Originally posted by: skanda12
Friends, yesterday's episode was not a very gripping one. If you look at it overall, there was forward movement on all the fronts - on three different tracks, in fact. "A little progress everywhere, but not something major or substantial to make us sit up", is the way I would describe it.
The first of the tracks that moved forward a bit was the Jodha "harem challenge" track.
Three things happened here that we have to watch carefully. First of all Hoshiyaar continued to lull Jodha into some sense of security that he was on Jodha's side. Looking at her sad face, he brought a hookah for her to use. But Moti soon assured him that Jodha didn't have that bad habit - and if Ruq did, then that accounted for her black heart ... for smoking was an undesirable vice.
Just soon after this exchange Jalal apppeared there in the garden where Jodha was sitting. Something very interesting happened here. Jalal looked at Jodha's sombre countenance and asked if her usual smile was not there because of anger with him on the Sujamal affair. When Jodha said that was not the case, Jalal then muttered beneath his breath "All is war for both us. I have this jung in Malwa, and you have this jung in the harem". So he knew that Ruq was going to try and make it a war!
But that was not all that he said. He said something else which I thought was a very significant piece of dialogue. He said "Tell me, after you win the harem challenge, then what? Are you going to be ready to delegate work to the harem ladies deciding who sleeps with me on which day? Are you going to be settling their differences and smoothing out their schedules? You may not like this job, because you would get jealous of the ladies I sleep with - like you did in the case of Ben ..." Jodha seemed miffed to hear that this was the sort of work she would have to do! Jalal left her to think about it ... and the scene ended there.
But you know what folks, I think although Jalal wanted Jodha to enter the challenge and reduce her distance from day to day affairs at Agra, and he wanted her to win the challenge and teach Ruq a lesson in humility, he did not want Jodha to continue as the harem in-charge ... and he wanted, I think, for Jodha to return the job to Ruq. He tried hard yesterday to tell her the "unsavoury parts" of lingering in the job. He harped on how jealous she would feel if she had to hand out sleeping schedules for the ladies with Jalal, but I think he was deliberately talking about this unpleasant work and thesejealousies to prevent Jodha from wanting to continue in the job.
Maybe he had other bigger assignmments for Jodha, or maybe he wanted Jodha to quit the harem job and give it back to Ruq after teaching Ruq a strong lesson. Either way he seeemed to be hell-bent on painting an ugly picture of "continued harem management" so as to dissuade Jodha from continuing in the job. He is still the master-puppeteer, pulling at the strings to make Jodha do exactly what he wants!
After this of course, there was the Ruq angle of the harem challenge - when Ruq wanted to make Jodha look like she's going to all lengths to make the harem "her place". Hoshiyaar, whom we all already suspected of being Ruq's plant, went in the dead of the night and told Ruq the lastest happening in the Jodha camp, and Ruq planned the idea of planting Kanha moorthies in all the Hindu bandhis' rooms, so that it would look like Jodha was forcing her religion down everyone's throats. Even the Mughal haremites who supported Jodha, started feeling uneasy about her intentions, Maham went into a heebie-jeebie about this, and in the precap we saw Ruq trying to convince Jalal that only Jodha could have orchestrated all this "against harem rules" as only she would benefit from all this.
I suspect Jalal will easily see that Jodha does NOT benefit from such acts, especially if it turns her supporters against her. (He has already hinted that he thinks Ruq is going to make it a "jung" for Jodha.) So the shrewd Jalal will quash the idea that Jodha did it - and maybe there will be an inquiry as to who bought these idols and from where?
Anyway I expect the next three pre-election days to also bring up more and more such challenges for Jodha from Ruq! But Jalal will continue to see through the games and support Jodha.
On the Sujamal front, there was some advancement in the storyline.
Jodha was seen crying in her room that she had to tell Jalal to punish Sujamal if he was the backstabber in the Mewat war, as she owed loyalty to Jalal now and could not let Jalal feel that she was arguing in favour of Sujamal's innocence. I thought this was a really good sanket of Jodha really being a very very changed person. Previously I am sure she would have argued that Sujamal could not have been a backstabbber as he was a true Rajvanshi (even if he was a bhaagi from Amer). But Jodha has said yesterday that she did not try to plead Sujamal's case because she knew it would hurt Jalal if she did, and Jalal's anger was justified.
Look how her loyalties have changed! Her husband stands taller than even the one brother of hers that she truly loved above all others! Jodha now thinks first of Jalal, and doesn't even want to distress him by trying to argue against his feelings! She already knows there is bad blood between Jalal and her father, now she doesn't want to add to Jalal's anger and unhappiness by pleading Sujamal's case with him.
And in any case, how can Jodha also be sure of Sujamal's innocence when she herself was surprised even by his act of joining with Sharif against her father? As far as she knows Suryabhan was killed by backstabbing, but how does Jodha know if Sujamal supported Sharif in this act or not? Sujamal had become an unknown quantity to her of late, with his desperation and greed for throne and land. So she could not be sure of Sujamal either and argue in his favour. But that was not the thing that made Jodha hold back with Jalal. The truth was that when it came to Jalal vs Sujamal, Jodha knew it would always be Jalal first for her hereafter, regardless of Sujamal's innocence or guilt! Wow, that was a good piece of dialogue in suport of Jalal!
