Knowing that Abhimanyu had been discharged, but still hadn’t made any plans of coming back to India, Abhimanyu’s elder brother, Ajay Singh, too, defied his request to not be bothered, and paid him a visit at the hotel. The army man arrived in the middle of winter to convince him to return home and participate in the family’s affairs.

‘Vihaan has lost his mind,’ said Ajay Singh. ‘You know better than to trust his judgement in such matters, Abhimanyu. The British left us with three choices – join India or Pakistan, or remain independent. But in reality, remaining independent is not a choice at all. Daata knew that well enough when he signed to join India. And going by what’s happening in Hyderabad and Junagadh, I am convinced that he did the right thing.’

‘That’s great, then, for all of you,’ Abhimanyu snapped, ‘I couldn’t care less.’

By then, Abhimanyu wanted nothing to do with his family – it had cost him Meera. ‘The title of Mahamahim Rajadhiraj has ceased to exist,’ Ajay Singh explained, ‘but it was never erased from Daata’s mind. You see, he wants to run for elections and lead not because he wants power, but because leadership is the only way of life he knows, Abhimanyu. It’s not going to be easy. The pendulum of history had swung and royalty is becoming a dirty word with each passing day. That’s the reason I stand here humbly, at the behest of Daata, asking for help.’

Abhimanyu sat in silence, his jaw clenched.

‘It’s time to move on, dear brother,’ concluded the adopted son of Ranakpour family. ‘Daata found it in himself to move on after mother passed away. Now we need you, together, united, to face the future.’

‘Who is to say I made the right decision?’ Abhimanyu would quip later, reminiscing about his deal with his elder brother. ‘Ajay was there with the right offer to get me out of my misery,’ he would confess. ‘I needed something to do in order to keep my mind occupied, or else I would have gone mad.’ Had the two brothers switched their arrival at Mount Sinai – had Vihaan knocked on his door after Meera’s sudden departure, Abhimanyu would have gladly bought into his delirious plans. But what mattered was that for the first time in his life, the prince of Ranakpour had taken a stand. Whether he stood on the right or wrong side of history, only time would tell.

Chapter 16

Chapter 16