hoti to sochiye kaun hum jaisi larki jo paida hone ke kuch mahino mein hi apni ma ko kha jaaye,aisi larki se kaun pyar karega?Agar aap na hoti to papa to shaayad dusri shaadi kar lete hamaare liye.”The woman replied,”Bitiya Ranaji ko thaari ghani fikar hai varna apna des chorkar,Ranisa ki yaado ko chor kar vo athe aakar rehte ke?Vo athe thaare liye hi to aaye hai taaki thaare ko un sab cheejo se dur rakkhe aur dekh vo kitni kosis kare hai ke tu thik ho jaaye aur agar tu dawaayi na legi to thik kaise hogi?”Just then an elderly man came to the room and seeing him,the woman immediately pulled her veil and greeted her and left from there.The man was Vijaygarh’s palace’s present king Rana Uday Pratap Singh Rathore and the girl was his only daughter and the princess of the palace Rajkunwari Ananya Uday Pratap Singh Rathore.Since the royal reign ended decades ago,so the whole royal family splitted and used to stay in different parts of the country as well as the world.Rana Uday was in the army and he used to live with his family in Allahabad.Ananya’s mother Maharani Niharika,died within a few months after giving birth to Ananya due to bitten by a snake.After her death,Rana Uday was broken hearted and then he appointed the woman,Parvati,Ananya’s dhaima who took care of Ananya just like her own daughter and she even had a son who was few months older to Ananya.After 10 years,Uday left his job and then went and started a new business in London and when his business flourished there,he settled there permanently.Recently,Ananya was suffering from a psychological disorder,in which she often sleepwalks and in that situation whatever she did,she didn’t remember anything.It was a kind of hereditary disease which was there among one of her forefathers and even many other people of the royal family had suffered from it.Uday asked,”Ananya ye hum kya sun rahe hai ke aap apni medicines nehi le rahi hai?”Ananya greeted her and then replied,”Ji papa hume vo medicines lena achcha nehi lagta hai.Humne aapse kaha tha papa ke ye sab karne se koi faayda nehi hai kyuki aaj tak jo hota aaya hai,vohi aaj bhi hoga aur hum bhi apni niyati se bach nehi sakte hai.Ye sab jo ho raha hai na hamaare saath,aapko lagta hai ke ye sab khaandaani bimaari ke vajah se ho raha hai jo hamaare pardadusa ko bhi tha par nehi ye sab usike...””Aap paagal ho gayi hai Ananya??”Uday almost scolded Ananya and said,”Aap aaj ke zamaane ki ladki hokar in sab baato par vishwaas karti hai?Ye seekhaya hai humne aapko?Aap itni pari likhi hokar bhi aisi baate kar rahi hai,ye nateeja hua hai aapko itna paraane likhaane ka?Yaha hum din raat ek kar rahe hai isi koshish mein ke aap thik ho jaaye kyuki aapke chacha sa ke bete ne gaddi sambhaalne se inkaar kar diya hai aur rajgaddi,singhaasan aaphiko milega.Aap yuvrani banne ja rahi hai Ananya.Humne aajtak aapki saari baate maani hai,aapne shaadi nehi karni chahi,humne aap par zor nehi daala.Aapki ma sa ke guzar jaane ke baad hum bilkul toot hi chuke the aur tab agar Parvati na hoti to pata nehi hum aapko kaise sambhaalte.”He cupped her face and said,”Aap hamaari zindagi hai beta.Aapke ma sa ke baad ek aapka chehra dekh kar hi hum jee rahe hai aur kya aap hamaare liye aapko thik karne ki is koshish mein hamaara saath nehi de sakti hai?”Ananya held her father’s hand and said,”Aapke liye hum apni jaan de sakte hai papa,lekin aap hi sochiye hum is baat ko kaise bhul jaaye ke aajtak hamaare khaandaan mein jo kuch bhi hua hai,vo sab jhut to nehi tha.”Uday replied,”Beta vo sab ittefaq the,jinki jitni zindagi hoti hai,vo utna hi jeete hai.”He grinned and put his hand on her head and said,”Aur aapki,Vijaygarh ki honewaali yuvraani aur unki niyati ke beech hum khare hai aur apne jeeteji hum aapko kabhi kuch nehi hone denge.”By that time,Parvati brought Ananya’s food and medicine and then Uday said to Ananya,”Hum office ja rahe hai,ghar mein aakar hume ye nehi sunna hai ke aapne khaana ya dawaayi kuch bhi nehi liya.”He looked at Parvati and said,”Parvati hamaari honewaali yuvrani ka khayaal rakhna.”He smiled at her daughter and Parvati nodded her head and replied,”Ji Ranaji bitiya kabhi maareko mana na karegi.Aap nishchint hokar daftar jaaiye.”After Uday left,Parvati said to Ananya,”Dekha thaare se thaare pitaji kitna prem kare hai aur tu hai ke anaab shanaab sochti rehti hai.Chal andar chal mare saath.”Parvati held Ananya’s hand and brought her inside her bedroom and put a spoonful of food inside her mouth and said,”Pata hai bitiya jab main choti thi na tab maari dadi kehti thi ke jab jab hum musibat mein hote hai to upar bethe bhagwanji hamaare liye koi na koi masiha zarur bhejta hai jaise maare liye Ranaji ko bheja tha,agar vo mane usdin na bachaate to shaayad main jinda bhi na bachti.Tu dekhna thaare vaaste bhi kanhaji koi na koi maseeha jarur bhejenge jo thaare ko saari musibato se hamesha ke liye dur lekar jaayega.”Ananya said,”Ma aisa sirf kisse kahaaniyo mein hi hota hai asal zindagi mein nehi.”Parvati replied,”Te maari baat gaath baandh le thaare liye thaara masiha jarur aayega.Le le abhi khaana kha le.”Ananya obliged as she had no other options left.Just then,Parvati’s son,Vijay came to Ananya’s room and gave her a bowl full of strawberries.Ananya had a huge smile in her face and said,”Thank you Vijay bhaisa,agar aap na hote to hume itni tasty strawberries khaane ko kabhi nehi milta.”Vijay smiled and replied,”Rajkunwarisa aap bhaisa kehti hai na hume to hum apni behen ke liye itna to kar hi sakte hai aur karenge bhi.Aap khaana khaiye,dawayi lijiye aur ye strawberries bhi khaaiye,abhi hum chalte hai Ranaji ke saath office bhi jaana hai.”Vijay was like a right hand man of Ranaji and since Ranaji once saved Parvati,both of them were committed to the family by their lives and Vijay loved Ananya just like his own sister and takes care of Ranaji and his whole business.Before leaving,he was reminded by his mother to bring Ranaji on time for lunch.