The other little bit on the Sujamal front came in the form of Bharmal and Sons preparing to go to Mewat to stop Sujamal, when they got the news that Sujamal has already taken Mewat, and in fact that he has even killed two of Jalal's own cousin brothers. Bharmal rose in righteous indignation at this news, and said he has to now show his wafaadaari to Jalal and fight to recover Mewat.
The questions in my mind are: Will this attempt to recapture Mewat delay Sujamal's trip to Agra? And will this recapture of Mewat reconcile Jalal and Bharmal? And what will happen to Sarif's subehdaari of Mewat? Will he get it back? Or will Jalal ask Sharif to go and fight alongside of Bharmal and Sons for the recapture of Mewat? Will Sharif try to defame Bharmal and Sons in this process by implying they were trying to savve Sujamal? All kinds of possibilities here ...
On the Adham-Sharif front, there was some wee movemment. Adham was seeen paying off some money to the dakus to stop their dacoity as Jalal had become more alert now. Sharif sees this - and gives Adham some uneasy moments. But then both these jobless men started mocking each other. Adham tells Sharif "You have Mewat no more!" and Sharif returns the compliment saying "You have Malwa no more, either, thanks to Pir Mohammed now taking over the war into Malwa to recapture it from the bhaagis!".
There was also one small scene of Jalal sending off Pir Mohammed and his soldiers into war for Malwa, with Adham going with them. Jalal tells Adham to report to Pir Mohammed and do his utmost to support his leader, while Maham keeps exhorting her son to do so well that he would get back the subehdari of Malwa from Pir Mohammed.
I have detailed two scenes below that I thought were interesting from the actual dialogue point of view ... one is the scene of Jodha crying about not being able to plead Sujamal's case with Jalal ... and the other scene is that of Jalal and Jodha in the garden discussing her harem duties ...
Jodha cries because she does not want to distress Jalal with arguments in favour of Sujamal!
Jodha runs into her room fresh from her meeting with Jalal in the armaments room, and cries bitterly. "Why does Ambe Ma make all this happen to me?" she weeps. "What has happened?" asks Moti. "Its Sujamal Bhaisa" Jodha says, in a voice that is deep with pain. "What's happened to Sujamal?" Moti asks.
"The Shahenshah just called me to give me the news that Sujamal has attacked the Mughals at Mewat. Two of the Shahenshah's cousins have been killed. And now the King wants to take revenge. He wants to punish Sujamal ... and Moti, you know what he means when he says he will give punishment! It will be blood for blood!"
"Stay courageous, Jodha" says Moti, "the King is angry now but you know he's also a "dayalu". Wait for his anger to subside and then you can plead for pardon for Sujamal.".
"No Moti", Jodha shakes her head in despair "this time it will not be possible to make the King understand. Because he feels that his cousins are victims of "peet ke peeche se war". But Moti interjects quickly "That can't be true. Rajvanshis don't do that!" "I too know that Rajvanshis never do that" says Jodha in despair, but then she continues "But if I try to tell the King that he may think I am wrongly taking sides with Sujamal! He actually asked me if any person should get strong dand" if they do such "peet ke peeche se war" and I couldn't say 'No he shouldn't get punishment because he is my brother Sujamal'. And there's one more truth in all this. Even if Sujamal is my brother, the Shahenshah is my pati. As a King, his decision is the right one. As his Begum I cannot go against his decision. As a sister all I can do is cry for my brother, that's all! Sujamal has become an "apraadhi" against the Mughal Sultanate. The Shahenshah has to do his duty. I can only pray to Ambe Ma to give Sujamal some "sadbuddhi". My father is already a "virodhi" of the Shahenshah, he has made my husband his "shatru" already ..."
Friends, it was a small scene, because most of it was Jodha's dialogue and Moti was merely listening. But look at the way Jodha has laid out her arguments even in this moment of deep sorrow and relentless weeping. She says she cannot go to Jalal on any account to convince him against punishment from Sujamal for four valid reasons. One, Jalal may think she is wrongly supporting her brother without proof. Two, that Jalal has consulted her showing a respect for her opinion on whether a "dand" is warranted in such a case of backstabbing. Three, even if Sujamal is a dear brother, the King is her husband and thus he has higher claim on her loyalty than her brother. And fourh, Jalal has already borne the distress of her father's estrangement and cannot be asked to bear more from her family.
My God, folks, this sounds like the voice of a girl who has found the truth of where her loyalty has to lie after marriage, and it is not with ther maayka anymore but with her pati. All she could do was to pray that her own family members of her maayka get "sadbuddhi" - for her husband was not in the wrong at all and he was perfectly justified. And he did not do anything without first consulting her and giving her the respect of a wife!
Was that a lovely scene or what? Every woman comes to a stage when the coin has to be tossed between her own family and her sasuraal. And the reason the coin tips in favour of the sasuraal is because she finds that her husband has become dearer to her than anybody else on both sides. Jodha is at that threshold! I am sure if Jalal had heard this speech of hers, his heart would have bubbled endlessly in happiness!
