The Adventure of Rudra and Pratap Narayan (Ch-1)

Once upon a time, in a distant land, there lived a King and his two sons. The name of the King was Shambhu Narayan Chaudhury, and his wife was Chitralekha Chaudhury, she died while giving birth to his second child Pratap Narayan Chaudhury. The elder son Rudra Narayan Chaudhury was sent to the Gurukul when he was 12-years old. It was the rule of the land to send every child, be it a girl or a boy, to the Gurukul, when they reach the age of 12. Following that rule, Rudra Narayan was sent to the Gurukul, and three-years later, his brother Pratap Narayan too, went, leaving the King alone in the kingdom.

King Shambhu Narayan started feeling lonely with the absence of his children and wife. Prime Minister Satyaban was looking for this opportunity only. One day he took the lone King for hunting. After a few hours, both got tired and sat down near a riverside. It was dusk, and the sun was setting down, Satyaban looked at the setting sun and said, “You know your majesty, time is too short, you never when all the lights of your life will go away, and you will be left with eternal darkness.” Shambhu Narayan looked at him with awe, “I never knew you were such a philosophical person, Satyaban!” Satyaban smiled, a melancholic smile, and said, “That’s because you know me too little, your majesty!” Both remained silent for a few moments, and then Satyaban again spoke, “I don’t know whether I have the right or not, but there’s something I want to tell you, Your Majesty,” the King assured him to go on. “There’s a woman, a widow, a nice match for you. Think about my words Your Majesty, you’re not that old and your sons too, need the shelter and protection of a mother. If you agree, I will talk to the woman to proceed further, now the decision is upon you.”

That night Shambhu Narayan could not sleep, somehow he felt what Satyaban said was true. He is lonely and requires a companion. The King agreed for the nuptial arrangements, soon the wedding was held in the absence of the princes only. Unfortunately, they were not allowed to come from the Gurukul. The King felt sad, but soon overcame that feeling when he started traveling different places with his new Queen. Traveling now became his passion, the Queen used to feed him a magical potion that increased his passion. Now, he started traveling alone, and the kingdom was looked after by the Queen and Satyaban.

Queen and Satyaban soon started torturing the people in the kingdom. People who were against them were put inside the bars, their lands were seized, they became jobless slaves to the queen. Some who could not stand to become slaves fled away, few hid in the woods, but most became the Queen’s slave. Inside the woods, a group of people started staying together away from the tyranny of the Queen and Satyaban. However, they were unorganized and lacked a leader. Soon their resources reduce, and so their desire to fight against the Queen. Some submitted to the Queen’s rule, others tried to continue with their fight against the Queen and his Prime Minister.

They started waiting for Prince Rudra Narayan Chaudhury, who was then around 22 years and had just completed his studies in the Gurukul. Everyone in the land thought him to be the savior of the land. But the Queen had other plans for him.