by Ranjit Desai
‘I think you are mistaken, Pant. I enquired and found that a cow killed by the tiger was the reason. Raje could not bear to see the troubled villagers and volunteered. I thought you would be proud of his actions.’
‘I am ashamed to say this, Maa saheb. My whole body was numb the moment I heard of the shikar. I could not move a step. Maa saheb, one can tolerate many personal tragedies, and you too have done that. But you know thousands of people are dependent on Raje. We cannot put these people’s futures at risk with such bravado.’ He wiped his tears before continuing, ‘Maa saheb! Only you can convince Raje. If this habit is not nipped in the bud, it will become difficult later.’
Pant left the room with tired footsteps. He had never been so outspoken before but he had not exaggerated the situation. Maa saheb was now furious. She entered Raje’s room fuming and asked, ‘Raje, whose permission did you take before going for shikar?’
‘Maa saheb, I was gifted the rifle by Aba saheb as he had confidence in me. And you know I never miss my aim. But I knew Pant would complain and that you would …’
‘Shivaji!’ Maa saheb said, her voice taking on an edge. ‘Do you know what you are saying? Apologize!’
Raje gulped once and said, ‘But …’
‘Don’t utter another word till you ask for pardon.’
Raje eyes were filled with tears and he somehow managed to mutter, ‘I am sorry. Please pardon me.’
‘You need to ask for Dadoji’s pardon. Go and ask his forgiveness and promise that you will not do this again.’
‘As you wish.’
Seeing his angry and hurt face, red with tears and insult, Maa saheb’s heart melted and she hugged Raje, but he wriggled out of her embrace.
‘Where are you going?’
Without turning back he said, ‘To meet Pant.’
Pant was sitting in his room and the moment he saw Raje, he stood up.
Shivaji could not say anything and he touched Pant’s feet and said, ‘I shall never do this again. Please pardon me.’
‘I have already pardoned you, Raje. Who does not make mistakes? If you remember the mistake, you will not repeat it.’
The moment Pant finished speaking, Raje returned to his quarters. He could not hold back his tears now. The lamps had been lit for the evening but he continued to stay in his quarters and refused dinner when Saibai enquired if he were hungry. The next morning he woke up and finished his morning chores. Saibai and he were playing with the tiger cubs when Jijabai entered.
He tried to turn the other way in order the hide the cubs when she said, ‘Raje, since when have you started turning your back to your mother? If you are so troubled by seeing my face, I shall go away. If you are not hungry, let me know. I shall also not eat today. I had come here only to enquire about you.’
Shivaji realized that Maa saheb had not eaten since last night either. His eyes brimmed with tears as he embraced her.
‘Raje, wipe your tears. Rajas do not cry. And surely not in front of their wives! You told me about the shikar last evening but did not say anything regarding the cubs. I have come to see them. Where are they?’
Raje looked towards the cot. Maa saheb stepped forward and saw the two cubs sleeping peacefully curled up on the bed.
‘They are so sweet! I am putting them in my daughter-in-law’s custody,’ she said, looking at Saibai.
Saibai beamed with pride and walked out of the room with a swagger.
Shivaji was relieved that his mother was not angry anymore.
#
In a few months, the summers arrived. During this time, the family usually moved from the Lal Mahal Palace to the palace at Khedbare. Dadoji had planted mango trees in the orchards at Shivapur and Shivaji would often accompany him while he visited them. The family moved back from Khedbare to Pune after the summer. That summer, Shivaji seemed to be in a hurry to get back to Pune and Jijabai was unable to understand his behaviour. Ever since the Patil episode, he would often sit alone, lost in thought, or he would be out on tours. He made a visit to Rohideshwar within a few days of reaching Pune, while Pant had gone to Junnar at that time.
‘There is nothing wrong in his visits, but something’s not quite right,’ Pant said while talking to Jijabai.
‘What makes you say that?’ she asked.
‘Have you noticed the men surrounding Raje these days? Netaji, Yesaji, Tanaji, Baji, Balaji, Chimnaji—how many shall I count? On each trip I see a new face added to his group. Dadaji Naras Prabhu too sticks to him like a shadow.’
‘What are you alluding to?’
