A Journey To Discover Life

More often than not, the private lives of kings and the existence of their queens remain in the words of bards rather than those of chroniclers. Dhruvasvamini is no different, even after being the queen of the golden age of the Indian Subcontinent. She appears in the Basarh Clay Seal as the mother of Govinda Gupta (attributed as a sibling of Kumara Gupta I) and the queen wife of Chandra Gupta II or Vikramaditya. Except for one mention of Dhruva Devi, as she is popularly known, she remains a mysterious character in the Gupta lineage, with a side mention in the dynasty’s history. Visakhadatta, a famous poet and playwright, who later wrote DeviChandraGuptam, a play capturing the life of Chandra Gupta II, portrayed Dhruva Devi as one of the protagonists of his story. Although some scholars attribute Visakhadatta to being under the patronage of Chandra Gupta II himself when he wrote this story, many historians debate the literary work as a work of historical fiction written much after his t...

  Upon the scenes of Malwa’s plains Reva meanders in ripples and waves. She witnesses stories only she could tell Of Love, revenge, lust and pain. The Reva blesses the land with her fertility and nurturing. She also witnesses the thousands of stories, known and unknown, told and untold, on its banks. Here is a tale that Reva tells hundreds of years later as she meanders still through the land that was once called Malwa.  Hunting had, from time immemorial, been the pursuit of entertainment for many royals. The luxury of hunting for pleasure was only reserved for the rich and powerful, and the king, often accompanied by his friends, would visit the forestlands on the bank of the Reva for the sighting of deer, boars and if they were lucky enough, then even tigers. His ears were alert enough to observe the rustling of leaves in the winter afternoon or the call of a barking deer nearby. The chirping birds witnessed the hunting party galloping through the forest, trying to stay low...

Roopmati had watched the troops leave. She had stood behind the chief queen as she traditionally bid goodbye to her sons. She had waited for the Sultan to come to her. He did. He was confident that the sudden advancement of Akbar’s foster brother, Adham Khan, could be curbed. It was not war, just precaution. He reassured her. Malwa would never bow to the Timurids. And he would not let anything happen to her. To Her. Roopmati felt suffocated by her husband’s affectionate hug. She felt trapped in the scrutinising eyes of all the people in the palace. Angry, blaming eyes. She tried to pace herself and sing, but her voice cracked in fear. Her melody was drowned in tears. Every evening, a messenger would come to the chief queen with the news of war. Roopmati was kept in the darkness. She was not told about anything. She knew the rumours. She was a witch. A temptress who caused doom to the Sultan of Malwa. She was a spy of the enemy planted in his life to destroy him. She wondered if he came...