~Devdasi's POV
Today, sarpanch babu's one and only son will arrive in Gram (village). And that's why, sarpanch babu is holding a puja in Gram Mandir (temple).
I'm helping others with puja preparations in mandir.
"Aishwarya, is havan kund (fire pit) ready?" A voice comes from behind, I turns around and sees Mandir's Head Pujari (priest).
I smiles softly, "Ji (yes), it'll be ready by puja. You don't worry, pujari babu."
He returns the smile back and leaves for other work.
I again starts helping others. Suddenly, villagers starts whispering and chattering. I comes to main entrance of mandir and saw a Handsome man in kurta and pajama entering mandir.
My lips curves into a smile, unknowingly. As soon the man's deep gaze meets mine, it feels like everything fades in background and only us admiring each other. After some moments, I looks away, almost shyly. My cheeks feels heaten up.
Pujari babu comes near me and says, "Aishwarya, take Dev babu inside Garbhgriha (Idol room) and bless."
I nods slightly, and goes near the handsome man, I felt my heart beat increasing. As I approaches him, my lips again curves in a shy smile, "Come with me."
I turns to walk towards Garbhgriha, without turning back to see if he's following me or not, because the weightage of those intense gaze is hard for me handle.
I enters Garbhgriha, followed by the man. I picks up a flower garland from the feet of Idol of Lord Krishn, which was offered by villagers to Kanha, and then puts the garland around the man's neck. I don't know why, but I feels my cheeks heat up again. I feels the man's intense gaze over me and sees a slight teasing smile (for the pink colour of my cheeks) on his lips, but I don't bother myself to look up at him.
I then picks up a small pital (copper) bowl from the small stage in the corner of Garbhgriha, and offers Charanaamrit (nectar from the feet of the god) to the man. He accepts it. Then, as being Devdasi, I smudges the kohl applied on the waterline of my eyes and applies the smudged kohl as dot behind his ear.
Unknowingly, a smile escapes my lips. I nods slightly indicating the blessing in Garbhgriha is complete, without meeting my gaze with his. Then, come out of Garbhgriha after he comes out and closes the door of Garbhgriha behind me.
After sometime, the main puja starts. And almost a hour, the puja finishes too. After that, as sarpanch babu hosts a feast in mandir, all villagers sits on line and other Devdasis and servants of Sarpanch babu starts serving food. By the end of afternoon, every villager leaves mandir including that handsome man too.
~Dev's POV
As I was out from village and was in town for studies for years. I was 14 when I went to town and now I'm 24 when I returned to village. My father is Gram Panchayat's Sarpanch. I left Shivpur Gram for studies and went to town for studies. As being a Sarpanch, my father was quite wealthy so it was not a big thing for me to go in town just for study.
As I returned to Gram after years, my father held puja in Gram's Mandir.
As soon I reaches mandir, I saw a beautiful girl working . She's beautiful like Goddess Lakshmi herself. She was wearing white saree with light pink Lotus prints on it. Her dark long hair cascaded down her back. A white gajra tugged ear to ear on her hair. She's wearing gold not so heavy earrings, a long neckpiece, one bangle on each hand but what caught my attention towards her the most is her nose pin. Her cute little nose adorned with a simple yet suitable for her, gold nose pin. Her deer eyes adorned with kohl on its waterline. And the mole on the left below her lower lip, Ufffffff!! My heart is keep telling me to adore her constantly but my mind is keep reminding me that villagers are surrounding me.
As soon she looks up at me and our gaze meets, I notice a soft smile on her lips and soft staring gaze of her at me. I feels like universe's luckiest man to be adorned by such beauty. The surrounding background around me and her faded momentarily.
After some moment, she looks away. I see a shyness over her. An unknown teasing smirk appears on my lips, I feels.
Then, I saw a old pujari approaches her and says something to her, to which she nods and approaches me. I felt my heart racing with each passing moment she was approaching me. And says, "Come with me."
And I saw her lips curves in a shy smile, then she turns and starts walking. I feels like I'm under her spell. I follows her.
She takes me inside Garbhgriha, then picks up a flower garland and puts it around my neck. I don't know why, but feels intimate. Then she offers me Charanaamrit and I accept it, as I'm still feeling myself under her spell. Then, the most intimate thing, I felt was when smudges kohl under her eye and put a dot with it behind my ear. I saw her shy downcasted gaze and my lips curves into teasing smile.
