Celeberrimous | ?

The fading red hues of the sun gave way to the cool midnight blue of the moon and stars. The city of Dvaraka continued to be abuzz with life even as it settled down, lanterns lit up in flames reminiscent of the bright rays of the sun contained within a small star. Children bid their farewells to their friends under the sharp eyes of their mothers, adolescents under the thralls of young love shared hasty kisses before parting, and merchants packed up their stalls, happy with the money made for the day.

Placed in the centre of the vast spiralling lotus that was the abode of Shri on the Earth were the palaces of Ugrasena and his descendants, particularly the de-facto sovereign of Dvaravati, Vaasudeva Krishna.

And currently, most of that family was within the dining chambers, partaking in the final meal of the day. Kanha let his hazel eyes traverse around the table, his wives and children and parents and ilks all settled together as they laughed and shared the news of the day. It was a routine, which may seem humdrum to some, but for the Yadava household, it brought immense happiness - in tiny sparks of magic. His beloveds would often fuzz about their kids, otherwise sticking as thick as thieves to each other while his children would speak of their daily ventures. His darling daughters, almost every one of them a splitting image of their mother or him, always held a special corner of his heart. His sons, well they reminded him of his own boyhood days back in Vraja, merry times spent in playing the flute, grazing his cows and forever indulging into the blissful raas leela.

When he thought of his ladies, each of them was unique, beauty personified a little differently than the other. Some of them were the sun - like his Bhamae, so full of sass and vivacity while his Rukmini was the moon - silvery tranquillity poured out in a human mould. Jambavati was like the trees, virescent and lively whereas Yami reminded him of the sheer blueth of dusk with a tinge of darkness - her complexion the same as him. They had their own interests, different ways of expressing their affection for him, some coy while some would render him speechless with their capers. It wouldn't be wrong to say it all seemed like a fairytale. When he'd be knackered, sometimes allowing himself to be a little more human than the other times, they'd be by his side - reading his eyes as he'd peek into the mind of mortals. It was a little funny how he'd grow into a child before them, wrapping his arms around them and nuzzling his nose into their scent which shouted latibule.

His wandering eyes seemed to finally settle on his silent Kaikeyi, her demure gaze turned downwards, her attention solely on the book she held within her hands. Lakshmanaa, who constantly was found to be travelling between Madra and Dvaraka first for the friends she found in the queens of Krishna but then for the immense love that was said to be forming between her and Dvarakesha himself, sat next to her. She had to constantly nudge Bhadra to have a morsel of food from her nearly untouched plate, since she was so completely focused on the worlds behind the words in her book that she had forgotten to eat.

It was a common occurrence in the dining chambers, and Kanha huffed silently in frustration as she continued to read, absent-mindedly tucking a strand of her hair delicately behind her ear. He had half a mind to call her name, but knew that it would have no effect on her, rather embarrassing him since everyone’s attention would turn to him and not her.