[ DELHI ]                                                                                   

As Akash had predicted previously,his boss was bound to grant him leave when he threatened of leaving the job and he also mentioned that he would return after solving the case only.Akash had already informed in his home that he would be leaving for Vijaygarh.But before that,he had to know about the palace and the royal families of Vijaygarh.Since Akash’s father was a professor of history,he went to his father,but Mr Saluja too couldn’t throw any light on his questions but he said,”Mere saath hamaare department mein ek professor the,unka naam tha Professor Vinay Kumar Shekhawat,vo basically Vijaygarh ke rehne waale the...I mean vo wahi paida huye,wahi pare likhe aur phir alag alag universities mein unhone paraya hai,phir 10 saal pehle Delhi aaye aur yahi se unhone retire kiya aur unhone kaha tha ke vo Vijaygarh waapas chale jaayenge.Unhone shaadi bhi nehi ki thi aur bohot achchi painting bhi karte the.”Akash thought for a few seconds and then said,”Iska matlab unhe to Vijaygarh ki history puri pata hogi,tab to vo mere bohot kaam aayenge.”Mr Saluja replied,”Ha kaam aayenge kyuki unhone mujhe bataya tha ke unke dada pardaada rajgharane mein munshi ka kaam karte the.He will be able to help you a lot.”Akash replied,”Thats amazing!!Mera aadha kaam ho gaya hai.Bas ab aap mujhe unka address ya phone number de dijiye.”Mr Saluja said,”Phone number to abhitak zarur badal chuke honge aur address main university se nikalwa lunga aur vo to mere bohot ahche dost bhi hai,agar main unhe telegram kar du to tujhe waha kisi guest house mein rehne ki bhi zarurat nehi paregi.”Akash replied,”Nehi mujhe kuch din us guest house mein rehna hoga taaki mujhe us scholar ke room ki talashi lene mein asaani ho aur waha ke staffs se bhi baat karni paregi.After all mujhe us churail ko to pakarna hi parega.”Mr Saluja nodded his head disappointedly and said,”Mujhe in sab ki bekaar ki baato mein koi interest nehi hai.Ye sach hai ke India mein bohot saare jagaho par archeological department ne suraj ugne se pehle aur doobne ke baad jaane se mana kiya hai saying they are haunted par literally I don’t believe them either aur tujhe pata hai duniya bhar ki illegal kaam na aisi jagah par hi hoti hai.”Akash agreed and said,”Thik hai main jaane ki tayyari karta hu aur aap vo letter mujhe hi de dijiye kyuki main waha pohochne ke baad us guest house mein kuch din guzaarunga phir aapke dost ke paas jaaunga.”Mr Saluja accepted and so Akash started preparing to leave for Vijaygarh.At night,when Akash was preparing to sleep,Neil came to his room and jumped on his bed and seeing that,Akash made a face and said,”Aise kood gaya mere bistar par jaise ke ye tere suhaagraat ki sej hai.Utar yaha se!!”Neil replied,”First promise me ke Vijaygarh jaane ke baad aap mere saath video chat karenge aur mujhe har roz update karoge.”Akash put his hand on his waist and asked,”Nehi kiya to?”Neil replied,”Nehi kiya to...maine aapki ek video shooting kiya tha jaha aap ek larki ke saath video chatting kar rahe the aur bare naughty ho rahe the.”Akash pulled his ears and asked,”Policewaale ko blackmail karta hai?”Neil pushed Akash and said,”Kya karu,aaphika bhatija hu na.Mujhe papa ne bataya tha ke kaise college ke time par dadu ko blackmail karke aapne unse bike nikalwaayi thi.”Akash knew Neil was very dangerous and so he immediately changed his attitude and said,”Mujhe pata hai tu mera bhatija hai,tabhi to tu mujhpar gaya hai.Don’t worry main tujhe har roz update karunga bina bhule.Abhi tu ja raat ho gayi hai aur mujhe kal nikalna hai.”Neil got up from the bed and asked,”Chachu churail ko pakar kar aap karoge kya?”Akash was already very disturbed due to him and so he replied,”Usse teri shaadi karwaaunga!!Bewakuf!!Police ko saup dunga na.”Neil asked,”Aur agar vo sach mein churail hui to?”Akash,this time kicked Neil out of his bedroom and said,”Tu ja na yaar,ja mera dimaag mat chaat!!”He slammed the door on his face and Neil,from outside,yelled,”Bhagwaan kare vo churail aapke sar par baith jaaye.Huh!!”Saying he left for his room.