Forbidden love

1. Tradition

                        Akshara's  POV

''Akshara! Akshara!, wake up beta(child). Its 10 already. What will you do in sasuraal (inlaws)!" came the voice of my mother from the door.

" Coming maasa! I'm up" I shouted sleepily.

Although I was awake all night studying for medical exams, I knew I had to wake up to avoid lecture from my mother about what not to do in sasuraal.
 
      Well let me introduce myself. I am Akshara Rathore,22yr old, final year medical student at Sisodiya medical College in Udaipur. My father is Rajdeep Rathore,Maharaja(king) of Bikaner palace, which means I am the Rajkumari Akshara Rathore (princess). My mother is Maharani(Queen) Gayatri Rathore who is originally from Jaipur, was married to my father at the age of 18 yrs old. I have only one brother Rajkumar Raghuveer Rathore ,24yr old , who my father calls as 'vaansh ka chirag '(who continues the lineage).He is supposed to be the next Maharaja after my father. Though monarchy in India has ended people still respect my father whose title has been passed since generations.

My brother loves me alot. He always takes my side in front of my parents and fulfills all my demands. My father is strict but he supports me in my studies. Atleast I am grateful that because of him I can fulfill my dream of becoming a doctor. He supports me in front of my mother. He is always out of home for work so my mother is in charge.

My mother always tells me about traditions and how to behave. In our society girls are supposed to live in' maryada'( limit). My mother has taught me since childhood to behave like a proper woman. She is always strict on me but she loves me a lot. She is tough on me so I can survive in the society. While my brother had all sorts of freedom I wasn't allowed to leave the house on my own. He always got what he wanted but if I wanted something my mother would decide whether it is appropriate or not.

I have to wear traditional clothes all the time, make appearances in public as 'rajkumari'. I even have a bodyguard named 'Maansingh'. He is about 50 years old. His family has been serving our family since generations. He always used to call me' baisa' though I told him to call me by my name .He even follows me in college and reports everything to my parents. The dean of my college is friends with my father so he allows it. I hardly have any freedom because of him.

We live at Bikaner palace which consists of two storeys over 1000 acres of land. We have a huge garden at entrance in  front with a marble fountain in centre. Within the palace we have our personal wing and other for tourists and general public

     I woke up from my bed and went to my bathroom to finish my morning chores. I showered quickly and wore my red salvaar kameej. I was  supposed to wear decent clothes fit for a Rajkumari, not jeans top which my mother calls as westerners clothes. I quickly tied my hair in a braid and went downstairs. Servants greeted ," Goodmorning Rajkumariji!" and bowed their heads. I returned the greetings and went downstairs.

      There I saw my parents and brother sitting on dining table. I greeted them and took my place on table. Servants served the breakfast.I took a bite when my mother said,

"Aj ladkewale anewale hai tumhe dekhne( Today people from boy's side are coming to see you)".

I stopped eating and looked at my Papa( father) . He nodded.

" This is not fair maasa", I yelled

"Mind your language Rajkumari. You are talking to your maasa", my father said in a strict tone.

"Sorry babasa. You know I have to continue my higher studies to become pediatrician. You know how much I love being a doctor. How much I want to contribute to the poor people. I can't get married so early and stop my dreams," I said with tears in my eyes.

My mother said," We know beta ,but a girl should not remain unmarried for a long time. By your age I had two children. It is our tradition . Besides no one will marry you if you get older. We will try to convince your inlaws to let you pursue your dreams. Lets meet the boy today.  He is the son of Maharaja Shakti Singh from Udaipur. After marriage you can leave near to your college.You have your exams soon in three months. You don't have to hurry your decision. After exams, you can get married"

I nodded my head reluctantly. I can't argue with them. It is our tradition to obey your elders and respect their decisions. Besides the society will taunt my parents if I remain unmarried long.

   After finishing my breakfast, I helped my mother to finish her chores. At 1 pm after lunch, I went to my room to take a nap. The guests were supposed to come at 5 pm. At 3 pm my mother woke me up. She gave me a yellow ghagra with matching jewelry to wear. I got ready and put slight makeup. Then I went downstairs to help in kitchen. At 5 pm the guests came and my parents went outside to greet them. Later my mother asked me to bring tea to guests. I reached the living room. I served tea to them and touched the elders' feet for blessings. There were the boy's parents,him and his younger sister.

My parents introduced me and the boy's parents him as Kunwar Rudra Pratap Singh,25 year old. I looked at him . He was fair with round face, moustache and heavy build. I didn't feel attracted to him. He was sitting mightily without paying any attention busy on his phone.

His mother immediately said ," Our bahu is expected to keep her head covered all the time".

My mother signalled me and I immediately covered my head with the dupatta.His parents asked me questions about cooking, what I was taught. I answered everything keeping my eyes down as my mother had taught. They said they would be supportive of my career as they believed themselves to be modern.That I was lucky to be their bahu. His sister Siya also talked to me for some time. Rudra seemed disinterested all the time.

    After asking questions, they asked Rudra and me to go to garden to spend some time alone. He told how his parents wanted a sanskaari( well- mannered) bahu. He expected me to be obedient to him in all matters. Not to do anything without his permission.
  
   Later after the guests went,my mother asked me how was the boy.

She said ,"mujhe toh ladka pasand hai"( I liked the boy).

My father also said the same that he was well-mannered  from a respectable,rich family. How he would take care of all my needs. I nodded. Deep down I didn't have any feelings for him. I said I would think about him. I needed to respect my parents' wishes.
 
    I went to my room to change into my pajamas. I packed my bags as I needed to leave early in morning. Maa came to pack some snacks saying she didn't want me to fall sick by eating outside food all the time. I agreed knowing it will be waste to argue with her. She lectured me as she would always about how I should stay away from boys and concentrate only on studies. I was not allowed to go outside to have fun with my friends. I hardly had much friends due to everything.
 
    Next day I took blessings of lord Krishna and my parents. I hugged my brother, teasing him to bring me bhabhisa( sister in law) soon. He laughed blushing. I said my goodbyes and drove away with Maansingh.

After reaching to the college,I went to my hostel room. My parents allowed me to stay in hostel as they felt it was safe in girls hostel. Maansingh would always stay downstairs near the hostel. My best friend and my roommate Avni hugged me. I unpacked my bags..We laughed and started gossiping about our classmates. She knew about my family and supported me in everything. Sometimes we would go outside in disguise. She was from a middle class family but she would always help me despite my reputation. Other girls preferred to stay away from me because of my family. At 11 pm we decided to sleep as we had early morning  lecture. Tomorrow was going to be a long day!