Even later in the garden when he chances upon her, he looks at her sombre face and and asks "You usually at least give me a half-smile when you see me... Today that is missing. Is it because of this Sujamal issue I told you about?". Jodha again says "No".
But look at the beauty of him also being so sensitive to her feelings. He knows that what he told her must be giving her enormous pain. He knows that he has had to make her choose between husband and brother and she has chosen Jalal over her brother. But he doesn't just sweep the topic under the carpet. He continues to see her face, oppen the topic and feel her pain with her - even though he has a duty as a King to punish those who torture his men on the battlefield.
What a lovely couple these two are. Each has a reservation to do what's right, but each one also feels for the conflict of the other!
Jalal tries to dissuade Jodha from continuing with harem in-charge duties after the win!
Jodha, in the garden, has refused the hookah from Hoshiyaar and also accepted the praises from the haremites who thank her for standing in the elections ... when Jalal comes there and everybody else leaves. Jalal sees the slight sadness on Jodha's face as she greets him and says "I want to ask you something Jodha Begum. Whenever you see me there is usually a small smile on your face. But its gone missing today. Is it perhaps because of my farman regarding Sujamal? I hope you understand when I need to try to make my enemies bend in any war ... for you too are going through a kind of war yourself, aren't you?"
"But I am not in any war, this is just an election for the harem in-charge" Jodha replies. Jalal mutters under his breath "Yes but its no less than a war!" Jodha dooesn't hear him properly and asks if he said something, but he demurs. Clearly he expects that Ruq will make it an all-out war!
He then changes tack. He says "I was thinking, after you beat Ruq then what?" (again that hint that he's expecting Jodha to win the election!) "I'll look after the harem, that's all" Jodha says. Jalal then tries to look serious and stern. He says "But looking after the harem is a big responsibility. It means that you have to keep track of my movements and wishes and see which woman I want to spend time with and you have make the schedules possible." "Oh, no" says Jodha a little indignant, "I will do no such thing". "Why not?" asks Jalal "these are all your responsibilities, that you have to fulfil. Imagine if there are two begums fighting for my time with them, it will have to be your decision who can spend time with me."
By now Jalal has tried to paint a really unsavoury picture of harem management duties and Jodha is falling into the trap. She says with asperity "I am not going to make it my duty to make your nightly arrangements". "Oh really?" Jalal says, continuing his mock surpprise. "What can I do, under Ruq's management I have got used to the idea that the whole harem exists purely for my service and pleasure. But looks like all that is going to change now! Because if any bandhi or kaniez even so much as looks at me, you are surely going to punish them?" "Arre, why would I do that" asks an angry Jodha. "Because, says Jalal, "you don't like any woman coming near me, seeing me, or even trying to seduce me?" "Who told you all this will happen?" asks Jodha. "No one needs tell me. I saw it all myself in the case of Benazir, didn't I?" Jalal mocks!
As I said in my opening remarks, folks, I didn't think this was Jalal just mocking Jodha for her jealousies or hinting that she is now in love with him and thus not wanting any other woman near him. I think he used this jealousy argument to push home the fact to her that running the harem is not a really pleasant duty she would like. It entailed jobs she would hate to do. So she would be better off winning the election but reconsidering if she really wanted to run the harem with these kinds of duties to do.
I think Jalal's objective has been the "chatisement and the bringing home of a reality check" to Ruq who had grown too big for her boots,. Her methods at the harem were growing unpopular and she was getting far too violent and insensitive in her duties. But all said and done, Ruq didn't mind doing these "unsavoury duties" such as scheduling the time that the ladies had with Jalal ... in fact she relished knowing who spent how much time with him. So after the elections, Jalal wanted Jodha to perhaps grandly relinquish her win and give the harem role back to Ruq, who hopefully would have learnt a lesson not to overshoot her decency in future.
I get the feeling that Jalal thinks Jodha has too precious a mind, and she is too talented a woman, to be wasted in the running of the harem and in the mundane scheduling of ladies' time with the Shahenshah. He clearly thinks she is made for bigger things - like perhaps the MUZ role?
She was reluctant so far to get involved in the Sultanate's running, for fear of treading on important people's toes, so he wanted her to be ready to accept duties and feel that Agra has truly become her home and her life's work. He wanted her to start feeling part of the process instead of merely staying in Agra ina quasi-guest status and mentality. Having got her to accept running for the election he had successfully made her cross that distance that she was keeping, and got her ready to get her hands dirty in the work and life of Agra.
But after the election win, when the point was made both to Jodha and to Ruq, I think Jalal wants Jodha to give up the harem, give it back to Ruq, and take on something else more attuned to her multifaceted talents and her higher thinking.
Again I am amazed as the astuteness of Jalal, considering that he was just a boy-King himself. His greatest asset seems to be his smart mind and his judgement of people. He know exactly where to put the right people so that he gets the best results out of them. He is one clever strategist. (This is the fifth time I am writing this sentence that he is a master strategist ... but I am sure with every passing episode there will be many more times that I have to say the same thing!)
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