‘Yes,’ said Time.
‘It was her beauty that drew so many men, women and children to their deaths. She wiped a dynasty out of the pages of history’
‘No,’ said Time.
‘She was my daughter,’ wept the father. ‘The sultan would never have been able to resist her. She had to be the cause of unnumbered woes for those that loved her. I knew it in that first moment that I cradled her in my arms.’
No old man. It was not your daughter.’
‘But it was my Lotus Blossom…my Padmini. Why was her husband so foolish? Why did he let the sultan lay his eyes on her?’
‘No. No. He never allowed anyone a glimpse.’
‘But he had glimpse of her reflection in a mirror.’
‘No. Not in a mirror nor even in a pond. No one ever saw her at all.’
‘Then,’ whispered the father, ‘how did the sultan of Hindustan become so besotted with her? Did he not enter the fort declaring himself a brother to my daughter? Did he not kidnap my son-in-law from before the very eyes of his men and demand my daughter in exchange?’
‘Old man, it was never about your daughter.’
‘It was my daughter that rescued her husband. If it weren’t for her presence of mind the soldiers could never have entered the sultan’s camp pretending to be highborn ladies escorting the beautiful Padmini.’
‘Old man, it was never about your daughter. It was the fort that the sultan was after.’
‘I should have killed her the moment she was born. It is I who have driven so many to their deaths.’
‘Neither you nor your daughter was at fault…for your Lotus Blossom was never queen of Mewar.’
The father looked astounded.
Then Time spoke very low. ‘There was never a queen called Padmini in Chittaurgarh during the time of Sultan Allauddin Khalji. No Padmini ever burnt in the flames of that first Jauhar…The bards…they made up the tale to soften the blow.’
The father’s eyes looked uncomprehending. He continued to mutter. ‘It was all because my brave and wonderful daughter was such a beauty. No one, not even Time will ever wipe away her memory.’
Interior view of Chittaurgarh sketched by Major Patrick Waugh in the early 1800s. Click to enlarge.
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