Then we both comes out of Garbhgriha. And then, the main puja starts. And after a hour, it finishes too. Then, the feast starts and by the end of the afternoon it finishes too. And soon, I find myself out of the Mandir. I steps inside the car with my father already inside. The way to my house was silent. I was looking out of the window but my mind is still thinking about that girl. I don't know, who is she but my heart is strangely attracted to her.
As soon I reaches home, I directly heads towards my room in first floor. I decided to visit mandir in evening too, determined to meet that girl.
I find myself standing in the main entrance of mandir, in evening. The Sandhya Aarti (evening prayer) will start soon, I know that. I enters in the mandir. And sits on a stair, my back pressed against the pillar of mandir.
After a moment, I see someone coming out of Mandir's room allotted to Pujaris, as much I know. When that figure comes in Mandir's oil lamp's soft glow, I see the familiar face. It's her. Her soft delicate features glowing under the soft glow of oil lamps. Soon, she starts Sandhya Aarti.
I gets confused somehow, as the thought, why she came out of Mandir's room which is allotted to Pujaris hits my mind. But soon I ignores it too. She's now wearing a different yet more simple white saree. She's wearing simple gold earrings, bangles on each hand and a small nose pin which is sparkling under the soft glow of oil lamps. Her dark long hair is tied in a small bun and open at lower. As soon she finishes Aarti and turns around, our gaze meets again. She smiles softly, almost shyly. She averts her eyes down.
I approaches her, almost immediately. "Uh! I... I'm Dev.. Dev Thakur. Sarpanch's son. I guess, you remember." I says, then chuckles softly, almost nervously.
She smiles softly and nods, and says "Ji, I'm Aishwarya."
As soon I hears her name, my heart skips a beat. My mind reminds me that after I saw her for first time, my thought was like She's beautiful as Goddess Lakshmi herself. And now her name is exactly related to Goddess Lakshmi.
I smiles back. Before I can stop myself, I asks, "Will you consider me as your.... Friend?" Smiles nervously.
I hears her chuckle, it's the most soothing sound I've ever heard.
She says "Me? Your friend? You're silly, Dev babu. No one wants Devdasi to be their friend." Don't know why, I feels like she mocked but politely.
I frowns curiously and confusedly, "Means? What do you mean by Devdasi? You said you're Aishwarya, right?"
She smiles and says, "Ji, I'm Aishwarya. But I'm the head Devdasi of here..Mandir. I heard, you left Gram at young age. And I assume you don't know what's Devdasi, right?"
I nods, "Yes, I don't know what are you saying."
She nods too and asks, "Will you mind to sit with me on the stairs of the mandir Lake?"
"No! Let's go." I says.
She leads me towards the back of mandir where a lake is located. She sits on a stair which leads down towards the lake. Then she looks back at me and pats the floor beside her. I obeys and sits beside her. She looks towards the lake, her face is glowing under the soft moonlight.
She starts saying, "Let's start with my story. You can understand better that way. I was born in a poor house of Gram. I was not Aishwarya by birth, I was Aishwanti. Then I became 12 and my parents deep and sad heartedly made me being Devdasi. It is believed that if a poor family make their daughter a Devdasi when she became 12, it makes the poor house prosperous."
I interrupts her politely, "Ok. But what's Devdasi?"
She sighs softly, and starts again, "Devdasi means offering yourself to God. Being a servant of God. When I became 12, my parents took me here..in mandir, and the main event was... marrying me to Kanha. Since then, I live here in mandir."
"Oh! Then too, so what if you're Devdasi, why can't you be my friend?" I asks.
She replies, "I don't know, if I can or not. It's just, I never heard someone asking any Devdasi to be their friend. I also never experienced it, that's why." Then she looks at me and smiles softly, "Ok. I'll be your friend."
I returns the smile back. My heart unexpectedly feeling utter happiness.
"You should head back to your home, Dev babu. It's getting night. And if someone sees us together that too at this time, they'll think.... uh..wrong." She averts her eyes. I don't know why, but I felt that she felt embarrassed for her own words.
I pretend not to notice it, not wanting to make her more embarrassed. Instead, I nods slightly and smiles, "Yes, you're right. I should go back." I stands up and turns to leave, but stops and looks down over my shoulder at her still sitting form, "I'll visit Mandir...tomorrow morning again." I saw her look up at me, her lips curves into a shy yet loving yet..I don't know, but a smile.
Then, I turns and leaves mandir. But the whole way, I was just thinking about her.
At night, when I was laying at my bed, then moonlight enters my room through the window making me remember her beautiful face glowing under it. Before, I drifts off to sleep, my last thought was.... She.