"You are too bad, Brother Midush," said Avantika and ran out of the tent, blushing.
Midush had seen the silent boy grow up in front of his eyes. The third young master had always been a lonely soul and Midush really wished that he would find someone who could make him feel cherished and loved in the years ahead.
Sarvaan city, fifty kilometres away from Nildiri hills
In the dining room of Kola Mansion
"I don't know why you agreed to her going up to the army camp. I am still not reconciled with the thought of our precious girl with that scary third nephew of yours. It doesn't matter how great a general Dushyant is when his personality is like that of a sour gourd," a thin-faced middle aged woman complained to her husband.
This was Madam Sulabha and she was currently serving lunch to her husband who had unexpectedly returned home in the middle of the day.
Girikraaj smiled and shook his head. "Have you forgotten what mother said to us the last time? Avantika is an intelligent girl with really clear thoughts. She is not the kind to suffer any losses. If she has chosen to pursue Dushyant, it is not because she has suddenly turned foolish in love. Just have faith in our daughter."
Madam Sulabha's expression immediately turned dark at the mention of her mother-in-law. Even though both the women were from similar backgrounds, her husband clearly thought of his mother to be way superior to his wife.
"Don't make a face. I know that you don't like my mother, but don't forget, had it not been for her, you would have never married into this family and your financially struggling family would have collapsed without the monetary aid provided by my Kola clan. I will tolerate most everything from you except your disrespect towards my mother," Girikraaj's genial expression had transformed immediately into a severe and cold one.
Madam Sulabha shrank back into her chair and said in a subdued voice, "When did I show any disrespect towards Mother? Didn't I press her feet for more than an hour this morning after she complained that her legs ached? I didn't let any of the maids do it and personally applied hot mustard oil to her ankles. My palms are still aching with the effort. But nothing that I do is good enough for any of you even after giving so many years in this house."
She sniffled piteously, earning herself a coaxing smile from her husband.
"Alright, alright. I know. You are the most dedicated daughter-in-law across the entire Sarvaan city. Now, stop crying. Tell me, what did Kuntala say when you went to give gifts for brother-in-law and Dushyant," he asked her, changing the topic cleverly.
Kuntala was the name of General Chandraveer's wife.
She was born and brought up in Sarvaan, and had not gone beyond ten miles outside of the city.
Sarvaan was a prosperous establishment on the banks of the Sarva river. Known for the most famous gurukul across kingdoms, Sarvaan received students from all across the continent to learn different streams of education being offered.
The Sarvaan gurukul had produced many illustrious scholars and current military commanders.
Even General Chandraveer was a product of this gurukul.
The Sirsa clan, General Chandraveer's family, was well-known in the city of Sarvaan and enjoyed a lot of prestige.
Madam Kuntala, the wife of General Chandraveer, was a plump woman with a sheltered upbringing. At a young age, she married the upcoming protegee in the army, Chandraveer, and had led a fairly comfortable albeit lonely life since then.
It was rumoured that there was a romantic story hidden behind their marriage but no one knew about it.
Proficient in the matters of the household, Madam Kuntala ran a tight ship much to the satisfaction of her in-laws. After the retirement of her father-in-law from his army post, both the parents decided to follow the path of Vanprastha* and settled in a remote area, at the foothills of the Mandh mountain.
General Chandraveer's two sisters were married in military households as well and had settled in the vicinity of their husbands' permanent base, far from Sarvaan. This left Madam Kuntala as the nominal head of the Sirsa clan in the absence of her husband.
Due to being in close vicinity to each other, Madam Kuntala and her maternal clan were extremely involved in each other's daily lives.
Her maternal clan, Kola, was a wealthy merchant house, dealing in household and consumer goods ranging from grain, sugar to clothes and cosmetics. Even though the Kola family had a lot of money, they weren't considered to be a part of the noble society due to their lack of etiquette and class.
This changed when the young son of the family, Kuntala's father, who had just taken over the family business, decided to marry into a declining aristocratic house.
In this case, instead of receiving a dowry from the bride's family, a hefty shagun* was sent from the groom's house to convince the aristocratic family to marry their daughter into the lowly, but rich merchant house.
With a lot of promises and monetary benefits, the girl came into the Kola household accompanied by a lot of misgivings and apprehension. But on the wedding night, the husband asked his wife for only one thing - to help elevate the status of the Kola clan. He wanted their clan to be recognised as one of the official royal merchants of Mandhaar!
The bride acquiesced shyly and went on to produce two children for her husband - Girikraaj, their son and Kuntala, their daughter.
Girikraaj was brought up by his mother in a strict manner to ensure that he was admitted into the prestigious Sarvaan gurukul. He was well aware of his parents' aspirations and knew that he needed to build a network in the upper class of the society and make solid connections with the young masters of the prestigious families.
Though Kuntala was reared and educated at home, her mother ensured that she received training befitting any noble lady.
Before her husband's death, the genteel lady had fulfilled her promise made to him on the wedding night to the best of her ability.
*Vanprastha - literally meaning 'retiring to the forest', is the third stage in the varnashrama system of Hinduism. It represents the third of the four ashramas of human life, the other three being Brahmacharya, Grihastha and Sannyasa
*Shagun - derived from a sanskrit word, it means auspicious. Cash and goods are given at an auspicious time to the bride or groom, as a token confirming the marriage alliance