‘I am not able to understand it, Maa saheb! I would understand if these men were of Raje’s age. But I see men of all ages. And not only that but also Brahmins, Marathas, Mahars, Prabhus—all types of castes and sub-castes. There are also the Deshmukhs, Deshpandes, farmers and others. I am unable to understand it …’
‘I think you are worrying yourself unnecessarily, Dadoji. I think it just means that Raje attracts people of all kind and nothing else. And there is nothing wrong with that.’
Dadoji was silent but not convinced. And Dadoji’s doubts were not without reason. The Shivapur Palace was always overflowing with farmers early in the morning. Raje came out followed by Naras Prabhu, Gupte, Yesaji, Tanaji, Balaji, Chimnaji and others. Bhima the blacksmith stood there, bowing down in mujra.
‘Bhima, how is the work progressing?’
‘Fifty swords and a hundred spears are ready.’
‘Shabbash! What about the other blacksmiths?
‘They too will have made similar numbers.’
‘Come on, let’s go.’
They all left for Rohideshwar and reached by late afternoon. Shivaji’s face beamed with a different kind of radiance. They entered the temple after washing their hands and feet at the stream. Dadaji Naras Prabhu and the priest performed the puja and Shivaji prostrated in front of the idol. He said, ‘Dadaji, think once again.’
‘I have decided long ago,’ Dadaji said. ‘If I have to live, I will live like a lion. I don’t want to lead the life of a lamb.’
‘Step forward.’
Raje placed Dadaji’s palm in his own and putting it on the lingam said, ‘Har Har Mahadev! With your blessing, we take the oath for a Hindavi Swaraj. With your blessing, we take the oath for a Hindavi Swaraj and will proceed with your guidance. We shall not leave each other’s friendship till the task is done. We shall not forget our oath.’
He then removed the leaves from the lingam and touched them to his forehead. Dadaji followed suit. A coconut was broken and the priest came out carrying prasad. A hundred-odd followers waited outside the temple expectantly. Raje sat on the footsteps of the temple while prasad was distributed. Yesaji, Baji, Tanaji and others were also waiting expectantly.
Shivaji said, ‘Yesaji, I have taken an oath today. This idol is a swayambhu and our desire is for a Hindavi Swaraj. We shall be granted that wish but we have a great responsibility towards it.’
Netaji was a close confidante of Raje and much older than him. He said, ‘What are we afraid of?’
‘There is no fear. I am wondering what our first step should be, and when and where.’
‘What is there to think? We have taken an oath in front of the Lord. Let this be the first place.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘We shall first capture the Rohideshwar Fort and free the Lord.’
‘I like the idea. But how feasible is it?’
‘I have done a reconnaissance. There are not more than two hundred soldiers there—we would not face much resistance.’
‘What do you say, Dadaji?’
Dadaji nodded in agreement.
‘Rohideshwar will be our first goal. Our flag shall fly high on Rohideshwar tomorrow.’
Shouts of ‘Har Har Mahadev!’ reverberated in the air and Shivaji, addressing Yesaji and Tanaji, said, ‘Assemble your men at the base of the fort tonight. I shall arrive before dawn and we will need to act in total silence.’
Though it was
past midnight, Shivaji was wide awake inspecting the swords and spears made by the blacksmiths. Four blacksmiths had worked day and night to ready the weapons within a fortnight.
‘Raje, if you had given us some extra time, we would have created wonders,’ Bhima said.
‘Bhima, what you have done is no less.’ He removed the gold bangle he was wearing and handed it to Bhima and said, ‘Share this among the four of you.’
‘Raje, you think we will break this up? We will use it for puja! I have one request though,’ Bhima said, touching Shivaji’s feet.
‘What is it, Bhima?’
‘Take me along with you tomorrow. Raje, I know how to use a sword and my spear is not for killing wolves!’
Shivaji was overwhelmed. He asked Bhima to get up and patted his back saying, ‘Bhima, I am looking for men like you. We shall leave together in the morning.’
Shivaji was ready in the wee hours of the morning. Before leaving, he closed his eyes in prayer for a moment. The eastern sky was still dark and there was no sign of dawn yet. They reached the foothills of Rohideshwar as the dawn broke on the eastern horizon. Everyone was waiting for his arrival.
