They were right. Life does get very formal after marriage, especially if you marry the crown prince of Ayodhya. But you will never know, because you won’t ever get to marry him really; not because you and he are so distant in time and space, but because he swore by the holy fire of the yajna and by his own honor as a man, that he will not have a second wife as long as he lived. And I know Ram. He’ll keep his word.
Funny thing is, I never asked to be the only woman in his life. Later when I asked him why he took that oath, he gave a sad smile and said, “You are now in the royal house of Ayodhya. You’ll find out soon enough.”
The next few days were very hectic. With the first rays of the sun, prayers and chants would start, seeking God’s blessings for the ‘newly married couple’. These prayers always made me want to laugh-they asked that Ram may have the strength to protect me and kingdom, that he may have the courage in battle, that he may rule his people justly, that he may have a long life, and on and on and on. And me? Well they prayed that I may give birth to strong sons. Wow! So much for my ‘future role as the Queen of Ayodhya’!
The prayers got over about mid-day. After a brief period of rest, we would meet the courtiers and generals of Ayodhya who were coming from different parts of the kingdom to congratulate their future king (and queen). On the first day, Ram and Laxman gave their account of the situation in Jansthan, and then it was decided to have a full-fledged war-meeting on the issue as soon as everyone had assembled at Ayodhya.
Ram refused to have anything scheduled for our evenings. I can only imagine the knowing smiles and the winks and the silent laughter of the courtiers and the priests when he expressed his disinclination. But this was our decision. We wanted to spend the evenings out in the streets of Ayodhya, getting to know the people. And Ram stubbornly refused to have any guard accompany us either. “I don’t want to intimidate the people. I don’t want them to fear me. I want them to see me as one of their own,” he said. Laxman, being Laxman, insisted on accompanying us. Well, we would have asked him to come along anyway.
These evenings were delightful. The people seemed to love these two brothers genuinely. To my relief, they accepted me instantly. They would meet us, greet us with love, bless us, ask us the news from Jansthan, about Mithila, whether it is really as beautiful a city as people say it is and how I liked Ayodhya. They would tell us of their own lives. Ram made it a point to ask them about their problems, offered solutions where he thought they could deal with it themselves. Otherwise the first thing he did after we got back to the palace was to give orders that the problem be dealt with immediately. I couldn’t help thinking that he would make an amazing ruler.
We were growing in popularity. Everyday we found more and more people coming for us for help. We tried not to disappoint anyone. Whoever came to us with a request was satisfied. I did not care anymore that the priests and the royal family only considered me useful enough to produce heirs to the throne. Because of the love of my people and the respect and love that Ram gave me, I was already the uncrowned queen of Ayodhya’s people.
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