Lekha is an orphan who has quite a fascination for all things connected with Rajasthan(India). The fascination comes to life as she is pulled into the century when the Mughals and Rajputs are in a tussle over Rajwara (Rajasthan of today). The story...
I woke up to someone shaking me up while another person giggled. Even in my sleep mingled confusion I felt certain that I was not at the orphanage, as the whole atmosphere there was more decorous and people tend to stay away from me. I had turned into a somber person of few words after the death of my parents. When the jostling continued I opened my eyes slowly, to the laughter filled excited faces of my new friends.
"Wake up sleepy head, maasa has asked us to get ready for the morning aarti at the temple "
"But it's still dark outside "I grumbled.
"It's a special puja (prayer) for jija."
When I still didn't budge they threatened me with cold water. The thought of cold water in the month of February was enough I thought to pull out even the dead from the bed, I was but a mere human being.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
A bath where cold and hot water was kept separately and mixed by the maids.
I was lead to a room where some of the ladies were having a bath. The hot water was being brought and mixed by maidservants for all the royalties. It smelled heavenly as if I had arrived in a rose garden. Some of the maids were rubbing ubatans (herbal mixtures) on the ladies for enhancement of the skin. I was a bit shy in the beginning, but seeing my friends tie what seemed like petticoats around their chests, I followed suit.
The morning rituals were done in well-maintained holes in the ground. I was quite surprised by the civility of it all.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The only thing I missed was my toothbrush. I was asked to use a datoon (a small stick from the branch of a neem tree chewed and then rubbed on teeth). I had seen people still use that in the villages of my time, and it is considered good both in terms of medical and the utility part, be it cleansing or shinning the teeth. The only drawback being, it was bitter in taste. I made up my mind at that instance that if I stayed long enough in this era, I was going to invent a toothbrush. Didn't think history would change drastically due to one toothbrush. Could well imagine my toothbrush no matter how primitive, being found later in a museum of our times.
