Fibs and Fables

Chapter 3

The large grandfather clock in the living room of the Khan Haveli struck one in the morning. Despite the ungodly hour, the foyer and living room were flooded with lights.

Ma Begum paced the width of the room, her feet almost digging a chasm along her path. She has been at this for hours now. Her muscles had begun to ache, but her rage refused to simmer down. She looked to her right to see Mariam in an equally righteous fury as the two ladies of the house waited for a certain Khan to return home.

The first time she heard about the developments that had taken place in the Panchayat, she laughed it off. She blamed it on her people's enthusiasm to overdramatize matters. But then she got confirmation. And the feminine rage in her had flared up, ready to obliterate her son.

Salma Begum was a revolutionary Khanam. Shahnawaz Khan had been the first in many generations to marry out of his family. So when Salma joined the Khan family, she had a lot to learn and even more to unlearn. Salma was brought up in a liberal household; even when royal blood flowed in her veins, she was not chained to outdated traditions. And thus felt as if she had traveled eons back when she first stepped into the Khan haveli, where respect and honor overruled love and desires.

But she was lucky to have ended up with a husband like Shahnawaz; he was a man who could see reason and loved her enough to break away from the restrictions imposed on him and let her have her own identity rather than being reduced to a piece of ornate furniture in the household. Because that is what it felt like in the beginning—she was just a trophy, a living, breathing symbol of a successful political deal.

When Salma got married to Shahnawaz, she was in the last year of her degree program. A well-educated woman was something of a rarity in that era. And something even more unheard of was to pursue her education after marriage, but her husband was a shield and sword all in one as he stood beside her as she fought for her rights. And that was what made Salma fall hard for him.

Salma Begum had then been labeled a rebel, her actions scrutinized, and her ideas ridiculed, but she had persisted. After nearly two decades of her rule as Khanam, time had proven her right. The girls of the family now proudly pursued their higher education, worked freely, and exercised every right the law and their faith granted them.

Just like every mother, she always felt that her greatest achievements were her children, Murtasim and Mariam. She had taken a keen interest in both their educations, making sure they were all well read and educated, especially Mariam, so that no one could ever sideline her just because she was a woman. Murtasim had always been her pride and joy; his character was spotless, and his judgment was just. She knew all about his sacrifices, his sorrows, and his anger, but never in her wildest fantasies did she think he would put forward a proposal like this.

Her marriage was necessarily a political alliance between her family and the Khans, but there was no pressure on her. There were multiple alliances and many prospective grooms for her to choose from. The proposal had been sent to her house, and she and her family had met her in-laws. She had met Shahnawaz, and even from afar, she got a chance to see her groom as himself.

But today's events were different. Some would think that her anger was directed at the fact that Murtasim had proposed marriage to a Malik, and that she would think this new girl would taint their bloodline. But she was no ancient relic who still believed in the purity of a bloodline. She was a woman of modern times and loved her son enough to trust his choices.

She would not have had a problem with a woman of her son's choice as long as it was a well-thought-out decision and the feelings were mutual between the couple. Murtasim was never a man of reckless decisions, which meant this was a well-thought-out one, but he was not the only party in this marriage.