The Golden Lotus
The water swings like an immature child. The noisy laughter silenced the abandoned pond. A group of beautiful women were enjoying the morning bath.
Malini was upset with her wandering thoughts. Even the kids were ready to immerse their warm bodies in a freezing pond. “Malini, come take your bath; otherwise, you will be late,” says a lady among the group, with her rounded eyes. Ignoring all the calls, she remained like a rooted, curved plant with a bent flower; her mind was filled with expectations to meet her queen, the only person who owned the gold of Udaipur. The thoughts of the queen and her well-known precious, thick golden jewels embedded with polished greenish-blue stones always urge Malini to raise the thirst that her beloved husband can never fill. Rubbing her naked neck, she let the water engulf her body. Malini holds water in her pointed hands, chanting the mantras to Surya, who peeps his radiance from branches just like a mature fruit.
She waves her body to experience the freshness of the water. The precious lives of Prakriti are radiant like jewels for her. Her body regains the power to start the dawn of life. Even if she lacked luster, the newly woven clothes encircled her to please her wheat body.
“Malini, why do you take this much time? Are you nervous about going to the palace?”, her friend asked with her naughty voice. “No, dear Anasooya… my husband is a guard with all content, awarded with coins even the king’s beloved ring during wartime service,’ Malini replied. “Then what makes your body feel soulless?” Malini remains silent. “We all know taking care of the queen’s jewels is harder than protecting the temple idol, the desire of every woman of Udaipur”.
Suddenly, a sound broke her conversation. Malini heard her mother-in-law’s cracking voice; the moment became silent. Everyone finished dripping their sarees, and the kids were disturbing the fruits for food. Malini started to fill two pots. The weak, slender legs of the widow made her entire body swing behind the shadow of Malini. Malini thinks of the first time when she met her during kanyadaan ; she delighted the couple secretly with mango sweets that were harvested by climbing the massive tree. Malini balanced two filled pots on either side of her waist and steadily moved for the old lady to balance over her shoulder. After reaching home, Malini was tired, but she was urged to help the old lady bathe. Since the wind blows harder, she gently nourishes her body with cold water. “Never be greedy like Highness; you know the stories, right? It’s okay to punish the thief, but what about the previous servant of the royal queen? Even that innocent lady vanished from Udaipur?” Malini nodded her head.
While packing her clothes, her mind flittered around the myths of the eye-catching accessories. Meanwhile, her husband was polishing the gifted ring in the Pooja room. Malini was optimistic about her chances of gaining gold to secretly admire her beauty in a kingdom where all the precious gems were owned by the royal powers.
At night, Malini reached the royal pond after tightly hugging her love. The golden lotus exuberates her inner interest. She heated the camphor gifted by him, the feeling of solace refreshing her nose. She spread her dark hair to enhance her beauty. Suddenly, a dark figure appeared on the greenish stairs of water. Malini turned back, seeing the breathtaking beauty of the lady with Diya in her hands. Mesmerized, Malini’s spirits grew to please her queen with devotion. Malini runs to gather wild turmeric and fragrant oil.
After blowing the diya, the queen takes off the jewel in water like washing her body from dirt.
Malini sees the gleaming water, and she quickly collects the jewel by blowing the leftover camphor on the other hand.
Accidentally, the flames of camphor become deeper to floodlight the space of the pond Malini sees the wounded body with a dry scar of the gifted ring of her beloved one. Queen cleaned her painful body marked by the ruthless king and carried one jewel underneath the water to hide and seed the painful golden lotus of Udaipur, the gold which enclosed to cover her wounds, humiliation, and gossip she faced in her kingdom.