Shivaji asked, as he dismounted, ‘Tanaji, how many men do we have here?’
‘Approximately twelve hundred.’
The arms were distributed among the men. It was slowly becoming bright now and the jungle was filled with the twittering of birds.
Shivaji asked Yesaji, ‘How many porters do we have?’
‘Fifty.’
‘Are they enough?’
‘More than enough. I have asked them to surround the fort. The moment they get the signal they will climb the fort.’
‘And you?’
‘Tanaji and I will be with you. Once we get the signal, we shall go up the jungle route. My men are already there.’
‘And the fort?’
‘Is sleeping peacefully! Subhana has reached the fort last evening—his aunt lives there.’
Everyone present smiled. The blowing of the trumpets announced the opening of the fort doors in the morning. One of the porters, carrying a load on his head moved forward, followed by another.
A few more people proceeded and Bhima lifted his load. Shivaji asked, ‘Have you taken your sword?’
Bhima smiled and pointed to his head.
By the time the sun had risen, the only people left in the jungle were Shivaji, Dadaji, Yesaji and fifty farmer-soldiers. The forest was now drenched in light and the fresh, young leaf buds glistened in the morning sun. Yesaji looked at Raje as he unsheathed his sword and touched it to his forehead reverently. He started walking towards the fort, each step taken carefully.
The guards at the gate sat on the steps, smoking a chillum. The porters were moving in slowly. The monsoon was around the corner and there was a lot of masonry work going on at the fort. One of the guards, seeing a larger than normal crowd, commented, ‘Looks like these idiots were sleeping till now. Look how many of them are getting into the fort!’
A porter entered, followed by three men wearing ceremonial clothes with swords hanging at their side and spears in their hands. They did not bother to look at the guards, but a guard shouted and stopped them. ‘Hey you!’
‘Yes, sir?’ one of the men asked.
‘How can you enter without permission? Where are you from and what are you doing here?’
‘We are here to make arrangements for the marriage.’
The guard asked, ‘Aren’t we invited?’
‘How can we have the marriage without you?’ And thus, the men entered the fort.
One of the guards didn’t quite trust the men and was restless. He was suspicious of the armed men claiming to attend a marriage. At that moment, one more porter arrived at the gate and he shouted, ‘Stop!’
The man stopped.
‘Where are you carrying the load to?’
‘Inside the fort, sir.’
‘That I can see. Whose house are you going to?’
‘The fort-keeper’s house, sir.’
‘Is this what the fort-keeper ordered yesterday?’
The guard shouted, ‘Open the bags!’
The other guards laughed and one of them said, ‘Ramji, why are you troubling this poor soul? Let him go.’
Ramji ignored them and repeated, ‘Open the bags!’
The porter realized that his game was up and he bent down and suddenly let out a loud whistle. Before the guard could react, the porter had taken a sword out of the bags. The guard could not believe his eyes and ran towards his companions. He had barely taken two steps when he fell down screaming.
The guards smoking the chillum were stunned for a moment and then recovered enough to run and pick up their arms. Bhima was ready with his sword as he ran towards them. A mild scuffle ensued and soon the whole fort reverberated with the sound of trumpets. Shouts of ‘Har Har Mahadev!’ boomed from all over the fort. Within a few minutes, all the posts inside the fort were captured.
The fort-keeper was still half asleep as he stumbled out of his room. There were shouts of ‘Shivaji aalaa! Shivaji is here!’ and before he could pick his sword, he was surrounded and taken into custody. Shivaji Raje entered the fort and there was complete silence as the men from the fort were too stunned to react. They had never expected an attack of this kind.
The fort-keeper was presented to Shivaji and as he stood there shivering; he tried to vent his anger and shouted, ‘Let me warn you—this will not last long!’
‘Yesaji, is there a cannon in the fort?’
‘Yes, there is.’
‘Put his head in the cannon,’ Shivaji ordered coolly.
The fort-keeper fell at Shivaji’s feet, pleading, ‘Raje, please pardon me! This is your fort now. If you command, I will serve you hereafter.’
Raje laughed and turned to Dadaji saying, ‘Did you see that? These are the men who pledge their allegiance to Adil Shah! Keep this fellow in custody and stay here till other things are arranged. Balaji, Chimnaji, take account of the things like food stock and grains. I will go to Pune tomorrow and return soon.’
