Uninvited guests even better than the wedding food

A fake procession - imposter soldiers - a window in the back - Shivaji and 50 of his best men sneak into their own palace - the curtains are torn and the swords clamour - shrieks and blood in every room - Shaista Khan managed to run but had to leave his fingers behind!

An artist's depiction of what could have happened that night; Source: Public Domain

While sipping coffee for the 19th time in a day, a man saw an interesting historical event. The film "Three Idiots" with the kids laughing also provided some background noise to the already noisy day. And there he saw it. Like Newton's moment with an apple. Like Trump's most momentous "impromptu" phrase. He remembered the scene where Aamir Khan and his friends went to the wedding uninvited just for some snacks. And then he saw Shivaji and his soldiers sneaking in a wedding to assassinate Shaista Khan. His mind started running off in tangents like a fanfiction enthusiast.

After Shivaji's ascension to the throne and the death of Afzal Khan by the hands of a growing ruler, Aurangzeb quickly wanted to nip Shivaji in the bud and hence collected a large army and an able general to lead them, Shaista Khan.

Shaista Khan was Aurangzeb's uncle who had been assigned to do something about Shivaji's build-up of dominance. That he did by conquering Pune, the centre of Shivaji's realm. He then captured the fort of Chakan and north Konkan and Kalyan after heavy retaliation from the Marathas.

The Marathas were banned from entering the city of Pune.

But after three long years, with Shaista Khan in the helm where Shivaji once stood, 1663, this day - Shivaji finally received the opportunity to come back at Shaista Khan and conquer the once central hub of his empire.

A parallel to the film "Three Idiots", Shivaji would come to add an after-party which would leave the city in chaos.

Due to a wedding procession, there was special access to certain Marathas loyal to Aurangzeb. Shivaji, in a bold move that had made him famous and known throughout Indian history, took his 400 soldiers and started his infiltration to assassinate Shaista Khan. It all started with him masquerading as soldiers, labourers and such of the Marathas.

In the dark of night, where only a few dim lights were for the guards, this was the perfect environment to kill someone, especially when everyone was tired after fasting as it was Ramadan. Killing everyone blow-by-blow, Shivaji moved stealthily, but he created a commotion that would, later on, help his soldiers escape during the chaos.

Historical accounts suggest that, while Shaista Khan did not get killed, he lost his forefingers while escaping through the windows by Shivaji's sword.

This stealth attack alone twisted the mind of Aurangzeb. He immediately transferred Shaista Khan to Bengal without an interview, which was the norm back then.