The women in the fort came and fell at Shivaji’s feet, worried about their future, and he comforted each one of them and asked them not to worry. He instructed his men to take the wounded to the palace at Shivapur and nurse them. At the main door, he noticed the green Adil Shahi flag fluttering in the wing. He said, ‘Dadaji, are we carrying our flag?’
‘Here it is,’ said Dadaji, giving him the saffron flag.
‘Dadaji, with the Lord’s blessing, we have taken our first steps. We shall thus use the Lord’s flag as ours. We will establish his kingdom!’
He walked up the steps to the flagpole and removed the Adil Shahi flag and hoisted his own. A saffron flag now fluttered in the wind, the clear blue sky adding to its beauty.
#
Dadoji was late to his duties and the moment he entered the room, Shamrao Nilkanth, Sonopant Dabir and Ballal Sabnis got to their feet. ‘I was delayed for the puja today. Where is our physician? I did not get my medicine last evening,’ he said.
Shamrao Nilkanth said, ‘He has been in Shivapur for the past four days.’
‘Why?’
At that moment, the guards sitting outside and enjoying the warm sun, heard hoof beats clattering outside. They got up hurriedly, holding their spears aloft as they saw a rider approach at full speed. He dismounted at the gates and handed the reins over to a guard nearby. Without even waiting to dust off his tunic, he entered the office. He performed his mujra to Dadoji who asked, ‘What is the matter?’
The rider looked around, hesitated and said, ‘Pant, would you please come outside for a moment?’
Pant asked irritably, ‘You may speak freely. There are no outsiders here.’
The rider came forward and whispered in his ear. Pant shrieked, ‘What are you blabbering? Are you drunk?’
‘No, Pant. In the palace, the wounded …’ He trailed off, unable to complete his sentence as Dadojipant had walked out in a
trance without even wearing his sandals.
Jijabai was busy in the kitchen instructing the cooks. She came into the inner quarters the moment she got the message from Pant.
‘What is it, Pant?’
‘I warned you, Maa saheb! Raje had indeed been acting strange for the past few days. No doubt he wanted to stay in Shivapur and get the palace cleared of people.’
‘Pant, do not speak in riddles. I do not understand!’
‘I wish I could tell you properly had the events occurred so,’ Pant said. ‘Maa saheb, have you heard about the exploits of Raje? He has captured Rohideshwar!’
‘Rohideshwar? Are you sure?’
‘Maa saheb, I am not sure if I will remain sane now. Raje’s frequent trips to Rohideshwar, his mingling with people like Dadaji Naras Prabhu and the way he had gathered the farmers— I can now fathom the meaning of it all. The Shivapur Palace is full of wounded men.’
‘And Raje?’
‘Thank goodness he is unharmed.’
Jijabai heaved a sigh of relief and asked with a smile on her face, ‘How did all this happen?’
‘Maa saheb, they attacked Rohideshwar with twelve hundred men, captured the fort-keeper and there is now no sign of Adil Shah’s rule at the fort.’
‘We shall hear the details once Shivaji arrives.’
Dadoji came out of the room. Jijabai was proud of Shivaji’s daring but she felt a certain disquiet. She went into the kitchen and found Saibai and Manohari there. ‘Your husband is returning home after a daredevil exploit and you must welcome him—he has captured Rohideshwar!’
#
Shivaji’s exploits at Rohideshwar had spread to everyone’s lips. Horse hooves were heard from a distance and everyone waited with anticipation. Raje dismounted and his feet were washed by women and he was served a spoon of curd rice to welcome him. He was about to step in when he saw Saibai walking towards him wearing a traditional yellow sari. Saibai reached him and lifted her hand to apply the traditional tilak on his forehead. As Shivaji bent his head, Saibai looked at his forehead wet with sweat, his long sharp nose and earrings dangling in his ears—he was a beautiful sight. She blushed and realized that Raje was staring at her. She hurriedly gave him the traditional betel leaf and performed the aarti. Raje was smiling as he put the betel leaf back in the tray. He stepped into the courtyard and prostrated before Maa saheb.
